AMU: The Power of Mazahs

[johnreiter902]

I did not write this story. All credit is due to the original author.

Once upon a time, there was a yahoo group where people wrote and posted stories set in the Antimatter Universe, the post-crisis version of Earth-3. Many awesome stories were written, fleshing out that world. As far as I know, those stories were lost when the yahoo group was shut down. I have never seen them re-posted anywhere else.

However, I copied many of them onto my computer, and it feels selfish that I alone can now enjoy them. If nobody objects, I'm going to start posting all the stories I have saved here, to the Infinite Earths section. Whenever possible, I will give full credit to the original authors. If any of you were members of the crimesyndicateofamerika group, I hope you are pleased to see this.

THE POWER OF MAZAHS
BY SETH GOTTLIEB

FAUCET CITY

All was calm in the city. The populous, ever dormant, scurried through the streets conducting their business. Suddenly, from the sky, a tremendous burst of energy hurdled towards the city. However, when it reached the city skyline, it dispersed against what appeared to be a huge dome comprised of some azure power. The city populous viewed this event for a few minutes with fear and trepidation, then, after the dome subsided, slowly resumed their business.
High above the skyline, just below the dome, a figure garbed in a scarlet uniform with a black cape observed this event. As the dome resumed its transparency, he grinned. “It Held.” He thought, and flew back to WIZZ tower. “Nice try Ultraman!” said the figure out loud.

The being , known as Captain Terror, approached the top stories of WIZZ tower, the largest, most ominous structure in the city. A cross between M.C. Esher, Dante, and art deco. Once inside, he entered the central monitor room, the heart of his precious security system. Here, monitored by the Tawny, a group of tiger like beings of his own creation, he controlled the energy dome, and monitored events and occurrences in the city.
“Report!” he ordered to a Tawny, near a group of security devices.
“Units 4 and 6 report an energy disturbance on the south sector of the dome right after Ultraman’s latest attack. The primary generator however has compensated the energy flow.
Captain Terror was concerned. “I want a full investigation into those sectors immediately! Send unit 4 to investigate the area!” It was probably nothing, he thought, but it wouldn’t hurt to cover his tracks. Ultraman would stop at nothing to get this city under the control of his Crime Syndicate. Faucet, being under the direct and exclusive control of Captain Terror and his ‘family’. Speaking of which…
“Where’s my brother, and that Bitch Mary?”
“In the lower levels sir.” Replied a Tawny.
“Figures” he thought. He adjusted a nearby monitor to locate them. He found them in a sub basement, where they were locked in a passionate embrace. He gazed at the screen icily. His brother, he didn’t worry about. But Mary… well she was always up to something, planning, or scheming against him. If only he didn’t have to share his powers…
At that moment, a Tawny approached him. “Sir, It is almost time for the town council meeting.”
“They can wait!” he replied.
At that moment, the flame emblem on his chest turned a dark red, and Captain Terror felt a sharp pain in his chest.
“Damn him!” he thought. “All right wizard! MAZAHS!” he said out loud. At that, a halo of flame surrounded him. However, rather than consume him, in its place appeared a young boy.
“Prepare the limo” Said William Batson.



In the lower levels, Major Terror and Bloody Mary were locked in a passionate embrace. After a few minutes, Major Terror stood up and slowly walked away.
“Watsa matter Freddy?” asked Mary.
“Mazahs” he mumbled. After the flames transformed him, he continued walking to a nearby ledge. “It just isn’t working Mary.” He said.
“It’s your brother, isn’t it?” she said as she flung his arms around him.
“That, and, I dunno,… I’m just not up to all this. I mean, here I am, with these powers, and I just don’t seem to fit in. I just hate being the watered down version of the city’s chief crimelord.”
“But that’s why you have me…” she said as she stroked his goatee. “With me by your side we can keep that jerk in line.” she said smiling.
“There’s still the wizard.” He said. “He’s no pushover.”
“But once your brother is eventually taken care of, he shouldn’t be a problem.” She said. “He doesn’t have the guts to stand up to him, but I do.” She said smiling. “Now come on…”
He smiled, “Mazahs” he said, as he transformed back, and continued their embrace.


As the limo drove towards city hall, Will looked out the window. “Idiots” he thought. All trying to eke out their miserable existence. To think, not long ago, he was one of them. Hiding in the streets, on the run from the law after he murdered his uncle. “Bastard” he thought, reflecting on the old fool. He remembered how his uncle held the strings to his parent’s fortune which was RIGHTFULLY his. He remembered how, after planning the “perfect” crime, he was on the run from the law, which was surprisingly effective in those days. He remembered hiding in abandoned subway station, when HE approached him. HE knew Willy better than he knew himself. HE made him the deal of a lifetime. HE assured him power beyond his wildest dreams. HE created Captain Terror.

And Willy never had to run again.

“We have arrived master.” Said the Tawny driving the limo.
“Wait here, I won’t be long”. He ordered.
Willy entered city hall, flanked by a pair of his Tawny. Before he arrived at the meeting hall, he made a final check. “Yep,” he thought, he remembered the vial.
When he entered the hall, the council members present rose. “What they must think” he thought to himself, “having to wait for someone over half their age.”
“Very well gentlemen, lets get started.” He then pulled out the vial and cracked it open on the meeting table. “For starters, I just released a highly toxic airborne virus, capable of killing everyone in this room within three days. I plan to distribute the antidote at our next meeting, shortly before then, providing…” he said smiling, “I’m still alive!”
He let this sink in a few moments before continuing. “Now for the first order of business. Following this morning’s attack by Ultraman, Captain Terror has found it necessary to increase the monthly rate on the shield by, oh, say, TEN PERCENT.
At that, a council member slowly raised his hand, and interrupted him. “Um, Mr. Batson, we can barely afford the current rate, can’t you, I mean Captain Terror, at least…”
Willy then slammed his hand on the table, which got everyone’s attention. “Perhaps I didn’t make myself clear. Captain Terror asked ME, his chief spokesman, to get it through your thick skulls, that, in order to protect your worthless hides and pathetic operations from the Crime Syndicate,” he fumed “he needs to maintain the shield. AND!!!” he continued “ in order to maintain this shield, he needs to increase the rate at ten percent!”
“But, but surely he must understand, we’ve been going through a financial crisis…” the council member continued.
“Then maybe you would like to discuss these misgivings with him IN PERSON…” he threatened. At this, the council member seemed to shrink back. “Or better yet, maybe, since you’re so concerned about lining your own pockets, maybe he’ll consider turning the shield off all together.” He said smiling. “Yes, maybe with the shield gone, maybe the Crime Syndicate can come up with something more to your liking!” He continued, “Yes, I wonder how Ultraman’s reasoning is?” he asked in mock curiosity.
“I’m sorry, It won’t happen again…” said the councilman meekly.
“Then I’ll let you discuss this. I, or Captain Terror will await your word later.” He said as he left.

As he arrived back home in the limo, he thought to himself. “That went well”. They would agree to his terms. They ALWAYS do.
As he shot up a syninge containing the antidote, he pondered. Good old Captain Terror. As his “official spokesperson”, adults would treat him with a certain amount of respect and attention accorded by one another. And as Captain Terror, well, being protected by, and acting like an older brother had its advantages. Willy relaxed and pondered. This was the life.
At that, he felt a sudden pain in his chest, and heard a voice in his head.
“William, to me.”
“Damn”, he thought. It was HIM.
It was the wizard.
It was MAZAHS.

Deep within WIZZ tower, Major Terror and Mary also heard the call.
“What does he want now?” asked Freddy.
The old fart probably wants to torture Willy some more.” Said Mary, straightening herself out.
“But what if it’s important?”
“It’s ALWAYS important. It’s just a question of letting him have his way from time to time.”
“We have to, after all, he gave us our powers.”
“Correction, Mazahs gave you and Willy YOUR powers…” she said gently hugging him. “I got mine from you.” She said kissing him. “And Willy hasn’t forgiven you since.”
“I had to Mary, otherwise…”
He was caught in mid sentence as she placed her finger on his lips.
“Shhh…. That was the past, this is the present.” She said kissing him again.
At that moment, the flame emblems on their clothes turned a dark red.
“To me my children.” mentally commanded the wizard.
“Damn him,” thought Mary. “This had better be good.”

In the lower levels of WIZZ tower the trio met. Captain Terror gazed icily at Bloody Mary, who returned his stare with a girlish smile. The three figures entered the sanctum of MAZAHS.
The sanctum, which was shaped like an arcane temple, had an altar at the end. Captain Terror took a torch from the wall and lit a brazier on the alter. As the flames rose, the three gave their deepest bows. From the flames, the figure of an ancient hooded being appeared before them.
“You were attacked this morning Captain Terror.”
“The shield held master. Ultraman’s was up to his old tricks, but I know that…”
“SILENCE!!” Mazahs bellowed. “Never underestimate him! He is getting bolder with every attack. You cannot afford to be careless…”
“But the shield HELD!!!” Captain Terror yelled rising “can’t you get it through your thick skull…”
At that, the ancient wizard raised a gnarly finger towards him. The Captain doubled over in extreme pain.
“Impudent fool!!” he yelled. “You DARE interrupt me!?!”
From her position, Mary smiled. “Captain Terror indeed!” she thought. It was times like this, she wish she had a camcorder. She’d make a mint from the videos of this moment!
The wizard continued. “Have you forgotten that it was I who found you, hiding, on the run from the authorities, after you murdered your Uncle?”
“No…” said the Captain meekly.
“Have you also forgotten that it was I who gave you power beyond mere mortals, the powers of the gods themselves?”
“No…”
“And have you also that they can easily be taken away…”
“No please, not that… master…”
“Very well.” He said lowering his finger. “You will closely monitor this situation and act accordingly. AND you will report to me on your findings. That is all.” The flames died down, and Mazahs’s vanished.

As Captain Terror left the room, he fumed.
“Cocksuckcker!” he panted. One of these days he was going to tear that old mother#^@%er apart…
“Wassa matter Willy?” Mary teased. “The big mean wizard make you cry?”
“SHUT THE #^@% UP!!!” he yelled.
“Hey, leave her alone!” Said Major Terror, standing in front of her.
“Just try it!” Mary threatened.
“Get out of my way you wuss!” Cap fumed. “Why do I have to deal with these morons?” he thought. It just didn’t seem worth it. Ever since he got these powers, his life had been a living hell. Between the wizard’s rants and Mary’s scheming, it was just unbearable.
At that moment, a pair of Tawny approached him.
“What do you want?” he yelled.
“Forgive us master,” one of the replied. “we just received word from the city council. They have unanimously agreed to your terms. Furthermore, in hopes of improving relationships, they have offered sincere apologies to you and your spokesperson in the form of an extra five percent revenue in gratitude for protecting the councils interest…
As the Tawny droned on, the Captain smiled. “Of course, it wasn’t ALL that bad!” he thought. So he had to put up with the wizard. So there was Mary’s shenanigans. In the end, it worked out.
“And most important…” he thought “ No Ultraman! He’s probably fuming over this latest failure to get rid of me!” He smiled.

ULTRAMAN’S FORTRESS OF SOLITUDE

Ultraman was happy.

He stood next to a beam cannon he had confiscated from the Thangarians a few years ago.
It was a weapon, given a certain time to recharge, capable of destroying a city within seconds.

He used it against Faucet City this morning.

It had failed him miserably.

But he wasn’t upset.

He grinned to himself. Captain Terror was probably gloating that his mighty shield “put one over” on him.

But he wasn’t upset.

At that moment, three Braniac units approached him,
“Master,” one of them said “We have received confirmation from our other units. They are in place.”
“And Captain Terror suspects nothing?”
“He had sent some units to investigate, but they have reported nothing unusual.”
Ultraman smiled. “Excellent.”
He walked up to a monitor and spoke into a nearby microphone.
“Matter projector recording tape 100856. Subject: Captain Marvel. Play.”
The screen flickered, and played the image he recorded over the past few weeks on earth two. There he was. This world’s Captain Terror. Either saving lives, or doing something equally ridiculous.
After watching the viewscreen for a few minutes, he turned towards his Braniac units. “In a way, I have you to thank for this latest endeavor. If it wasn’t for you, I would have never learned about the positive universe.” He looked at the screen. “And I never would have learned about him. I’m almost inclined to forgive you.”
One of the Braniac units responded “Thank you master!”
At that , Ultraman focused his heat vision on the unit, causing it to explode.
“I said ALMOST!!!”

A few minutes later, after the remaining units cleaned up the mess, he turned off the monitor, and pressed a button on his uniform. He had kept the rest in the dark long enough. He was calling a meeting of the Crime Syndicate. He expected Superwoman and Owlman to be late. The Bitch was probably with him in Gotham. But even that had no hope of upsetting him today.

Why should it? He thought.

Everything was going EXACTLY as he had planned.


THE PANOPTICON, A FEW HOURS LATER

They were assembled. Amerika’s gravest villans. Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, and Power Ring. The Crime Syndicate of Amerika. They awaited Ultraman.
“I think he’s planning another economic collapse.” said Power Ring
Johnny Quick interrupted “Nahhedoesn’tneedusforthat! Hecandoithimselfwhydoesheneedus? Besidesthegovernment’sbeenquietlately,Ijustthinkthat…”
“Will you SHUT UPP!!??!!” yelled Owlman. “You’re both giving me a headache! Besides, I think you’re both wrong. I think he’s planning something else. I heard he discovered a new alien virus, and wants to threaten…
“You are all wrong.” Said Ultraman, flying in. “My latest venture isn’t about money or terrorism, its about conquest, and revenge!”
He activated a hologram. “I’ll let you in on my latest plan to take over the Faucet Syndicate, and rid ourselves of Captain Terror and his family.”
At this last statement, came the predicted groans.
“But what about the shield?”
“Captain Terror’s no pushover…”
“…still reeling after that last bout…”
“SILENCE!!” bellowed Ultraman.
He paused and continued. “It is true, our plans to take over that city have been unsuccessful in the past. And it is true that the Terrors have proven themselves to be formidable rivals. BUT that is behind us. For this plan will guarantee that we will rid ourselves of them, forever WITH surprisingly little effort!”
“And how do you propose to do that?” asked Owlman smugly.
“I’m glad you asked!” said Ultraman. “Observe!” he said as he adjusted the hologram to reveal Earth 2. “You will all remember a few months ago, when Braniac tricked us into going to this world, where we were almost defeated…”
“How can we forget?” said Power Ring. “My arm’s still smarting from that trip.”
“Well it then occurred to me. There is a reversed Crime Syndicate called the Justice League, along with a reversed Luthor, who is apparently a ruthless businessman, along with others. So why not a reversed version of the Terrors? Observe!” He said as he adjusted the controls.
A few seconds later, the hologram adjusted to reveal the tape he recorded from the matter projector. The one that had Captain Marvel.
“He calls himself Captain Marvel. And he’s Terror’s equivalent on this world. After the incident with Braniac, I continued his experiments with the cyclotron. I learned that I could use it to transfer objects from their world to ours.” He switched off the hologram. “I plan to transfer this Captain Marvel and HIS family to Faucet, where he will deal with Terror.”
“How do you know they’ll do it?” Owlman interrupted. “Just because we transfer them to this world doesn’t guarantee that they’ll do what we want them to.”
“I’m getting to that. You’ll remember the incident this morning when I tried to blast Faucet with the Thangarian beam…”
“How could we forget?” interrupted Superwoman. “My paper’s having a field day with that one! ULTRAMAN’S LATEST FORAY FLOPS! Got some good photo shots of it…”
“WILL YOU SHUT UP???” yelled Ultraman. “One of these days…”
“Just try it!” she rose.
“WILL YOU GUYS CAN IT?” yelled Power Ring. The two villains glared angrily at him. “Um, sorry!” he said meekly as he sat back down.
“Anyway…” continued Ultraman, “This morning’s attack was never intended to bring down the shield. It was intended to weaken a certain part of it where I was able to send certain ‘controls’ in place….”

Unbenownsed to the syndicators, their meeting was being picked up by a microtransmitter from under the table, that was placed by Alex Luthor. From his hidden lab, somewhere on Earth, he overheard the details of their plans.
“So that’s your game Ultraman!” He said under his breath.


FAWCETT CITY

All was calm in Binder Park. Suddenly, from the ground, two mechanical beings rose. Sensing their surroundings, one of the robots lifted a nearby vehicle and used it to attack the other.
From high above, Captain Marvel and CM3 observed the commotion in the park.
“After you, Cap!” said CM3.
“Why thank you!”
“Uh uh uh!” said Mary Marvel, who flew past the pair. “Ladies first!”
The trio flew down towards the commotion. CM3 and Mary attacked the first robot, while Captain Marvel dealt with the second.
Mary flew behind the first robot while CM3 attacked the robot head on. As the robot toppled, Mary pushed below it where it fell down hard, disintegrating immediately.
At a blinding speed, Cap attacked his robot. Plowing through it where it exploded.
After the last robot fell, an amplified voice nearby announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, let’s have a big round of applause for the Marvel family!”
Amidst a hail of cheers, the trio flew amidst the jubilant audience, where the mayor, members of the city council, and Sterling Morris, who helped organize this charity event, greeted them.
After two hours of autograph signing, photo ops, and handshakes, the event died down. “This certainly was a wonderful idea for a fund raiser Cap!” said the mayor.
“It sure was, it’s a shame that Billy couldn’t be here, after all the time he spent planning this event.” Said Mr. Morris.
“Well he did say he had a family emergency!” said Joan Jameson, Mr. Morris’s secretary and Billy’s friend.
“I’m sure he sends his regards!” said Cap, winking at Joan.
After a few minutes, the Marvels were back in the air patrolling the city. “I could never get tired of this” Cap. thought. With these powers, he his sister, and Freddy proved themselves to be great heroes of this city in more ways than one.
A few minutes later, the air nearby charged with a mysterious energy. As the Marvels paused to investigate, it expanded to form an energy hole. With a tremendous pull, Captain Marvel was immediately sucked in. As Mary was being pulled, however, CM3 grabbed her arm and pulled frantically. However, they too were pulled into the hole.

THE ROCK OF ETERNITY, A FEW MINUTES LATER

“I have you in check again old friend.”
“Indeed you do, Ibis.” Replied Shazam. “Indeed you do.”
Shazam then moved a pawn in between his King and the black bishop. It was a temporary solution, but the only one available to him.
“So they are planning a mock exhibition to raise money for charity? How strange!”
“How is it strange?”
“That people would give money for a cause to view some ridiculous stunts, rather than fund the cause itself!”
“It is human nature, old friend!” replied Ibis.
“Indeed it is!” replied the old wizard. When he had given young Billy and his sister his powers, they had proved themselves time and time again to be worthy of his name. Some of their methods, he found… questionable, like this morning’s stunt. But it always worked out in the end, he smiled.
At that moment, the historama started to activate. As the two wizards observed, the magic screen adjusted, to show the events of the energy hole.
“How curious!” Shazam said as he adjusted the historama to locate the Marvels. “There is no trace of them anywhere in the universe!”
“They still seem to be absorbing your power, so they are still alive!” Ibis said hopefully, “but I fear the worst. Perhaps I should go down to their city and make sure all is well.”
“Yes, that might be for the best!” said the old wizard. “I’ll keep searching for the here.”
As Shazam was adjusting the historama, Ibis waved his Ibistick, and disappeared. “Be well Captain!” said Shazam.

HIGH ABOVE FAUCET CITY

Amidst the silence in the air, came a crackle of energy. A few seconds later, the energy formed a gaping hole where three figures were ejected.
As the Marvel family gathered their senses, Mary broke the silence.
“W-what happened?”
“It felt like someone pushed us through a boom tube!” said CM3.
“No, that was no boom tube. Or we would be over Apokolips or New Genesis.” Said Cap.
“Hey, wasn’t it morning?” said CM3 looking around.
“Yeah, and it feels cold, like late fall, rather than early spring.” Said Mary.
As Captain Marvel rose slightly higher to assess his surroundings, his back hit against what appeared to be an energy barrier. “What’s this?” he indicated to the others.
As Cap and Mary examined this new discovery, CM3 made another observation. “Um, where exactly is here? I don’t recall seeing that building before.” He pointed straight ahead, towards an ominous looking building.
“That’s where station WHIZ should be!” said Cap. “Guys, it looks like we have a mystery on our hands.”
All three, smiling at each other, began to sing in unison as they flew down. “Scooby dooby doo, where are you…”

Shortly, the three heroes returned to Binder park, only to make another startling discovery.
“What happened?” said Mary looking around. The entire park looked like it was in a state of neglect. It was covered with garbage and weeds. “How could this happen in a few hours?” she said.
“How do we know it wasn’t a few days?”
“Let’s ask someone.” Suggested Cap. A few seconds later, they found someone searching through an overturned garbage can.
“Um, excuse me sir…”
The man looked around, saw the trio flying in the air, and screamed hysterically. “Get away from me! I don hav anithin!” he screamed as he ran.
They received the same results from other people in the park. Finally, CM3 made a suggestion. “Hey, maybe our appearances have something to do with it?”
“Probably, lets change.” Said Cap.
After a few seconds, the trio found a group of hedges where they changed.
“SHAZAM!”
“SHAZAM!”
“CAPTAIN MARVEL!”


THE CHASM OF INFINITY

From his realm, Mazahs detected a strange surge of energy within his dimension. He adjusted the historama to investigate. It cleared to show Willy with his brother and Mary in a park.
But something was wrong.
Freddy and Mary appeared… different.
For the first time in many years, Mazahs’s face showed concern. He continued to watch these events unfold…

“Guys, I don’t think we’re in Kansas anymore” said Freddy, looking at an overturned dumpster where his newsstand should have been.
“Heck, even Gotham’s more cheerful than this place.” Added Billy. “But what happened?”
As they approached the tower, they received another shock. In front of what appeared to be a major entranceway, they saw at least a dozen heavily armed guards.
Except these guards weren’t human.
They appeared to be large burly tiger men, something straight out of a science fiction film.
“Guys, I don’t like this!” said Mary. “Where are we?”
At that moment, she noticed an old newspaper blowing towards them. After quickly examining it, she showed it to the others.
“FAUCET CITY?!” said Bill.
“And look, it’s today’s date!” said Mary.
“We need more information guys, this is getting weird! I thought I saw a library not far from here, maybe we can find out something.” Said Freddy.
Unbenownsed to them, as they went toward the library, a black van was following them.

At the library, the kids made some more startling discoveries.
“Hey, check this out!” said Mary reading a history book. According to this, during World War Two, it was the AMERICANS who invaded the Japaneese naval base at Pearl Harbor!”
“Your kidding!” said Freddy. After looking at the book, he concurred. “I don’t believe it, and get this, at the time, the president was Al Capone, and his Vice President was John Dillinger…”
As the two were talking, Billy was reading through some recent periodicals, trying to find out more about that weird building, and the energy shield. Finally, he came across an article which grabbed his attention. TERROR FAMILY IMPOSES NEW TAX ON SHIELD. It came with an accompanying photo, which included those tiger people he saw earlier. This time, they seemed to be flanking…
Him?
Before he could indicate to the others, one of the librarians stormed over to their table.
“Alright, pay up!” he said angrily.
“Um, excuse us?”
“You know the rules, what do you think this is, a free library?” he snapped, indicating to a sign.

LIBRARY RATES
30 MINUTES = $1
ADDITIONAL HALF HOURS = $2.50

“C’mon, pay up!”
“Alright, I’ll take it guys!” said Mary reaching into her billfold. “Will this do?” she said, handing him some bills.
As the librarian examined the bills, his eyes widened. “WHAT ARE YOU TRYING TO PULL?” he said throwing the bills back at Mary.
“But I thought…”
“Don’t give me that!” he said pushing her.
“Hey, leave her alone!” said Freddy moving to her side.
“GET OUT OF MY WAY!” said the librarian. He then kicked one of Freddy’s braces from under him, causing to fall.
“FREDDY!” wailed Mary, rushing to him.
Freddy, on the floor, and in pain, glanced angrily at the librarian.
“Captain Marvel” he muttered under his breath.
At that moment, the lightning transformed him into CM3. Noticing the commotion, the other patrons noticed the azure figure rising above the floor, arms crossed, near the now worried librarian.
Billy, covering his forehead with his hand, said his own magic word.
“Shazam.”
“Shazam.” Said Mary in unison.
As the lightning bolts transformed the twins, the people started to panic.
“Captain Terror!”
“It’s Bloody Mary! I’m out of here!”

A few seconds later, the librarian was on his knees.
“M-Major Terror… I’m sorry, I didn’t know…”
“What did you call me?”
“Um, Major Terror, sir?”
“It’s Captai- uh, CM3” said Freddy. “How could you kick a cripple?”
“I didn’t know, honestly, with these new taxes and fake bills, I didn’t know…”
“What do you mean, fake bills?” interrupted Mary.
“Please, don’t hurt me… I have a wife, kids… HURT THEM!!”
“What?!” said Mary in disgust. “What kind of person are you?”
“Guys, I hear sirens, lets get out of here.” Said Cap.
“But we didn’t do anything wrong!” said CM3.
“How about causing a disturbance?”
“But where will we go? What’s happening to us? Where are we?”
***Marvel Family*** said a voice in their heads.
“W-What was that?” said CM3.
***Only you can here us. Please make haste. Go to the alleyway out back. You will find us there.”***
The three heroes heeded the mysterious advice, and left the confused librarian, still kneeling, right where they left him.

A few seconds later, the trio went out to the back alley, to see three figures near a black van.
“We must hurry!” said one of the figures. “The Tawny are already on their way!”
“Tawny, as in… Mr. Tawny?” said Mary.
“Quickly! Into the van!” the man said. “There isn’t much time!”
As they entered the van, Cap asked “Who are you guys? What’s going on?”
“All will be explained soon, Captain Marvel. For now, we must avoid the Tawny.”
“Why?”
“For if they are here, Captain Terror cannot be far behind.”
“Captain Terror?”
Out of the shaded window of the van, Cap saw that they were passing by the front of the library. From their vantage point, they saw more of those tiger-guards trying to control the rioters.
Then, they stood at attention when, from out of the sky, a solitary figure flew down.
As the being turned to asses the situation, Captain Marvel received another shock.
“He looks just like you!” said Mary.
“That… is Captain Terror!” said the man who helped them.

Captain Terror arrived as soon as he heard news of this riot. If this was another pathetic uprising, heads will roll, he thought as he entered the building.
He approached a pair of Tawny who were interrogating a librarian.
“Report!” he ordered.
“We have monitored a videotape of the incident, and have found something most curious, master.” Said a Tawny. “Observe.”
As the tape played, he saw the events of half an hour unfold. It then reached the incident in question, when noticed something unusual.
“What are Freddy and Mary doing here? And what’s with the crutches…”
That’s when he noticed the third figure.
Then Freddy’s transformation.
“What the…” he sputtered as the third figure on the screen mumbled something under his breath, and transformed…
“We also found this, Master.” Said another Tawny, handing him the bills Mary had dropped.
Examining them, they looked like regular bills, then he noticed the front…
Benedict Arnold was missing.
Terror looked at the screen again, and noticed that “he” was talking to a librarian.
The same one that was in front of him, on his knees.
“What happened?” he said icily.
“Please forgive me, I didn’t know it wasn’t…”
“WHAT THE F***K HAPPENED” he said lifting him up by the collar.
“I didn’t know, I mean they didn’t pay, and I didn’t know they weren’t you…” the librarian sputtered.
Terror looked at the monitor again. “You saw him change…”
“You mean the other boy? Yes I did. I mean, I didn’t know he was… um… Mr. Batson… But that would mean…”
“You know.” He said calmly. “Bad news for you.” He grinned.
“But I have a wife, children. Please, take them…”
“But they don’t know my secret, now do they?” he said as he snapped the librarian’s neck.
The Tawny looked at Captain Terror expectantly, as he dropped the twitching body.
“Bon appetite!” he said as he flew back to WIZZ tower.
The Tawny, already drooling, hunched over the corpse and started to dig in.

THE ROCK OF ETERNITY

After many hours, Shazam’s patience had paid off. The Marvels were still siphoning his power, but they seemed to do so from what appeared to be another dimension. After their latest call for the power, the old wizard tried to trace it through this mysterious plane.
However, as he did so, someone, or something tried to resist his power…

THE CHASM OF INFINITY

After many hours, Mazahs observed the mysterious events in Faucet with amazement and concern. Where did these children come from? How did they come to possess this power? In all his years, the old wizard had never seen anything like this.
It was then that he felt another disturbance.
As he adjusted the historama to investigate, he detected the source. The device adjusted to show an ancient bearded figure from another plane, trying to cast a spell.
In response, Mazahs set up a barrier…

For hours, the two wizards tried to outdo the other, with spells, conjurings, mind control, and barriers of sorts. However, the results were the same. Neither wizard would have an advantage over the other. Finally, Shazam tried to break the stalemate with common reason.
“I don’t know who you are…” he stated, “but it is clear neither of us can win this battle. If you consider yourself a being of reason perhaps we can have a civilized discussion.”
After a few moments, Mazahs relented, and dropped the barrier. Soon, each wizard’s histogram adjusted to view the other.
“I am Mazahs! Master of the Chasm of Infinity. Who are you?”
“I am Shazam. Guardian of the Rock of Eternity. Are you the one responsible for abducting the Marvels?”
“So they are yours!” said the gnarled wizard. “I am not responsible for their abduction.”
“Then may I at least try to locate them?” said Shazam.
After a pause, he responded. “You have my permission to view! Nothing further.”
“I bid you thanks.” Said Shazam as he proceeded to find the Marvels.
**He cannot be trusted** Replied a mysterious being mentally.
Shazam quickly adjusted the histogram to view the source of this voice without alerting Mazahs. Whoever it was responded from what appeared to be a solid crystal barrier. He would remember this location for future reference as he tried to locate the Marvels.

WIZZ TOWER

After he returned, Captain Terror summoned the rest of his ‘family’.
Major Terror responded immediately. Bloody Mary had to be escorted to him by a group of Tawny.
When she arrived, she glared angrily at Terror.
“I WAS BUSY!!!”
“Boss Dudley can wait Mary.”
“THEY THREW HIM OUT OF A WINDOW!!!”
“It was only two stories master. He is certain to survive…” said a Tawny.
“You promised you wouldn’t see him again…” said Major Terror.
“Don’t worry Freddy.” Said Mary. “I just see him for laughs, nothing more.”
“But he’s a pervert…”
“WILL YOU GUYS CAN IT?!?” Said Captain Terror. “This is serious.” I just came across something at the library.”
“Yeah, they’re called books!” said Mary sarcastically.
“ALLRIGHT!!! THAT’S IT!!” said Captain Terror as he lunged toward Mary. Immediately, Major Terror stood between them trying to separate them. At that moment however, all three of them felt a sharp pain in their chests as their symbols lit up.
As the pain subsided, Captain Terror continued. “Just watch the Video.” He said as he flicked a switch.

After the video ended the two villains were flabbergast.
“W-who were they?” sputtered Major Terror.
“They look just like us! Powers and all! Except what’s with that Satan awful white dress…”
“I think were dealing with reversed versions of us. Like that Justice League a few months back.”
“But how do they get here? And what do they want with us?”
“How the f**k should I know? Either way we should be careful. We don’t want to get trapped like the Crime Syndicate was. As soon as I finish inspecting the south sector generator, we should find them, and eliminate them!” said Captain Terror icily.

SOMEWHERE UNDERNEATH FAUCET CITY

“The Faucet Resistance?” said Captain Marvel.
“Yes,” said the person who identified himself as Professor Green. We have dedicated ourselves to the overthrow of Captain Terror, and to end the tyranny he represents.”
“Ours was a peaceful city, until the day THEY arrived. It started with the Captain, the construction of the shield, and then the formation of his Tawny units. Major Terror and Bloody Mary followed soon after.” Said another member.
Cap couldn’t believe it. Just the idea of this reversed world, heck, even reversed versions of themselves seemed hard to grasp.
“But why do you need us?” asked CM3.
Professor Green responded. “Recently, our organization has learned of the existence of parallel dimensions. We had chanced upon yours, and learned of your many wondrous exploits.” He continued, “We have also made some interesting discoveries concerning your powers.” He then flicked on a monitor.
It was cued at a point where Captain Marvel changed back to Billy. “We had come across this moment, when we realized that your ‘alter ego’ bears a striking resemblance to Captain Terror’s ‘spokesman’ William Batson.”
“I guess my, I mean OUR secret’s out.” said Cap sarcastically.
“Well, yes, however, this is the reason why we need your help. For you see, Captain Terror maintains his entire security system from his heavily guarded WIZZ tower. Only those with the correct biological signatures can gain access to the building unchallenged, as we learned the hard way.” Said Professor Green.
“What’s with the shield?” asked Mary.
The professor paused before answering. “As I mentioned, Terror maintains a tight control of the city. He uses the city to control people entering and leaving the city.” He flicked another switch. “Here is another example.”
The monitor showed a scene where a vehicle tried to break through a blockade. After crashing through, it pulled over to the side where some occupants fled through an open field. There was a closeup where Tawny creatures tackled some of the occupants. The few who alluded them managed to make it a few yards, when they ran into what appeared to be an azure wall. A few seconds later, all that remained of the victims were charred skeletons.
Mary gasped in horror.
The tape continued to show similar incidents. One scene showed Captain Terror forcibly breaking up what appeared to be a food riot. One grisly scene showed him lifting an elderly man above his head, snapping his spine, and throwing it towards the rioters. Another scene showed both Major Terror and Bloody Mary terrorizing innocent civilians in a run down neighborhood. Each scene showed the horrors brought on by these villains, and the misery they brought to the people of Faucet.
Professor Green then snapped off the tape. “Will you help us Captain Marvel?”

The three heroes discussed their options.
“After seeing those poor people suffer, how can we say no?” said Mary.
“Well they say they can bring us back, after we defeat these guys, the question is, can we?” asked CM3.
“I don’t know, but I guess we can try. These people are counting on us.” Said Cap.

A few minutes later, they returned.
“So what’s the plan Professor?” asked Cap.

THE OUTSKIRTS OF FAUCET CITY

“Purpose of visit?”
“Business.”
“Duration?”
“24 hours”
“Cargo?”
“Machine parts.”
“Any volatile chemicals, transmitting equipment, or weaponry of any sort?”
“No.”
“He is clear. His cargo matches his manifesto.” Said the Tawny inspecting the vehicle.
“Very well, Mr, um, Lex, welcome to Faucet.”
“Thank you.”

A few minutes later, Alexander Luthor was in the city proper. Time was short, he thought. He had wasted enough time getting through the city security. If that wasn’t enough, he was unable to use his regular equipment without alerting Captain Terror and his security forces.
His main goal was to somehow contact the Marvel family, wherever they were. He expected them to make their move soon. The question was when and how. Fortunately, he had an ally of sorts in the city.

As he drove through the city, he couldn’t help but ponder. “This used to be a nice place,” he thought to himself, ”before the Terrors turned it into this hellhole!”
It wasn’t too long ago, he thought, when this place was truly a shining example of what could be right in the world. The law worked, corruption was unheard of, and it was safe to walk these streets. These streets, which were now overrun with corruption at the highest level. It was almost as if the city were under some kind of mystical curse… but no. Luthor was a man of reason, not of mystical mumbo jumbo.
It was then that he arrived at his destination.

After parking his vehicle, he approached a rundown warehouse. After knocking, he was greeted by a homely young lady.
“Luthor!” she said.
“Hello Georgia, is your father in?”
“Um, of course! He’s downstairs, just follow me.”
Luthor followed the girl through the warehouse, which had been partly converted to a makeshift hospital. “It’s been pretty hard these past few weeks. Captain Terror recently imposed a new tax, and his security forces have become more ruthless than ever.”
They soon reached the basement, where they found him tinkering on a device.
“Hello Thad!” said Luthor.
The old man looked up, revealing his wizened bearded face.
“Luthor! What brings you here?” said Professor Sivana.
“I need your help old friend.”

ONE MILE AWAY

“Alright, move them crates! We got some business this afternoon, and we gotta get moving.
“Sure thing Stinko.” Said Weezer testily.
On the floor, ‘Stinko’s’ gang continued to move the confiscated foodstuffs into the warehouse. With the new taxes imposed by the city, he expected to make a killing with this merchandise.
“Weezer, you are not listening!”
“What is it?” said Weezer with clenched teeth.
“The perishables go on top as not to be crushed by the heavier objects. Can’t you get that straight?”
“Alright! Alright!” he said, moving the crates to their proper positions.
“No, no not like that, like this! Geez, you’re so retarded!”
At that, Weezer tensed even further. Stinko could only push him so far…
Just then, there was a disturbance outside. A few seconds later, three of Stinko’s guards flew through a window onto the main floor. Bloody Mary and Major Terror flew in, through the window after them. Some of Stinko’s lieutenants, grabbed their weapons while others remained curiously still.

It was a short fight.

A few minutes later, Bloody Mary held Stinko, bruised and beaten beyond recognition, by his shirt collar.
“Wassa big idea Mary?” moaned Stinko. “I ain’t done nothing wrong.”
“Then how do you explain all this?” said Mary.
“But Terror an I had an understandin… I supply him with info, and he leaves me alone…
“Yes, you had an understanding with CAPTAIN TERROR…” said Mary, snapping his neck, “Not with me and the Major.” She finished, dropping him.
Weezer walked up to her. “Thanks Mary.”
“No problem Weezer, he was getting on my nerves anyway. You do remember your part of the deal, don’t you?”
“Yeah, make it look like an accident. Are you sure we won’t get any trouble from the Captain?”
“You may get a Tawny or two, but if you stick to our plan, it should be all right.”
“Sure thing. See you later!”

Shortly after Bloody Mary and Major Terror left, the gang straightened up the mess, and work resumed.
Only with Weezer in charge.
He smiled. “Poor Stinko” he thought. Guess you just didn’t cut it as a leader.
Just then, he saw a gang member move some crates.
“Skeeter, what are you doing? The perishables are supposed to go on top, so they won’t be crushed…”

“I’m uncomfortable with this Mary.” said Major Terror as they flew back to WIZZ tower, “It’s bad enough we’re behind his back as it is, but something like this, offing Stinko like that, he’ll know something’s up!”
“I told you not to worry about it sweetie pie!” said Mary smiling. “He may blow his top, but he won’t think much of it. As far as he’s concerned, lowlifes like the gangs are nothing.” She continued, circling him in a playful fashion. “He’s more concerned with those jerks in city hall, and that’s the problem. The REAL power lies in the streets and alleys. Heck, you should know! We both grew up down there!”
“How could I forget?”
“And once our power is secure, the walls’ll come tumbling down!” she said, hugging him while in flight.



THE ROCK OF ETERNITY

Unbenownsed to the two lovers, their actions were being watched with great concern by Shazam. While searching for HIS children, he was astonished to find these duplicates. Even more astonishing was the world where they resided. From what he observed, this world was opposite in almost every aspect. From Mazahs, to Faucet City, to WIZZ tower…

To Captain Terror and his ‘family’.

It was then that he realized he was being observed by Mazahs through the histogram.

“So they are… yours?” inquired the good wizard.
“Yes” said the evil wizard with a voice that sounded like it came from the pits of hell. “They are my champions on this plane. I started with Captain Terror, a callow youth I found on the run from the authorities. I gave him powers beyond his wildest dreams, and safety from the authorities, which he used to maintain a foothold of power in this world. In exchange for his ‘services’ of course.” Said the wizard smiling. Major Terror and Bloody Mary came later. They too have proven most valuable to my purpose.”
“You are not even concerned that they have thoughts to betray you?” Inquired Shazam.
At this, the evil wizard gave a most hideous laugh. “Betray me?” he cackled, “They spend so much of their time and energy plotting against, outdoing, and backstabbing each other, they hardly have time for me! It was the reason I had chosen them, giving them the lure and illusion of power and respect that they envy in their youth, while at the same time, I manipulate their actions, by setting them up against each other!”
“Through the young girl, I assume!” said Shazam.
“Yes, she has been most ‘influential’ to my cause without realizing it. I am far pleased with them than my ‘previous’ attempt.” he continued, “It all works out in the end,… cousin!” said Mazahs icily.
Shazam winced at that last remark. He pondered. He had spent his entire existence defending mankind from the various evils that threatened his world. Was this world the result of evil unchecked?
**he is a crafty one,** replied the mysterious being from the crystal barrier warily “the way he manipulates people into doing his bidding without their knowledge.**
**I assume you are his ‘previous’ attempt?** replied Shazam mentally.
**That I am. Be wary of him, he is a master of deception and lies. I made the mistake of attacking him directly.** he paused, ** and this is my punishment.**
Shazam made a note of this. At that moment, he felt another call for his power. He adjusted the historama, when he finally located Billy. “At last!” thought the wizard, relieved that he was safe. Although he wondered why he was in a limousine…

“We are almost there Mr. Batson.” Said the driver of the limo.
“Please, just Billy.”
While they drove, he made a final check. Yep, he had the disk, and the ‘device’.
The disk contained a virus program, which, when activated through a local terminal, would hopefully disrupt the security field within WIZZ tower.

The part Billy felt uncomfortable with, was the timing.

Billy’s ‘opposite’ was currently away from the tower, inspecting one of the generators, which powered the shield, and Freddy & Mary’s equivalents were patrolling the city. Professor Green wanted to take this opportunity to disable the system while they were away.

He also felt uncomfortable with entering the tower.

Because of his close resemblance to Willy, he was the only one who might be able to enter WIZZ tower without being searched or questioned. Professor Green also seemed confident that his ‘bio-signatures’ would give him complete access to the building’s resources.
Both Freddy and Mary were assigned the task of helping the resistance league take care of Terror. They planned to ambush him while he was on the way to the generator.

He hoped they would be okay.

He kept saying to himself, that if something went wrong, all he had to do was say his magic word, although it might jeopardize the plan.

There was also the ‘device’.

He helped Professor Green test it a few hours ago. It was a device. When pressed against an individual, would transfer him or her to another location. That location being a specially constructed energy cage, back at the base. After testing it on Cap, he was convinced that it would hold the Terrors while the resistance overtook the tower, and liberated the city.
Billy looked out of the window. All around, he saw the pain and misery the Terrors had inflicted on these poor people. More than ever, he wished he had the power of Achilles to give him the courage to go through with this.

“We have arrived Billy.” Said the driver.
“Well, here goes nothing.” Thought Billy as he exited the limousine and headed towards the ominous WIZZ tower.

Billy calmly walked up the steps while avoiding the gaze of the “Tawny”. As he reached the entranceway, they snapped smartly at attention. Unsure how to act, he calmly passed them, into the building.
When he entered through the sliding door, he found himself in a small vestibule. Immediately, the lights dimmed, and strange rays flickered all around him, as if they were trying to scan him. A few tense seconds later, the flickering stopped, and another door opened ahead of him. “I guess my biosignature checks out!” thought Billy nervously, as he walked through.

The lobby was something else.

It was HUGE!

Nothing could have prepared him for the sheer scope of this building. Billy likened it to the film “Brazil” mixed in with M.C. Esher, but even that couldn’t do it justice. He entire area seemed to hum with an odd power, either mystical or technological, he couldn’t be certain. In certain areas, there were more of the “Tawny”, either doing maintenance, or other chores. None of them seemed to notice him, which was a relief.
Billy looked around. Sure enough, he found what he was looking for. At the far end of this HUGE lobby, he found a gargantuan frieze of Captain Terror over an entranceway, which would lead to the terminal he sought. The sooner he was done with this, he thought, the sooner he was out of here.
As he approached the entrance, he gazed into the menacing face of Terror. The resemblance between him and Marvel were impossibly striking.
“Back already bro?” said a voice behind him.

Billy froze and calmly looked around.

There, hovering a few feet behind him, was Major Terror!

He glanced at Major Terror. Aside from the goatee and the quasi futuristic uniform, he was a perfect match for Freddy!
“Uh, yeah…” said Billy calmly. “I finished early, and thought I’d come back.”
“Yeah, Mary and I finished up early too.” He responded. “We had followed up on Stinko’s operation, and, it looked like he was holding back…” he continued calmly, “…so Mary took care of him.” He seemed apologetic when he continued, “I hope you’re not upset.”
“Um, not at all, good job!” he said smiling nervously. “he was getting on my nerves anyway!” he continued, hoping he would be satisfied with the response, and go away.
“Oh, thanks bro!” he smiled as he flew upwards to the higher levels of the building.
As soon as he was out of sight, Billy gave a sigh of relief. “That was too close!” he thought as he continued towards the terminal. These past few seconds seemed like the last five minutes of Midnight Express.

Five minutes later, Major Terror found Bloody Mary lying on a recliner in the recreation lounge. “What took you so long lover?” she asked.
“I ran into Will in the lobby.”
“Oh? I thought he’d be stuck inspecting the south sector generator for the rest of the day.”
“Well, I guess he gave up and came home early.” He responded, stroking her hair.
“Strange, that’s not like him.”
“Forget him.” He said kissing her gently on the lips. “He wasn’t even concerned when I told him about our run in with Stinko!”
Mary froze. “You told him? It was supposed to be a secret!”
“Uh, well, I didn’t tell him much…”
Mary sighed. “What an idiot.” she thought. “Well, there’s always next time. Besides, it’s not as if she STILL couldn’t have a laugh…” she thought.
“I’ll bet he was fuming when you told him!” she said smiling.
“Not really, as a matter of fact, he seemed awfully pleased!”
She tensed. “What?”
“He even forgave me when I told him we took care of him.”
There was an ominous pause.
“Wait a minute… Willy FORGAVE you?”
“Um yes, why? Is something wrong…?”
She stood up. “Go to the control center. Contact the south sector. See if he’s still there.”
“But I just saw him…”
“JUST DO IT!” she yelled. “I want to check this out.” She said as she flew out of the room.
Major Terror shrugged his shoulders and flew out of the room.

Billy finally found the terminal he was looking for in what appeared to be a museum of some sort amongst some wax figures. He pulled the disk out of the satchel and placed it in the drive. So far so good.
As the machine started up he examined some of the wax figures (at least he HOPED they were wax). Some seemed vaguely familiar. The one nearest him depicted two blue armored figures. They were labeled ‘Sir Azure and Blue Boy’. Another, an armor suit was labeled ‘Dr. Torpedo’. Two others, dressed in military like gear were labeled ‘Sonar’, and ‘Spy Savior’.
A few feet away, he examined some other figures in glass cases. A sign above was labeled ‘conquests’. One case contained what appeared to be a battered robot labeled ‘Mr. Molecule’. Another contained a withered female husk, labeled ‘Aunt Athena’.
In the center of this gruesome exhibit, he noticed the charred remains of a skeleton. The inscription read, ‘My dear Uncle Cratchit, My FIRST conquest’.
Billy had seen enough. After hearing the terminal warm up, he decided to get this over with.

As he approached the terminal, he froze.

There, waiting for him was Mary’s double.

Bloody Mary!

“I knew it!” she said as she lunged towards him.

“SHAZAM!!!”

Instantly, Billy transformed. And just in time. The force of Bloody Mary’s attack drove the two super powered beings crashing amongst the exhibits, through a wall, back into the main hallway. Almost immediately, Mary tried to subdue her opponent, not realizing that he was impervious to her attacks.
After rolling with a punch, a group of Tawny who had seen the commotion, tried to tackle him, clawing and biting. Cap took care of them with ease, flinging some of them away, and rendering others unconscious with a few careful blows. After the last one was taken care of, he noticed Bloody Mary gearing up for another attack.
Captain Marvel immediately assessed the situation. In his experience with equally powered foes, he realized that sheer force would not help him. Fortunately, as Billy, he picked up some tricks while practicing judo at the local community center. All he needed to do was wait until his opponent attacked, and use her force against her. After putting a few yards between them in the air, he finally had an opportunity.
“You’re not getting away that easy!” threatened Bloody Mary as she lunged toward him at lightning speed.
Almost immediately, Cap sidestepped his opponent, grabbed her by the shoulders, and sent her lunging toward the frieze of Captain Terror, where she shattered it on impact.
“Seems fitting!” Cap thought, as he flew back down towards the museum entrance.
Bloody Mary, however quickly recovered, and immediately chased Cap into the museum. “NOBODY DOES THAT TO ME!!!!!” she screamed.
Quickly, Cap flew back to the terminal where Billy left his satchel, which contained the device. After retrieving it, he flew into an open area.
Sure enough, Bloody Mary charged towards him with a force that could level a tank. With the speed of Mercury, he sidestepped, placed the device on her, and activated it…

FIVE MILES AWAY

Below Sivana’s lab, the two scientists were working feverishly on a makeshift device.
“So you say this ‘Marvel Family’ is a reversed version of the Terrors?” asked Sivana.
“Yes, from my understanding, they have the same principle ideals of the JLA. Once we make contact with them, we can take care of the Terrors, and then, hopefully, the CSA.”
“If we can find them first!” interjected Sivana. “Even if we complete this device on time, we need to know where they are in order to be successful.”
As he continued working on the device his hand slipped while adjusting a bolt. “DAMMIT!” he swore as he dropped his tool and kicked the device.
“Calm down Thad!” said Luthor .
“I’m sorry, I guess I’m just uptight about this whole affair.” Said the old scientist. “If only that accursed Terror hadn’t confiscated my original transfer device…”
“Don’t worry. With the two of us together, we can’t fail.”
“But look at what we have to work with!” he indicated towards his shoddy tools and materials in his lab. “Look at what I’ve been reduced to thanks to them!”
Luthor looked balefully at his old friend. Not too long ago, before the rise of the Terrors, heck before the rise of the Syndicate, he had been one of the world’s most promising scientists. In his early years, he recalled, he was able to land a position with a major defense contractor. Over time, however, he felt uncomfortable with his duties, having to design deadly weaponry and tools of mass destruction. Amidst heated arguments with his employers, he resigned, to fully commit himself to independent research in Faucet city. It was he, with the enthusiastic support of the city, who designed the force shield which would protect the city after the rise of the Crime Syndicate. However, it also saw the rise of Captain Terror, who not only drove the poor inventor underground, but twisted the purposes of his inventions, namely the force field, the cloning process (which would result in the Tawnys), and the transfer device, just to name a few.
“Is everything all right father?” said Georgia as she brought some coffee.
“Yes, everything’s fine. I’m just under some stress.” Said Sivana as he took a cup.
“Be careful!” she said as she kissed him and went back upstairs.

ONE MILE FROM THE SOUTH SECTOR GENERATOR

Behind a dividing wall, Mary Marvel and CM3 patiently awaited the limousine containing Terror, or rather, his alter ego. Not too far away, some resistance members waited nearby, ready to disable the vehicle, and subdue the occupants.
“I hope this works!” said CM3 breaking the silence.
“I just hope Billy’s all right.” Said Mary. “It still feels wrong, sending him in without powers.”
“Didn’t Professor Green suggest you to go as well?”
“Well, he was hoping one or the other might go. Billy volunteered. It’s just as well. There was no way I was going in that god awful black dress!”
CM3 laughed . “It wasn’t THAT bad!”
“Are you kidding? She looks so cheap! No taste whatsoever!”
“Allright allright, lets remember why we’re here.”
A few minutes later, she continued.
“That reminds me, do you find anything particularly odd about the resistance?”
“What do you mean?”
“I dunno, something in their attitude. I tried talking to a few of them last night, just to learn more about them, and they seemed, I dunno, kind of antisocial.”
“Now that you mentioned it, I had asked a few members if they would get any help from outside the city, and they seemed to avoid my question completely.”
“Yeah, you would think that this city was on its own.” She paused to change the subject. “I still can’t get over a reversed world.”
“I know what you mean. Say, I wonder if this is a hypertime?”
“A what?”
“A hypertime. Superboy was telling me about it the other day. It had something to do with parallel worlds and dimensions. Apparently, when he was exploring it, he had encountered different versions of himself.”
“Like Sliders?”
“I guess, anyway, he…”
“Shh, its coming!”
The two heroes paused as they observed a stretch limousine turn the bend, carrying its occupant, Willy Batson, AKA Captain Terror.

Inside the limo, Willy fumed. Here he was, wasting valuable time inspecting the generator, while a carbon copy of himself was running around.
“Sounds like one of Sivana’s crummy plots.” He pondered. If it wasn’t for the wizards ‘insistence’ that he personally inspect the generator, he would have nipped this in the bud, spoil Sivana’s plan, call it a day, and go home. But no, the old fart insisted that he waste time while everything was going to heaven.
“Just a reminder master…” said a Tawny. “you are scheduled to bring the antidote to the council members this afternoon.”
“Right!” he responded. Not that he cared. Still it keeps them in line…
At that moment, a bullet struck the plate glass on the windshield. As the vehicle skidded to the side, Willy noticed some armed gunmen firing from an abandoned structure.
“GET DOWN MASTER!” ordered a Tawny.
“Screw that!” he said. “MAZAHS!”
As he spoke his word, the magical flames came from below engulfing the vehicle. Moments later, it ignited the gas tank, causing a loud explosion. However, from the flames, the figure of Captain Terror rose up, scanning the area, looking for a fight.
“Allright!” he grinned.

Terror immediately flew towards the structure. Whoever they were, they F***ed with the wrong person. However, when he got near, he was immediately tackled by a strange blue/scarlet streak.
Split seconds later, the two figures crashed into an abandoned warehouse. At this point, Terror finally got a clear view of his attacker.
His Brother?
Using the combined cunning of Set, and the fortitude of Ares, he quickly assessed the situation. It was obviously one of those duplicates he saw the other day. No matter. Whoever he was made a HUGE mistake…

As CM3 tried to subdue his opponent, he tried reaching for the transporting device. However, as he did so, he became vulnerable to a lunge by Terror, who proceeded to flip him away, sending him straight towards a support beam. Quickly, the young hero tried to get his bearings when all of a sudden the ceiling collapsed, covering him with almost one ton of rubble.
“That ought to hold him!” thought Terror out loud as he flew outside.

A few seconds later, CM3 crawled out of the rubble. After making a quick check, however, he realized, to his horror, that the transfer device was damaged!
Quickly, he flew outside, into the back lot. All of a sudden, after flying a few feet, he heard a huge rush of wind. Looking to the side of him, he was struck by a flying auto hulk, apparently thrown by Terror. As CM3 quickly recovered from this attack, he looked around, trying to find the villain. Instantaneously, he saw him behind him swinging a huge metal girder at his head. The force of this blow sent the young hero flying back into the building.
“I’ve got to hand it to you!” said Captain Terror “You certainly have more guts than my brother!”

Inside, CM3 recovered from the latest blow. So far things were really going against him. If he needed to stop Terror, he needed another box, and then he needed a better plan.
All of a sudden, he heard some movement nearby. Had Terror found him already? Quickly he hid behind some crates, and waited. From his vantage point, he finally saw the source of movement.
“Freddy?” the shadow whispered.
“Mary, over here!” he whispered back.
“I saw you fighting outside, what happened?”
“He’s worse than I thought! I couldn’t get near him! And worse yet, the box is wrecked!”
“You can still use mine…”
“But how can I get near him?”, he pondered looking around.
It was then that he noticed the labels on the crates, “MANNEQUINS”.
He smiled. This gave him an idea.

Moments later, Terror entered the building, intent on wiping the floor with this upstart. He couldn’t have gone far. Sure enough, from a nearby room, he heard some movement.
Quickly, the world’s mightiest menace flew into what appeared to be a huge storage area. Looking around, he finally came upon a shadowy image with a red cape hiding behind some crates.
“I got you now!” he thought triumphantly as he flew towards the image with blinding speed. Instantaneously, he tackled the being, only to receive a shock.
He was wooden.
On immediate inspection he found it to be a clothes store dummy with a red cape tied around it.
A second later, a white streak flew from the rafters, tackling Terror pinning him to the floor. “NOW!!” shouted the assailant.
As Terror struggled with this new assailant, he saw Major Terror’s equivalent dashing towards him with blinding speed. Upon reaching him, he pressed a strange glowing box on him, and activated it…

WIZZ TOWER

“Unit four, come in! come in!”
Nothing but static.
Major Terror was worried. He had contacted the south sector generator. According to them, Willy never arrived. He then contacted the group in his limo. So far, no response. Worse yet, he had been informed of an intruder in the building. After finding the incident on a security monitor, he was shocked to see his brother’s equivalent fighting Mary! Immediately, he took action.
“Send unit four to the museum to assist Mary!” he commanded.
“Unit four was with Master William.” A Tawny responded.
“Um, I mean unit five!”
“Unit five has been stationed at the north generator master.”
“Damn, ok, who’s available?”
“Unit eight has been stationed here…”
“Good send them!”
“…but they have been restricted to maintenance duty.”
“SEND ANY AVAILABLE SECURITY UNITS TO THE MUSEUM AND…”
It was then that the alarm sounded on the security system.
“A quick examination revealed that a virus had somehow penetrated the security system. Immediately, he gave instructions to the Tawny.
“The security system is down! Quick, lock the data banks…”
At that moment however, the Tawny dropped to all fours, and started to growl. Major Terror looked on in shock as the other Tawny’s in the room did likewise. After a quick realization, he determined that the subroutine that broadcasted to the mental frequency of the Tawny’s reactions, was down as well.
Quickly, he flew to the other end of the control room, to shut down the data banks. After a quick inspection, he was relieved to find it wasn’t affected yet. Quickly he took it offline, encrypted it and let out a deep breath. At least he did SOMETHING right.
Just then, he heard a loud rumble that came from the main lobby.
“No, this couldn’t be happening!” he thought.
With the speed of Hugi, he quickly rushed out of the control center to check out this latest disturbance.

OUTSIDE WIZZ TOWER

After taking care of Terror, CM3 and Mary Marvel quickly rejoined the resistance group at WIZZ tower, where they started their attack. Both heroes were relieved to learn that both Captain Terror and Bloody Mary were imprisoned in the energy cage. All that remained was to join up with Billy, subdue the final member, and the tower would be under their control.

Inside the tower, Captain Marvel heard the commotion. It sounded like Professor Green commenced the attack. That meant that CM3 and Mary had finally taken care of Captain Terror. He also noticed that the lights were randomly turning on and off. It looked like the virus was starting to take affect. So far so good. With the security system down, everything was going as planned. He then proceeded to the front of the building where he hoped to find the rest of the group.
When he go there, he saw that the resistance made it to the front lobby, with the help of the other Marvels, subduing any security devices and Tawny.
“You made it!” said Mary, hugging him.
“There’s one more, Major Terror. I think he’s in the upper levels. This place is HUGE, so we better split up.”
“Right. Said CM3. Lets meet back here in five minutes if we don’t see anything.”
Immediately, the three heroes began the search. As soon as they left, Professor Green gave the final orders.
“Everything is in place. As soon as the last Terror is neutralized, we will proceed to control center where we will begin the final phase of the operation.
All the resistance members acknowledged in eerie unison.

In the upper levels, Major Terror panicked. What happened to the security system? Where did the stranger and Mary go? What happened to Willy? Everything was going from bad to worse, and he couldn’t take it. If only Mary was here, she’d have some idea what to do he thought.
At that moment, he noticed the lights flickering.
Great, he thought, just great. Now the power’s down too!
As soon as the lights flickered off, he tried to navigate in the dark, when he noticed a familiar silhouette flying nearby.
Mary! He thought as he flew near the shadow.
“Thank Satan I found you! What’s going…”
It was then that he saw her in the light.
“You’re not Mary!” he said nervously.
Instantly, he lunged at her. “WHAT HAVE YOU DONE TO HER!?!” he said hysterically.
Mary quickly dodged. This wasn’t going to be easy. She thought.

Nearly ten stories above, both Captain Marvel and CM3 met in what appeared to be a huge lab.
“You weren’t kidding about this place!” Said CM3. “He could be anywhere!”
“At least those tiger guards are neutralized. They seem to have lost their intelligence. The virus must have affected them somehow.”
At that moment, both heroes heard what appeared to be fighting a few levels below them.
“Sounds like we found him. Lets go!” said Captain Marvel.

Several levels below, Mary Marvel was trying desperately to avoid Major Terror’s frenzied attacks.
“Calm down!” she said. “Your friends are safe! We don’t want to hurt you, but…
“DON’T LIE TO ME!” he yelled as he again lunged towards her, finally grabbing her.
At that moment, however, Captain Marvel and CM3 finally arrived. Upon seeing the struggle, the two heroes pulled the frenzied villain away from her.
After a brief struggle, Major Terror regarded his captors. The one in the red outfit was almost a spitting image of his brother. But the one in blue…
Both CM3 and Major Terror stared at each other. Like the opposites they were, they couldn’t help but size each other up. Major Terror saw in his opposite someone who was more confident in who he was, while CM3 saw someone who had little pride in himself, despite his powers and abilities.
Captain Marvel finally broke the silence. “It’s over. Captain Terror and Bloody Mary are already in the custody of the resistance. They plan to take down the shield and finally end your reign of terror.”
“What are you talking about?” said Major Terror.
“We’ve seen what you and your friends have done to this city, what you’ve done to these poor people, and we’ve come to put a stop to it.” Said Mary.
“You’re crazy!” spat Major Terror. “You don’t know what you’re doing! If the shield goes down then…”
At that moment, he was covered with a strange green energy. Moments later, he disappeared.
As the confused heroes looked around, they saw Professor Green nearby holding a strange smoking device.
“Our group has finally accessed the primary control center.” He said. “Come this way.”

Soon, they were in the control center. All around, members of the resistance were busy accessing the control panels. Professor Green pointed to one in particular. “Captain Terror uses that one to broadcast his demands to the city.”
Captain Marvel smiled. This was up his alley. “Allow me!” he said as he activated the controls.

Outside the great tower, most of the populace regarded the events of the past few minutes with confusion. What was happening? They thought. Even more disturbing, how would it affect them?
At that moment, the TV monitors in the vicinity flickered, revealing Captain Terror, most likely issuing another demand.
But he appeared different somehow…

SIVANA’S LAB

Both Luthor and the world’s wisest scientist worked feverishly to complete their device. This was taking longer than expected, thought Luthor.
“We should at least test the device before we proceed.” Said Sivana.
“We don’t have much time. It’s been almost 24 hours.”
“But there’s a risk of disorientation and mental imbalance…” continued the gnomish scientist.
At that moment, Georgia came down. “Father! Quickly! Turn on the TV! Something’s happening at the tower!”
As Sivana turned on a nearby TV, the three of them saw Terror. Except something was wrong…
“People of Faucet,” said the person. “The Terrors are no more…”
“Oh no,” thought Luthor “not now…”

SOMWHERE UNDERGROUND

In an energy cage located at the former headquarters of the resistance, Captain Terror Was fuming. One second, he was fighting some upstart, the next he was stuck here, somehow immobile. From the corner of his eye, he found that he was not alone. He saw that His brother and that bitch Mary were also imprisoned with him.
“How could this happen?” he thought to himself.
At that moment, from outside, he noticed a TV monitor flicker to life. On the screen, Terror was shocked to notice his double! After carefully adjusting his senses, he was able to make out his speech. It sounded like he was asking for cooperation or something. Then he said something else which caught his attention.
“With the cooperation of the Faucet resistance, we have subdued the threat of Captain Terror and his family…”
The FAUCET resistance? What was he talking about?
“But now we are ready to disable the symbol of your enslavement…” said Marvel.
This couldn’t have been Sivana’s work, thought Terror. And the city council would be crazy to try anything while they still didn’t receive the antidote from him…
“And the icon of Captain Terror’s dominance of the city…”
Then it occurred to him.
“We are ready to take down the shield once and for all!”
Ultraman! Thought Terror. It HAD to be! He fumed as he helplessly viewed these events unfold.
After looking behind him, ‘Captain Marvel’ continued. “It is done. You are free!”

The shield was down.

THE ROCK OF ETERNITY

Shazam regarded the unfolding events with extreme satisfaction. He was relieved to learn that his children not only had matters under control, but were able to subdue this profound evil with surprisingly little effort. All that would remain was for them to return to their home universe.
It was then that he noticed that he was being observed by his ‘equivalent’.
“It appears that your ‘champions’ have fallen!” said the good wizard.
Mazahs stared at him with an eerie calm.
“You have failed. The people of Faucet are free. They will no longer be enslaved by your twisted minions.”
At this, Mazahs gave an eerie laugh.
“Enslaved? You thought that my children had enslaved them?”
“Of course!” said Shazam with slight concern.
“You ignorant fool! Do you actually believe that those people would go out of their way to support the Terrors and their shield if it meant their own enslavement?”
At this, Shazam was very concerned.
“The shield was never designed to prevent the people from escaping!” he continued. “It was designed to prevent the Crime Syndicate from coming in!”
“The Crime Syndicate?” said Shazam with great unease. He adjusted the historama to observe the current situation, and was distressed at what he saw…

WIZZ TOWER

Something was wrong.
The Marvels were monitoring the activity of the people on the streets. At first they appeared to be absolutely calm. Then, as the realization that the shield was down, they seemed apprehensive. Then for some reason, some people started panicing. Then the panic turned into minor skirmishes. A few minutes later, it turned into a small scale riot. People everywhere, uncertain what was happening, were trying to get off the streets.
“What’s happening?” said Mary. “Don’t they realize they’re free?”
After a few more minutes, it started to get really ugly. The three heroes watched in horror as a few people, rushing away, deliberately trampled over small children.
“I don’t understand…” said Captain Marvel as he started to look behind him. “Professor Green, maybe if you talked to them…”
Then he froze.
Professor Green, and the other resistance members were jerking uncontrollably. He rushed toward the professor to see what was wrong.
“What’s happ…” then he noticed his face was melting, revealing a green face underneath.
Then at that moment, his body sparked, and caught on fire.
“BRANIAC---UNITS---DISENGAGING---“ said the automations in unison as they also disintegrated.
“What’s going on?” said CM3.
“They were robots?” said Mary.
“Guys, I don’t like this. I don’t know what’s happening, but we’ve got to get to the bottom of this.”
At that, they quickly left to try to get the situation under control.

As soon as they got outside, the situation worsened. Riot police had apparently been called in to control this futile situation.
“Everyone remain calm!” Cap said to a group of people. “The Terrors are gone! The shield is down! You’re free.”
“Get away from us!” said someone from the mob as he threw a paving stone at Cap.
At that, one of the riot police struck the individual. Cap immediately tried to separate them when all of a sudden there was a rush of scarlet wind.
It was then that he realized that the cop he had separated was bleeding.
His throat had been slit.
After looking around to figure out what caused this, he noticed that what ever it was had killed the other officers.
“THEYR’E HERE!!!!” said someone in the crowd. Immediately, the riot worsened as more people tried to flee.
“What’s happening?!?” said Cap out loud.
Then, a split second later, from the sky, an azure force collided into the world’s mightiest mortal, embedding him in the pavement.
Something faster than a speeding bullet.
Something more powerful than a locomotive.
Something that stood above, just a few feet where Cap lay in shock , someone with a menacing grin, who wore a blue bodysuit, which sported a large unfriendly U.
“I’ve waited a long time to do that!” said Ultraman menacingly.

Captain Marvel rose to meet this new threat. However, before he could take action, he suddenly became entangled by some sort of golden lasso.
“ON YOUR KNEES!!” said a husky female voice behind him.
All of a sudden, Cap involuntarily lost his balance and unwittingly complied. “He’s all yours hon!. Said Superwoman. And at that, Ultraman kicked him hard in the face.
Seeing this, Mary and CM3 immediately started to rush to his aid. However, they barely got far, when they became entangled by strange green tentacles which suddenly appeared out of nowhere! While the two heroes struggled with this new threat, a menacing voice nearby shouted, “FEEL THE POWAH OF VOLTHOOM!!! HA HA HA HA HA!!!”
Cap quickly tried to see what had happened to the rest of the Marvels when all of a sudden, his face burned from extreme heat. After the searing heat subsided, the tyrant of steel lifted the helpless hero by the collar, and slammed him in the face.


Ultraman was ecstatic.

No more Terrors.

Faucet was his.

The only fly in the ointment was that this wasn’t actually Captain Terror.

Still, he made a good substitute!

As Captain Marvel started to recover, Ultraman lifted him up by the collar again to give him another pounding.. However, before his blow landed, Captain Marvel suddenly shimmered, and disappeared.
Flabbergasted, Ultraman looked around. “WHERE IS HE!?” he hollared.
“Hey, wherd they go? They just vanished!” said Power Ring as he called back his creations.
“They’re safe from you Ultraman!” said an amplified voice.
Ultraman froze. “No, not him!” he thought. After identifying the location of the voice, he found that it came from a television monitor from a nearby store.

From the one person who had become an all too persistent thorn in his side.

“LUTHORRR!!!!!!!!!” he bellowed.

Luthor continued. “This is beyond even you Ultraman. Two of them were children for Satan’s sake! I cant believe…”
At that moment however, a red sleeved arm grabbed him by the throat. As Luthor struggled, he apparently lost control of the transmission, because the screen went blank. A few seconds later, the TV melted and exploded, a direct result of Ultraman’s heat vision.
“I’ll kill him!!” he muttered under clenched teeth. “I’ll rip his head off!…” he continued as he pounded on the burnt remains of the tv.
“Will you calm down!” said Superwoman, grabbing him.
“Don’t start with me B!+(h!”
“WILL YOU COOL IT!?” said Owlman. “What difference does it make if he’s here? He’s no threat to us!”
Ultraman glowered at him.
“Besides, wasn’t the entire point of this fiasco to get rid of Terror? In a few minutes, he’ll be out of our universe and into theirs!”
He then smiled. Owlman was right. In just a few minutes, Terror and his gang would be no more. Ultraman’s dominance of Amerika would be complete. This ‘Captain Marvel’ and his friends would soon be rounded up. But in the meantime… He looked around, and noticed a few cautious onlookers.
“Alright!” he yelled. “Who’s in charge of this dump?”

THE ROCK OF ETERNITY

Shazam viewed these events with great concern. What did he mean by ‘getting rid of Terror’?
He adjusted the Historama to contact Mazahs, who was also viewing this situation. “We must stop them! With our combined powers we might…”
“You will do nothing old fool!” said the evil wizard angrily. “You and your champions have caused enough trouble!”
“The actions of the Marvel Family was obviously involuntary!” exclaimed Shazam. “they cannot be held accountable for…”
“ENOUGH!!!” said Mazahs. This audience is at an end!” And at that, the historama went black.
Shazam adjusted the historama to no avail. Mazahs apparently would not receive him. He was relieved, however to find that he could still maintain contact with his ‘friend’ in the crystal barrier.
However, the old wizard had more pressing concerns. He adjusted the historama again to contact Ibis.

SIVANA’S LAB

“LET ME GO!!” pleaded Luthor as he struggled with Captain Marvel “We’re not your enemies! We’re here to HELP you!”
“That’s what the LAST group said!” said Marvel as he subdued the scientist.
The lab was total chaos. The Marvel Family, still apparently disoriented by recent events, were trying to get to the bottom of this. Sivana himself was particularly concerned. As a result of their sudden outburst, they had inadvertently damaged the device, causing it to spark. Quickly he reached for an extinguisher, when suddenly, the two other heroes grabbed him.
“DROP IT!!” said the blue suited one as he forced him to the ground.
“Let go of me! What do you think you’re doing!?” said Sivana, trying to stand up. At that moment, however, he was quickly nabbed by the female, who started pulling at his beard.
“I don’t know what you’re trying to pull Sivana, but you’re not fooling anyone!”
“Yeah, take off that stupid disguise!” said CM3 as he pulled his hair.
“OWWWW!!!” said the poor scientist in true pain.
“EVERYONE!! LISTEN TO ME!!” said Luthor hysterically as he tried to get free of Marvel’s grasp and gain control of the situation. At that moment however, the transfer device caught on fire, causing parts of it to burst. Quickly, he managed to break free, grab the extinguisher, and put the fire out.
“What’s going on?” said Georgia as she entered the room. Immediately, she saw the commotion. “FATHER!” she wailed as she went to his aid. “GET AWAY FROM HIM!” she shrieked at the two heroes.
“Luthor!” yelled Sivana “You said they would HELP us!”
At that moment, Captain Marvel slammed his fist on a desk. “ALLRIGHT, JUST WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?” he exclaimed.

ONE BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE SITUATION LATER

“So you see,” said Luthor “you were being manipulated from the start! There WAS no Faucet Resistance. It was Ultraman all along!” he explained calmly.
“It was our hope to take advantage of his plan by letting you subdue the Terrors, transfer you here, and liberate the city!” added Sivana.
“But we didn’t expect you to move this fast!” added Luthor. “If only we had completed sooner…”
Captain Marvel sat down. This was almost impossible to comprehend.
“Hey! Something’s happening on TV!” Said CM3. “It’s that Ultraman!”
As they turned it up, they listened to the grim announcement. Ultraman had apparently placed the city under Syndicate control, and was issuing demands. As he continued, Sivana exclaimed “This is a dark day!”
At that moment, Luthor’s eyes widened. “Day…” he said, as he rushed toward the Marvels. “Where are the Terrors?” he exclaimed.
“They’re back at the headquarters. Why?”
“We’ve got to get them!”
“Why? They are in an impenetrable force field. They’re not going anywhere.”
“We have to release them!”
“What? I thought you wanted them imprisoned!”
“You don’t understand! It’s been almost 24 hours!”
“So?”
Luthor calmly explained. “It’s the same mistake I made with the Justice League! There was a 24 hour difference between transfers!”
“What are you talking about?”
“This is the antimatter universe. You come from the MATTER universe. Since both you and your ‘opposites’ are in the same plane there will be some instability!”
“What sort of instability?” asked Captain Marvel.
“Well, after 24 hours, the cosmic scales will automatically adjust themselves, causing you duplicates to transfer…” Luthor continued slowly “To your plane!”
The three heroes looked at each other with growing shock and worry. A split second later, they were out of the room.
As they left, Sivana looked around. “My lab!” he wept as he fell to his knees and cried. Georgia immediately consoled him.
“Thad, I’m sorry! If only I…”
“Get out!” said Georgia angrily.
“But…”
“GET OUT!!!”
Luthor slowly lowered his head and left.

SPLIT SECONDS LATER AT THE FAUCET RESISTANCE HEADQUARTERS

With the speed of Mercury, the three heroes returned to make a grim discovery.

The cage was still up.

But it was empty.

The Terrors were gone.

And there was only one place where they could be…

“Oh no!” said Mary


FAWCETT CITY

All was calm in the city. The populous, ever composed, conducted their business through the streets.
Suddenly, in the center of the city, the ground started to shake, causing vehicles to shift, and glass from storefronts to shatter within a certain radius.
In the center of this disturbance, the street erupted, spouting a pillar of flame, resembling the birth of a volcano.
From the center of this pillar, three sinister figures emerged.
“WHERRRRE ISSSS HEEEEEEEEE!!!!!??” said the central figure.

The Terrors had arrived.

He didn’t know how he got out of the cage.
He didn’t realize it was day, when it should have been night.
He didn’t notice that the air was warm, instead of a frigid cold.

He didn’t care.

Captain Terror wanted Ultraman’s head on a platter.

No one did this to him.

No one.

“ALLRIGHT FREEZE!”
Terror turned around to see police officers brandishing their weapons at him.
Quickly with rage he lunged at them. One of them opened fire, with no avail. Terror grabbed the closest one, lifted him over his head, and tossed him like a rag doll towards his partners.
“I don’t have time for these morons!” he thought as he started to fly in the direction of WIZZ tower.
Major Terror started to follow him, but was quickly subdued by Bloody Mary.
“What are you doing?”
“Don’t you see? This is our big chance! Now we can make our move!”
“But Ultraman…”
“Look, by the time the dust clears, they’ll both be in a weakened state. We can go and gather up my, I mean ‘OUR’ team downtown, and take over the whole ball of wax while those creeps mop the floor with each other!”
“Uh, right!” he said concurringly. “Lets go!” Moments later, they flew away, leaving the chaos in their wake.

Nearby, In a local coffee shop, Ibis had observed the events with great concern. Shazam had updated him on the current status of the Marvels, where they were, and their mysterious ‘duplicates’. While pondering this information, he had become an unwitting witness to this carnage. If this ‘Terror Family’ were anywhere near as powerful as the Marvels, it was clear that he needed more than his Ibistick to help him.
Fortunately, he had the foresight to ‘borrow’ a communication device from Billy’s apartment.
One, that when activated, would call on some of their ‘friends’.
He prayed, however, that they would be enough to calm this menace.

AMALGAMATED BROADCASTING BUILDING / RADIO STATION WHIZ

The station was abuzz with action. According to the police band radio, three superpowered beings erupted below Main Street, and were causing havoc. So far, the mayor had authorized the use of the city’s special crimes unit to tackle the problem, but even he had doubts that they could contain the situation. There was one question on everyone’s mind;
Where were the Marvel family?
Sterling Morris was in the newsroom discussing how to handle the situation with the news director. While he listened to the incoming reports, he wondered where Billy was. According to Joan, his secretary, he had a family emergency, and couldn’t be reached. It was a shame, he thought, aside from having a knack for reporting, Billy also seemed to seemed to be in good relations with the Marvels. Also, it wasn’t like him to miss out on such a big story…
At that moment, he heard a crash nearby.
“WHHHHERRREEE ISSSS HEEEE!!!!!!!!??” boomed a furious voice.

Terror had no idea what Ultraman did to WIZZ tower.
But he was going to get answers.
He had flown from the center of town back to his headquarters, expecting to confront the Crime Syndicate and WIZZ tower.
Instead, he found himself surrounded by pathetic meatbags in what appeared to be a radio station.
Some of the fools quickly surrounded him, as if they thought they could contain him. One of them, a gray haired individual, foolishly interrupted his train of thought by speaking.
“What is the meaning of this?!?” he asked.
Terror immediately grabbed the pathetic fool by his shirt collar. At that moment, another fool tried to subdue him with a folding chair. Terror immediately pushed him hard into some nearby cubicles.
“I’m going to ask you one more time…” he said to the person he was holding. “What the hell happened here, where is Ultraman, and where…”
He froze.
Out of the corner of his eye, he spied a door with lettering on it. ‘WILLIAM BATSON – ANNOUNCER’. Immediately, he dropped his victim, walked toward the door, and nearly pushed it off its hinges with one shove. Inside, he looked around, and was mesmerized by what he saw.
Covering all the walls were photographs, and news clippings of ‘Captain Marvel’. Some had headlines, ‘CAPTAIN MARVEL SAVES SHIP’, ‘CAPTAIN MARVEL FOILS ARMORED CAR HEIST’, ‘MARVEL FAMILY RAISES $1,000,000 FOR LOCAL HOSPITAL’. All around, stories of praise of his exploits.
It was then that he noticed the globe.
On the desk, was a decorative globe. Offhand, there seemed to be nothing odd about it.
Except the continents were reversed.
“This is HIS world.” Said the villain after a few tense moments.
Immediately, he flew out through a plate glass window over the street, while the workers watched with astonishment through the door. He had to get to the others.
He had to get to the bottom of this.

FAWCETT HIGH SCHOOL.

Mr. Dudley was listening to the radio with concern while waxing the gym floor.
According to a recent bulletin, three maniacs crashed from under Main Street, and disrupted traffic, and wounded a few officers. So far everyone was waiting for the Marvels to take action, but strange enough, they haven’t been seen.
“I hope they’re all right.” He thought.
At that moment, he heard a crash from above. He turned and saw a pair of children hovering in mid air. They looked like those ‘goth’ children he had read about. They spoke to each other, and then the female looked at him and smiled…

“Something’s wrong Mary, this doesn’t look like the old neighborhood.
“I can see that!”
Bloody Mary looked around with great concern. What was going on? Instead of the familiar back alleys, run down buildings, and hideout of her old gang, they came across a clear cut neighborhood, with a local park, rec center, and a high school.
Something was clearly wrong, and she wanted answers. “Come with me!” she said as she flew at full speed through the roof of a local school.
“Mary, what are you doing?”
She looked around, and saw a familiar face below, looking at them with fear and apprehension. Quickly, she flew down, and scooped up the poor man.
“Boss Dudley! What a pleasant surprise!” she smiled…

Dudley, numb with terror, tried to comprehend what was going on. Here he was, one minute waxing floors, the next minute, flying through the air with a pair of supervillans. What was even more disturbing, was how the young lady was treating him.
“What are you doing?” he screamed.
“Oh come on, it that the way to greet your favorite niece?” she asked seductively.
“You said you wouldn’t see him again!” said the male testily.
“Shut up, this is an emergency!” she said with clenched teeth. “Now then,” she continued “we need your help in taking over the tower. If you and your groups can help us, I’ll make sure you are well… rewarded!” she smiled.
“Wha what are you talking about?”
“Oh come on, you still upset about how Cappie frightened you yesterday? Don’t worry, by the time this is all over, he won’t be a problem!”
“But, but…” he stuttered.
“I’ll even let you ride my back!” she smiled.
“G-Get away from me!” protested Dudley as he struggled from her grip. In doing so, he managed to loosen his arm, and accidentally slapped her in the face.
She froze.
After a few tense seconds, she hissed, “No one does that to me.”
“Um, sorry?”
In a blind rage, the villainess tightened her grip on his arm and began to spin him around.
“NO ONE DOES THAT TO ME!!!!” she screamed as she flung the poor janitor away.

In the air, Dudley screamed with blind terror. His eyes were shut tight, dreading his impending doom.
And then, he fell upon something soft.
Was it over? He thought as he slowly opened his eyes.
He found himself on what appeared to be a cloud, floating upwards. Was this IT? He thought as he rose. Everything seemed quiet, and peaceful up here. And, amazingly enough, it was EXACTLY the way they said it would be in church!
Except he never pictured it being all green…
“Are you okay sir?” said a nearby voice.
Dudley looked around and saw a familiar figure hovering nearby.
“Superman? What the…”
It was then that he noticed that he was floating on what appeared to be a HUMONGOUS green catcher’s mitt.
“Nice catch GL!” said Superman to another nearby figure.
“No problem! How did this happen?” he asked Dudley.
“What the…, I…, I mean…, who…”
Superman smiled. “Don’t worry sir, everything will be ok! The Justice League is here!”

After making sure Dudley was safe, Superman and Green Lantern joined up with Jonn and Wonder Woman to plan their next move. After responding to the emergency signal, and following news reports, the heroes were able to determine the scope of the situation.
With Jonn’s telepathy active, Superman relayed the strategy to the other team members.
Wonder Woman, Jonn, and Green Lantern would take care of the threat near the high school. Flash, and Batman would assist in clearing the area of all civilian personnel. Superman would take care of the being that threatened the local TV station. All would give updates regularly via Jonn’s telepathy.
With his telescopic vision, Superman found his target. A menacing black clothed figure who was heading towards the center of town. With super speed, the man of steel flew towards him.

As Captain Terror flew in search of the rest of his family, he was tackled at blinding speed by a blue force. After gathering his senses, he recognized his assailant, or rather his ‘S’ shaped insignia from the news reports a few months back. He then struggled with this new threat…

After temporarily subduing his victim, Superman planned his next move. Ten minutes earlier, using his x-ray vision, he found the perfect place to take care of this threat with absolutely no risk to human life. However, as they struggled in the air, he realized it wasn’t going to be easy…

From below, Ibis observed this new development. It looked like the Justice League arrived in the nick of time. However, if this ‘Captain Terror’ was anywhere near as powerful as Captain Marvel, then Superman would need all the help he could get.
“Follow.” He said calmly as he waved his Ibistick. Immediately, a portal opened, and the ancient mystic went through.

THE ABANDONED WAREHOUSE. FIVE MINUTES EARLIER

“C’mon its open!”
“I dunno, we might get into trouble…”
“C’mon ya big coward! It’tl be fun! We could make it our clubhouse!”
“Uh, ok!”
The two young boys entered the warehouse through some crumbling masonry. One of them activated a nearby light switch. A few flickering lighting units illuminated the dank surroundings.
“Whoa, check it out!” said the taller one.
“Hey, there’s something up here, said the smaller one, noticing something on a high walkway.
The two children found a group of barrels. All appeared full, and with warning labels.
“It’s nothing, just some barrels.”
“But I thought this place was empty…”
It was then that they heard a loud crash on the other end.
The two boys scurried to the edge to see two large men engaged in a fight about 30 yards away.
“It’s Superman!”
“Who’s the other guy?”
“Looks like Captain Marvel.”
“Can’t be, he doesn’t wear black.”
As the two boys were watching and talking, they failed to notice a lighting unit letting off sparks on the barrels.

As soon as they landed in the warehouse, the man of steel faced this new threat. Whoever he was gave no sign of pain or fatigue, and it seemed that he could take some powerful punishment. While Superman started to engage blows with this new foe, he was able to take a closer look at him. He seemed in his late 20s, facial hair and exceptional build.
It was then that he took a closer look at his face.
“Marvel?” he asked softly while pausing.
Captain Terror lunged at him with a haymaker. “Not even close.”
Superman dodged by lifting himself off the ground. Terror followed him up, and tried to engage him in the air.
When they reached the ceiling, Superman lunged forward in an effort to grab him, when Terror responded with another haymaker. He dodged again, finally grabbing his foe by his arm. However, the inertia sent the two beings farther up, hitting a lighting unit, causing an electrical surge.

At the other end, the resulting shock caused the lights above the barrels to explode, and rain flames and sparks on the barrels. With this, both kids screamed.
Superman picked up these sounds with his super hearing. With a quick glance, he noticed with shock, the two kids in danger. Quickly, he moved to help them, when he was hit by a lightning punch from behind. He quickly fell to the ground, when his antagonist struck again with a sharp dropkick on his back. The man of steel looked helplessly at the children as the barrels quickly started to heat up.
“Safety!” said a nearby voice. Immediately, a wormhole opened up near the children, sucking them inside. They soon found themselves way outside the building. After a few seconds, the two kids looked at each other. “AWWWEEEESOME!!!!!” they shouted as they walked home.

Back in the warehouse Ibis continued. “The children are safe Superman!”
Terror observed this new development. Or more specifically, Ibis’s wand. He was always a quick study with magical items. Before he could respond, the barrels finally exploded.
Superman quickly responded by flying toward Ibis and sheltering him from the flames. A few seconds later, Superman lifted him up.
“Are you ok?” he asked.
“I am fine, but…” he searched himself. “Where is my Ibistick?”
“Looking for this?” asked a nearby voice. The two heroes turned and noticed Captain Terror floating nearby, holding the Ibistick.
Superman quickly flew towards him, but before he could respond, Terror waved the stick, and shouted “Blast”. Almost immediately, the wand set forth a bolt of energy, blasting towards him, sending the hero back against a wall.
Terror flew above his victim. “Point and shoot. Just the way I like it!” he said icily.

Superman started to rise. “Blast!” the wand struck him again. This time, he felt blood in his mouth. He shrugged with fear.
Terror gloated. “You share Ultraman’s weakness to magic, that’s a start.”
“Ultraman, of the Crime Syndicate?” said Superman, hoping Jonn would pick this up.
“Saw you guys mess with them on the newsreels. You guys did a number on them the last time. Don’t know what happened after that.”
“Who.., who are you?”
“The name’s Terror, CAPTAIN Terror.”
Superman pondered. It made sense. If he was from the Syndicate’s Earth, then he was apparently Marvel’s counterpart. But how did he get here? He thought. And more importantly, where were the Marvels?
Before he could ask, he was struck another magical blow, nearly rendering him unconscious.

This was great.
Captain Terror looked at his new ‘toy’ lovingly. Oh, what he could do with this.
After taking care of this jerk, he thought, he’d take care of his brother and that bitch Mary.
But why stop there?
As soon as he got back to his world, he’d settle things with the wizard once and for all. He smiled as he imagined the look on the old fool’s face, powerless against this new threat. Then he would deal with Ultraman and the syndicate once and for all! He blasted the fool hero again, hopelessly powerless against this new threat.
“Enough!” said a calm voice. “Return the Ibistick to me now!”
Terror turned and noticed the turbanhead, the wand’s original owner.
“No, stay back!” pleaded Superman
The Villain started to face Ibis. Then as he looked at the wand, he smiled. He had a better idea!
“NAPALM!” he shouted again as he waved the wand. However instead of burning the magician to a crisp, a strange gel like energy engulfed Terror. A few seconds later it caused an explosion, sending back the villain a few yards, causing him to drop the Ibistick .
“Ibistick to me!” Almost immediately the wand returned to Ibis’s hand. Just in time too, for Captain Terror immediately recovered, speeding toward him with rage.
“Magical bonds!” said the old magician. At that moment, magical glowing bonds formed around the villain, causing him to lose control, and fall to the ground at Ibis’s feet.

A few seconds later, he used the wand to heal Superman. After he recovered, they both finished binding the villain.
Thank’s for your help sir, but … I don’t understand, I thought you were a goner when he pointed that towards you!”
At this, Ibis laughed. “He has made the mistake others had in the past! For those who dare use the ibistick against me are doomed to speak their own fate!”

HIGH ABOVE BINDER PARK

“What the heaven is going on?” asked Major Terror.
“How should I know?”
The two villains were high above the park contemplating their next move. After the incident with Dudley, the pair went to Mary’s other haunts. The results were the same. Instead of the rundown alleys, drug dens, and slum areas, they came across well lit avenues, places of worship, and prestigious apartments. When they interrogated people, it was also the same. Some fled, others were foolish enough to resist. But all acted with complete surprise. It didn’t make SENSE! How could Ultraman do this in a few short minutes?
At that moment, below the pair noticed a scarlet force streaking through the park. Whatever it was seemed to be removing people at a blinding speed.
Then they noticed what appeared to be an emerald dome surround the park.
Before they could respond, they were quickly assaulted by a pair of beings…

Jonn Jonnz, and Wonder Woman had quickly intercepted the remaining villains when they passed a local park. While they engaged them, Green Lantern, Flash, and Batman removed any civilians, and controlled any damage the pair caused. Jonn quickly engaged the young man while Diana took care of his female companion. Both proved to be a challenge. The young man, although seemingly apprehensive while fighting this new threat, proved formidable. The female on the other hand, was a force to be reckoned with. The Amazon princess found it difficult to subdue this foe. It was if she had the powers of demons themselves!
It was then that Jonn received Superman’s mental reference to the Crime Syndicate, which he relayed to the others.
Kyle quickly replied. “These guys are the Marvel’s opposites?”
“It would seem so.” Said Diana. “They certainly are as powerful.”
“And unfortunately, not as easy to overwhelm.” Added Jonn.
“But how did they get here? And where are the Marvels?” asked Wally.
“Irrelevant!” replied Batman. “Our first task is to subdue them.”
“But how?” asked Kyle. “Heck, Cap alone is just as strong as supes…”
“Perhaps…” said the Dark Knight “but they may have a similar weakness… Jonn, can you verify?”
I will try. Said the Martian Manhunter. He quickly lunged toward his foe and attempted to read his mind…

His mind was a cacophony of random images. But through the chaos, he was able to identify order. Jonn focused on the images and sensation of the last few years.
Freddie Batson. Orphan. Homeless. Alone.
Switched from foster home to foster home in his early years. Never fitting in, always the target of those stronger. Unable to make it far on his own.
Then he met her.
She was the only one who was nice to him. The only one who seemed to care.
The only one to make him feel special.
With her help he was almost always able to fit in. Always able to belong.
Always able to succeed.
With her help, he was reluctantly allowed in a local gang, trying to eke out a living. The pair worked great together. Or rather, Jonn noted, working under her, as if he didn’t mind being used.
Then one day shortly after the rise of the Crime Syndicate, another crime lord rose to power. He had quickly took control of the local criminal organizations and had set up stringent new demands for the city leaders. A few days after establishing control, the crimelord’s lackeys, strange feline beings, had raided his gang and apprehended him. As he was placed before the crimelord, known as Captain Terror, who introduced him to his ‘master’. After speaking to the strange being, he was surprised to learn that he, a nobody, was related to the city’s most powerful crimelord!
Apparently, when their parents died, they were separated. Surprising still, is that, upon saying the name of the ancient being, he would gain similar powers!

Jonn continued the mental probe.
The young boy, who had chosen the name Major Terror, tried to enforce his brother’s dominance upon the city, sometimes unsuccessfully, much to the annoyance of his sibling. However, his entire world had changed. With the power’s he possessed, no longer could he be a source of ridicule. No longer would he be left out.
One thing that DIDN”T change was his relation with HER.
His beloved.
He had let her in on the secret of his powers, much to her delight. With his powers, he was able to advance her influence in the gang, eventually controlling it, and other local groups.
However, when his brother found out about this empire building, he was outraged! As the city’s chief crimelord, he demanded ABSOLUTE loyalty from below.
Something his beloved would not provide.
Time and time again, he threatened to destroy her and her pathetic network, with little success, and Freddy was caught in the middle.
Then came that terrible day.
In an effort to prove his effectiveness to his brother’s leadership, he dedicated himself to the apprehension and termination of a hero, who had tried to lead an armed revolt against Captain Terror and his minions. Freddy intercepted him while he was smuggling medical supplies into the city. After thwarting him, he managed to corner him in a run down factory in his old neighborhood. Only when he entered it, did he learn that his beloved was there, with some gang members, looting the place for spare parts!
Fearing that she may be in danger, she tried to seek her out and warn her.
But it was too late.
Upon spotting the hero, some of the gang members panicked, and a firefight ensued. In the process, she was caught in the middle, wounded by a stray bullet. To make matters worse, some stray shots struck containers which held volatile chemicals!
As a result, it started a fire.
Then a huge explosion.
Although unharmed in the blast, Freddy searched frantically for his beloved.
The others were killed.
The hero was nowhere to be found.
But he had found her.
Badly burned, unconscious, and close to death, he rushed her to safety.

Flash forward an hour later. He had broken into a local hospital, and threatened a medical team with their lives if they couldn’t give her aid.
Tense hours followed. Despite their expertise, they could do very little. At the very best, she would spend the remainder of her days as an invalid, helpless in the outside world.
Freddy refused to accept it.
Undaunted, he gambled everything on one last hope. As he flew back home, he summoned the ancient being who gave him his powers. He was prepared to strike any deal, anything, no matter how immoral, so his beloved could be healed.
But the ‘master’ would not comply.
However…
The ancient gnarled being SUGGESTED a method, which could make things well, providing HE would make a small sacrifice…
Part of Freddy’s power.
He enthusiastically agreed.
When his beloved awoke in his arms, he instructed her to say his name.
The came the flames.
Like a phoenix from the ashes, his beloved was reborn.
As BLOODY MARY!

All this took place in a space of a few seconds. Afterwards, Jonn relayed this information telepathically to the others.
“I think I found something…”

“So, this helps us how?” asked Kyle.
“I think I understand.” Said Diana, as she continued to struggle with Bloody Mary. “It’s just a matter of timing.”
Almost immediately, Wonder Woman tossed her foe, hoping to make some distance. Immediately, as the villainess, lined up for another attack, the amazon pulled out her magic lasso, and entangled her with it. Undaunted, Bloody Mary continued to resist, not comprehending the danger.
“Who is the source of your power?”
To her horror, Bloody Mary almost unconsciously responded. Not that! She thought.
“I will repeat, who is the source of your power?”
“The world’s wickedest girl clenched her teeth in frustration, but to no avail.
“M- major T- terror… NOOOOOOOOOOOO!”
All of a sudden, she was engulfed in flames. However, rather than consume her, in it’s place lay a withered hairless figure, barely moving.
While he struggled with Jonn, Major Terror heard his name being spoken. One glance confirmed his worst fears.
“MARY!!!!!!!”
With the speed of Hugi, he rushed to her aid, grabbing her in his arms.
Openly he wept. “Mary, it’s okay, I’m here!”
“Freddy, help me!” she said, with shortness of breath.
“ Just say my name! Please dear Satan, just say my name!”
“She can’t.” said Diana. “I have commanded her not to.”
“But she’ll die!” he said, as he lunge toward her.
“Easy son!” said Jonn, holding him back.
“Freddy, don’t leave me!” said the crippled form.
“It’s ok!” he said cradling her. He wept, “She was crippled after the fight with Captain Germany, I gave her the power… so she could be beautiful again!” he wept openly.
“You idiot!” said a nearby voice.
The two heroes turned to see Superman carrying a heavily bound figure, Captain Terror.
“Okay, where are the Marvels?” asked the man of steel.

After clearing things with the authorities, Jonn began the interrogation. A few minutes later,, he finally spoke.
“It appears that ‘The Terror Family’ are fierce rivals of the Crime Syndicate. From what I gathered, somehow the Marvels were tricked into dismantling Captain Terror’s power structure, and sending him here.”
“But what happened to the Marvels?” asked Wally.
“The Crime Syndicate cleaned their clocks!” said Captain Terror icily.
“We’ve got to help them!” said Kyle. “We can’t just leave them to those psychopaths!”
“Out of the question.” replied Batman.
“How can you say that? After they’ve helped us in the past?”
“I sympathize with your view, but remember where they are, any action we take will be bound to fail.”
“But we can’t just leave them there!” protested Wally.
“Batman has a point, If we try to help them on the Syndicate’s world, we would be at a grave disadvantage.” Said Diana.
“When I get my hands on Ultraman, “I’ll tear him apart!!!” bellowed Terror.
“Enough!” interjected Superman. The man of steel faced a dilemma. He could not in good conscious leave the Marvels at the mercy of Ultraman and his minions, yet clearly there were risks involved. Billy and his friends have proved in the past to be helpful allies in the past, and to ignore him at their greatest need was unthinkable. He pondered all the options for a workable solution.
“There is a way.” Said an ancient voice.
Everyone turned toward Ibis, and noticed that he was accompanied by an ancient ghostlike being. It was Billy’s wizard, Shazam.
“The Marvel Family is safe, but their danger is far from over.” said the old wizard.
“What must we do?” asked Superman.
“While examining the nature of our respective realities, I have learned of a way to temporarily bridge the gap between them, sending objects across. However, it is important that the Marvels be at the same location on that world as the Terrors are on ours. Fortunately, I have a ally of sorts on that world, who can help us. He will aid us in returning the Marvels and the Terrors back to their respective worlds,” he continued as he looked balefully at the Terrors “where they will face whatever fate bestows upon them.”
Captain Terror sneered at that last remark.
“Sounds like a plan!” said Superman. The rest agreed. He then went to explain the situation to the nearby authorities who had cordoned off the area.


THE FAUCET RESISTANCE HEADQUARTERS, EXACTLY WHEN WE LEFT THE MARVELS.

A few tense seconds later, CM3 broke the silence. “What are we going to do? How can we go after them?”
Captain Marvel pondered the dilemma for a few seconds. Then he spoke. “The Rock of Eternity. It’s our only hope. We can transfer to practically any location from there, so why not other dimensions?”
“It’s better than nothing!” said Mary.
The three heroes started off. Beyond time, beyond space.

With their powers, they had the capability of entering the realm of their master, Shazam, guardian of the Rock of Eternity.
This time, however, it didn’t happen.
When the heroes gathered their senses, they found that they had somehow materialized in what appeared to be a desolate inferno. In the center of this chaos, stood a tremendous spire. As they approached it, they were drawn to an opening within it.
“What is this place?”
“Guys, something tells me, this is THEIR Rock of Eternity!” said Cap.

Near the entrance they came across a large cavern. On the left side, were seven beautiful statues, seemingly out of place in such dismal surroundings. They were labeled SELF CONTROL, LOVE, KINDNESS, GENEROSITY, TEMPERANCE, ZEAL, and MODESTY.
“They are the seven virtues of man.” Said an eerie voice down the cavern. The three heroes looked further down to see a gnarled hooded figure seated on a huge throne.
As they approached, he continued. “I have spent nearly three thousand years suppressing their influence in the mortal realm.” He smiled eerily. “Allow me to introduce myself. I am MAZAHS!”

From the Rock of Eternity, Shazam continued to locate the Marvels. When he finally located them, it looked like they were trying to approach the rock. However, rather than phaze into his dimension, they appeared to materialize in Mazahs’s realm. The laws of magic must function slightly different in this realm, pondered the old wizard. Very distressing. As he tried to focus on the Marvels, he found that he could not focus on them. No doubt his evil counterpart was still blocking his efforts to help them.
He was relieved, however, that he could still contact his ‘friend’ in the crystal barrier.
**They do not realize what danger they are in** said the figure.
“I would not underestimate them.” Said Shazam.
**You do not understand, he is able to harness the powers of the most sinister forces in the cosmos. With even MY resources, I was unable to deal with him.**
The old wizard pondered, that made sense. The forces of evil seemed to have somewhat of an advantage in this strange realm. He continued to watch the events unfold.

“You’re HIS wizard, aren’t you?” asked Cap.
“That I am.”
After a few seconds pause, the old wizard continued.
“You are the ones who have caused me so much trouble. Never, in all my years has anyone dared oppose me the way you have!”
“Well, I can’t say we’re sorry!” said CM3.
“Impudent fool!” said Mazahs as he lifted a gnarled finger. He was slightly surprised when he found the boy remained defiant. Of course, he thought, He does not draw on my power.
CM3 continued. “Look, we don’t mean to be rude, but we need to get home to our dimension. For all we know, your brat pack is causing trouble in OUR city. If you can just…”
“SILENCE!!!” bellowed the ancient being. As he rose from his throne, he seemed larger, more menacing. “NO ONE DARES OPPOSE ME!!!!”
The three heroes rushed to face this new threat, when suddenly, with a wave of his hand, the old wizard quickly cast a spell which quickly entangled them in a strange energy.
“YOU FOOLS HAVE NO IDEA WHO YOU FACE!!! I, MAZAHS, HARNESS THE MOST POWERFUL FORCES THE UNIVERSE HAS EVER KNOWN. YOUR PATHETIC POWERS ARE NO MATCH FOR MY EVIL. KNOW NOW THE POWER OF MAZAHS!!!” bellowed the old wizard as he cast another spell. With another wave of his hand, the Marvel family vanished.

Instantaneously, the Marvels materialized in a different area. As soon as they gathered their senses, Mary broke the silence.
“Where are we? I can’t see a thing!”
At that moment, all three of them felt a rumble from below. The ground suddenly became an eerie red. Then, jutting from below came tremendous gnarly claws, intent on grabbing these new victims.
With the speed of Mercury, they flew high out of reach, only to face a new threat. From all around, came the flapping of leather wings. As they looked around, they found themselves surrounded by huge, gnarly bat-creatures, intent on subduing them. As they evaded this threat, they quickly faced another, huge serpentine threat.
And so it went. No matter where they went, they were attacked by unspeakable horrors. Were it not for the tremendous courage of Achilles, madness would have certainly overcome them.

**They fight well, but it will be a matter of time.** Said the being in the crystal barrier.
Shazam watched helplessly as his champions faced this new threat. “Their MUST be a way to help them!” implored the old wizard.
After a few seconds, the being pondered the situation. **There is a way, BUT I must be released…”

In the darkness, the three heroes continued to fight unspeakable horrors without end. It was as if they had been transported to the center of hell itself.
“It’s no use!” said CM3 as he battled a demonic horror, “They’re everywhere!”
“It’s hopeless!” added Mary as she battled horrid winged creatures.
Captain marvel pondered the situation. “There’s got to be a way to escape! There’s just got to!”
“My children…” said a familiar voice. The heroic trio quickly turned to notice a familiar spectral form.
“It’s Shazam!” said CM3 optimistically.
“Thank goodness you are all safe!” said the good wizard. “Quick, there is not much time…”
“Noble sir..!” interjected Cap, “Three hostile beings from this plane have somehow escaped into our reality and may be causing great havoc…”
“I am aware of these developments my child. They have been taken care of. It is of the utmost importance that you escape from this foul realm. Unfortunately, my powers are limited on this plane.”
“What shall we do?” asked Mary.
“Fly to the center of this chaos. There, you will find a crystal barrier.” At that moment, a strange shimmering energy surrounded his spectral form. Quickly he continued. “You must release the…” Then there was a surge of energy, and the old wizard disappeared.
The three heroes glanced at each other, and reluctantly carried out their master’s request.

After five long minutes, the heroes finally reached their goal, the crystal barrier. Immediately, they started to pound on it…

From his throne room, Mazahs was checking up on his new prisoners. To his horror, he found them near the crystal barrier. “No, not him!”
Immediately, he performed a quick conjuration…

“It’s tougher than it looks!” said CM3.
Cap and Mary concurred. As they continued pounding, all three noticed that there seemed to be someone inside the barrier.
However a few seconds later, something slithered around the trio. A split second later they were grabbed by huge tentacles. As they tried to struggle with this new threat, Cap noticed that the crystal barrier had started to shimmer, and glow. Immediately, whoever was in the barrier, was forcing it to crack from within. After a few more seconds, there was a huge explosion, followed by a huge wave of energy, powerful enough to dissolve the tentacles subduing the Marvels.
As soon as the Marvels gathered their senses, Cap observed the mysterious figure, dressed in white. With shock, he recognized him!
“Black Adam?”
With the wisdom of Solomon, the three quickly assessed the situation. After their run in with this world’s Sivana, they deduced that this could not be the same Black Adam who had plagued them for the past few years. Immediately, this new person broke the silence.
“I thank you for rescuing me Captain Marvel.”
“You know of us?”
“Yes, I have witnessed your movements on Earth with the help of the wizard Shazam.”
“Who are you?” asked Mary.
“I am called ‘Adam’. Thousands of years ago, I was a mighty warrior in ancient Egypt. During my youth, I was approached by the wizard you had met. He had offered me power beyond my wildest dreams. Being as naïve as I was, I foolishly accepted his offer, not realizing the consequences. For years, I had served him well using my powers to further his evil wishes. The most powerful armies, the mightiest empires, all fell in front of me. Then came my LAST battle…”
He continued somberly. “The wizard commanded me to overthrow the ruling Pharoah who had dared resist him. I obeyed him unquestionably. His mightiest warriors were no match for my powers, yet still he resisted. I had kidnapped members of his family, and only then he seemed to capitulate. But then, I fell in love with his daughter.”
He smiled. “I remember how beautiful she was. When she was my prisoner, I was determined to make her mine. She was defiant as my prisoner, even when I threatened to hurt her physically. But within the first few weeks, I began to have true feelings for her, even to the point of letting her escape. But she would not leave without the rest of her family.
“Impressed by this defiance and courage, she showed me the monster I truly was. I would aid in their struggle against my master.
“I would betray him.”
“Immediately, HE learned of my betrayal, and vowed to stop me. It was a long and desperate battle. The wizard had unleashed the fury of unearthly forces, but still I fought on. Eventually, he made a stand at his lair in Lower Egypt. I led the final attack against him, ignorant of the apparent pain he had cast on me. When I faced him in his throne room, he had cast a final spell, which would transfer him through a portal into another dimension. Naturally I had followed, determined to put an end to him once and for all.”
“That was my mistake.”
“When I went through the portal, I wound up on this plane, where he reigns supreme. With my powers, I could not defeat him. Instantly, he had placed a curse on me, by placing me in the crystal barrier.”
“I could not return.”
“My only satisfaction, came from the knowledge that wise men loyal to the Pharaoh had placed powerful wards on his portal, sealing it for all time. I could not return, but neither could he.”
“Or so it would seem.”
“Thousands of years had passed as I was trapped in the crystal barrier. Were it not for my powers, I would have certainly gone mad. Then, not too long ago, a team of scavengers had come across the tower, now buried amongst the sands. Lured by the promises of wealth, they had opened the portal, and unwittingly released my master.”
“He was free to spread his evil again.”
“Through other victims!”
“The Terror Family!” said Captain Marvel in a low voice.
“Precisely!”
At that moment, there was a rumbling. “We must hurry! Follow me! Do exactly as I do!”
The Marvels followed Adam through the winding passages within the lair. At each corner, the four beings dodged various horrors. Eventually, they exited the spire by crashing through a wall made of solid magma. As they finally left the lair, Adam proceeded to accelerate at a blinding speed, away from the chasm.
As the other heroes did likewise, they found themselves quickly back on the mortal plane, high above the Earth. The Marvels paused as they observed the layout of the continents. Even from up here, the reversal seemed eerie. Adam immediately motioned to the others to continue following him. After some quick orientation, they finally found themselves back in Faucet.
As they flew above the city, Captain Marvel pondered. What were they to do now? The city was still under control of the Crime Syndicate. How could they stop them?
Eventually, they landed in Binder park. For a few seconds, Adam had looked at them. Then suddenly, the air around the Marvels started to crackle with energy, and a portal opened up. Confused, Captain Marvel spoke. “No wizard, not now..!” Immediately, the three heroes were sucked into the portal.
Adam observed these events calmly. Almost immediately, Shazam’s image materialized. “Hurry Adam! I cannot keep this portal open long!”
He looked at the old wizard, not comprehending. Shazam continued. “On this world, evil MUST win! If you resist Mazahs and his minions, you would be certain to fail! Come to our world! Perhaps given time, I could remove his influence over you.”
Adam pondered for an instant. “No my friend. This is my world. I have lost all that I loved. And the one who has brought so much suffering still walks the Earth. Someone MUST have the strength to oppose him.”
Shazam was silent for a second. “I am saddened by your decision, but I will respect it. Farewell, Adam the White!”
“Farewell Shazam!” said the hero as he watched the old wizard fade from view. Immediately, he flew off.

All around, the Marvel family was surrounded by a cacophony of colors, and strange shapes. Eventually, some of the shapes began to take on solid form. Immediately, Captain Marvel recognized a distinctive, friendly ‘S’ shape on one of the figures.
“Welcome back Captain! Said Superman smiling.

During the next half hour, the Marvels were brought up to date. Much to their relief, they had learned that the League had covered for their ‘absence’ by explaining to the authorities that they had embarked on a mission of great importance. While they were away, they had asked that the league keep an eye on the city. They were also relieved to learn that the Terrors hadn’t caused as much damage as they feared. However Cap still felt responsible for bringing them to Fawcett.
“Don’t worry Captain.” said Superman. “It clearly wasn’t your fault. Heck , when we traveled to that world, we were duped as well!”
“And the stakes were FAR greater.” Added Batman.
“But we made things worse for those poor people.” Said Mary. “When we left, the city was under control of the Crime Syndicate.”
“There was clearly nothing you could do my child.” Interjected Shazam. “Any action you would have taken would have been doomed to failure. Just as your duplicates could not succeed in this world.”
“Speaking of which, how do THEY plan to take care of them?” asked CM3. “Heck, we didn’t last too long against them, what chance do they have?”
The old wizard pondered for a moment, then waved his hand, bringing forth the historama. “We will see…”

BINDER PARK, FAUCET CITY

“M…major Terror…” said Mary weakly.
Instantaneously, flames started to lick below the lying crippled girl. In her place, a dark clad, young energetic girl literally flew out of the flames like a phoenix reborn.
“YESSSSSSSSS!!!” said Bloody Mary as she flew into her lover’s arms.
“Mary!” cried Major Terror as he wept with joy.
“Could you guys speak up just a bit? I don’t think Ultraman heard you!” snarled Captain Terror.
Mary sneered at that last remark.
“So what are we gonna do bro?”
“First we get back into the tower, and see what there up to.” Fortunately, he knew of all the secret entrances into WIZZ tower. The most convenient one would be through the sewers. Fortunately, he pondered, there was a manhole nearby which would lead them there.
Ten minutes later, they had entered an emergency control center in the lower levels of the tower. Satisfied that it had not been tampered with, Captain Terror activated the controls. After a quick check, he was relieved to find that Ultraman had not yet accessed the central data his brother had encrypted earlier.
Amazing, he did something right! He thought.
He then proceeded to access the security cameras to determine where the syndicators were. He found Ultraman and Superwoman in the central control center. Terror smiled as he saw the great Ultraman struggling with his setup. Oh, if only he knew he was back… Quickly he did a search in the other areas and found Owlman in one of the labs fighting with a Tawny that had lost its intelligence. He looked at the cowled conqueror as he easily defeated this threat and shuddered. He would certainly present a problem if he didn’t act fast.
After a quick search through the rest of the tower, he was unable to find Ultraman’s two flunkies. As he searched the outer area, however, he found them at the city hall, no doubt strongarming those clowns into submission.
He then paused, they were the same people he had met almost three days prior.
The ones he was SUPPOSED to deliver a certain ‘antidote’ to last evening.
Mary briefly interrupted his train of thought. “So what’s the plan o fearless leader? How do you plan to take care of them when they’re spread all over the place, and when their leader is above us, huh?” she smiled in mockery.
Captain Terror smiled. “To be honest, my dear Mary, they couldn’t have made it any easier!”

“But we have to hurry.” He continued. “Mary, come with me to lab 30. Fred, go to my room, under my bed, you should find a leather case. Bring it to lab 30. Be careful, Owlman’s snooping around. Make sure you’re not seen.”
As Major Terror flew off, a final thought struck Cap.
“AND STAY OUT OF MY SKIN MAGS!” he said.

TEN MINUTES LATER IN LAB 30
Bloody Mary watched as Terror was setting up a device near an open window. Normally, she wouldn’t even care about what he was doing, except for the fact that (a) after her near death experience in that alternate world, she owed those syndicators bigtime, and she’d rather have HIM deal with those creeps, and (b) she was just wondering what the HEAVEN he was up to.
Her train of thought was interrupted when Major Terror flew in. “Is this what you wanted bro?”
“Terror briefly glanced in his direction. “Right, put it over here and keep monitoring city hall on the telescreen. I need to know what those jerks are doing!”
Major Terror obeyed. As he activated the screens, Mary recognized the device Terror was working on.
“Hey, isn’t that the transfer device you confiscated from Sivana a few months back?”
“The same. Since then, I made some ‘improvements.’”
Now she was completely puzzled. How was he going to get rid of Ultraman this way?
“It’s all set!” he exclaimed as he dumped the antidote vials into a hopper. He then proceeded to activate the transfer device. A targeting system activated, and he targeted the device towards Ultraman’s fortress. Instantaneously, the vials turned into energy, and vanished from the hopper. After checking a readout, he was satisfied with the results.
“Now what?”
“Now, we wait!”
“Um bro, I think you better take a look, I think something’s happening!”
Terror quickly looked at the monitor, and smiled. It’s begun!

CITY HALL
The head councilman spoke nervously, as Power Ring and Johnny Quick looked on. “Um, of course, we have come up with the adjustments for the, um transfer of power as you requested… um sir. We have been able to adjust the figures to reflect sixty percent of…”
At that, Power Ring sic’ed a three headed jaded abomination in his direction.
“Um, NINETY percent of weekly tribute to Ultraman, plus full access to to our labs…”
“Plus full management of ‘cough’ financial affairs!” added another council member.
Johnny relaxed as he propped up his feet on the mayor’s oak desk and listened as these worms heaped up the pile. This was too easy! He thought.
“And of course, we ‘cough cough’ also plan to…”
At that, almost simultaneously, all the council members broke into coughing fits. Both villains observed this, uncertain as to what was going on. At that moment, Johnny noticed that their faces turned a dry swollen purple. One of the infected members suddenly lurched forward to him. To his disgust, the villain noticed that he was exhaling a red powder.
“Oh Satan, I forgot! The antidote THE ANTIDOTE!!!”
“Wha, what are you talking about?!?” said Power Ring pushing away an infected councilman.
“The antidote! You two MUST have it! Surely, you must know what that little $#!* did with it! Please, we’ll give you any.. AAUUGGHH!!” He then spewed more of the red powder. In the next few seconds, the remaining council members did likewise. Both villains, looking on with helplessness and disgust, were unsure how to respond. When the last Infected person died, a nearby monitor sprang to life. To both their horror, there was Captain Terror!
“Good afternoon gentlemen! I see you’re admiring my handiwork!”
Both villains looked at each other, puzzled.
“I had infected those fools three days prior. It’s truly a work of art. Very lethal, and HIGHLY CONTAGEOUS!” he smiled.
At that moment, Power Ring’s ring came to life. “ENTITY VOLTHOOM HAS VERIFIED A BACTERIAL CONTAMINATION OF HOST. DETERIORATION OF HOST IMMINENT WITHIN SEVENTY TWO HOURS. ANTIDOTE UNKNOWN AT THIS JUNCTURE”
Terror continued. “You heard the ring! I’ve hidden the only known antidote aboard Ultraman’s fortress. I don’t know how powerful his security system is… but I’m sure you’re not dying to find out!” he smiled as his image faded out.
Both villains looked at each other with impending doom. Finally, Power Ring broke the silence, and activated a jade sphere from his ring, surrounding both villains.
“I’ll give you a lift.” He said balefully as he started to take off.

As the green sphere made its way towards Ultraman’s hideout, it was observed by Major Terror. “There gone!” he radioed to his brother.
Terror smiled as he heard the news. Two down, three to go! He smiled.

OUTSIDE OF THE MAIN CONTROL ROOM
Owlman returned after dealing with one of those weird tiger-creatures. After spending the better half of the day searching the place for equipment, information, and loot for his own personal use, he had had enough.
This place was incredibly maddening! For starters, the general layout made no sense. Hallways, which should have logically led to other wider areas, usually wound up as dead ends. Rooms which SHOULD have led to maintenance areas or control centers, instead, led to strange archaic shaped rooms which seemed to serve no purpose. It was as if whoever designed this tower, had an incredibly twisted sense of reasoning and imagination, which, in hind site, described Captain Terror perfectly.
“And I thought Ultraman’s fortress was deranged!” thought Owlman out loud.
Shortly, he arrived at the control center, where he found Ultraman and Superwoman. By the look of things, he was STILL struggling with the database. He noticed that he brought down a huge device from his fortress, no doubt using it to crack the mainframe.
Ultraman turned and noticed him. “Any luck?”
“No, I couldn’t find anything useful in this dump. I don’t even know HOW he was able to keep it running all this time!” He then indicated towards the huge device. “What’s this?”
“I’m glad you asked!” he responded quickly, no doubt to slight his rival, “I found it when I was scavenging that ancient civilization I discovered on Venus. From what I determined, it will help me in deducing the proper bio-algorhythms which should crack the binary password encryption.
Owlman looked at the device, then towards Ultraman, then back towards the device. “You don’t have a clue what it does, do you?”
Ultraman’s eyes turned red. “Don’t start with me Tom!”
“Look, just give me five minutes, I’m sure I’ll have it cracked in no time!”
“Who’s plan was this?”
Owlman stared at him icily. “Yours.”
“Damn straight!” The tyrant of steel wouldn’t admit it, but this was taking him longer than he wanted. It figures, he thought, Captain Terror could be just as annoying away, than if he was actually here. But he wasn’t here, he pondered. With that thought in his mind, he was determined to continue.
“What about that ‘spokesman’ of his, that young kid?” added Superwoman. He might know something.”
Ultraman pondered, that was a thought. It was strange, though, he hadn’t seen him since they took over the tower. He was obviously hiding somewhere in the city. “I’ll have Johnny look for him later. After he’s done with…”
At that moment, his signal device activated.
He activated the visual control. “What is it Braniac…?” He paused, behind the Braniac drone, Utraman could see signs of commotion.
“Master..!” said the drone. “It’s Power Ring and Johnny Quick… They have invaded the fortress… They’re causing havoc and…” then nothing but static.
“WHAAAAAAAATTTTTTTTT?” bellowed the tyrant of steel. With ultra speed, he immediately left to take care of this.
Superwoman then slinked towards Owlman. “I thought he’d never leave!” she said seductively.
Owlman was puzzled…

With unthinkable speed, an azure force sped out of the tower, where it was observed nearby. “He’s gone!” reported Major Terror.
Terror smiled as he heard the news. Three down, two to go!

As Superwoman lept toward Owlman passionately, the cowled crusader pondered. “Power Ring’s gone, Johnny Quick’s gone, Ultraman’s gone…”
“And only we remain lover!” said Superwoman as she kissed him. She was somewhat taken aback, when he didn’t share the moment.
“Don’t you see? Our most powerful members are gone! Just think for a moment, why would those two mess with Ultraman if they knew he’d kill them, unless…”
She paused somewhat comprehending.
“It’s a trick!” he exclaimed as he rushed towards a terminal.
At that moment, however, the power went out in the control center, leaving both villains in the dark.
“Wha, what’s happening?”
Suddenly, many rooms away, came a loud crash.
Cautiously, Owlman stepped out of the room. “Come with me!”
As the two left the room, there came another loud crash. “I can’t stand this!” exclaimed Superwoman, and rushed out to the void.
“Lois, no!” But it was too late.
As she flew down the hallway, the evil villainess tried to navigate in the dark. Suddenly, a few millimeters from her, she felt a strong gust of wind. Immediately, she reached for her lasso. All of a sudden, from at least six different directions, a force capable of shattering mighty walls landed on the hapless amazon, rendering her unconscious.
As she collapsed on the floor, Bloody Mary stood over her vanquished foe.
“Bitch!” she exclaimed triumphantly.
Nearby, Captain Terror smiled. “One left!”

Owlman searched the corridors frantically with the infra red sensors imbedded in his helmet, keeping to the shadows. Whoever it was, he certainly knew what he was doing, knowing enough to separate the syndicate’s powerful members from the rest of the group.
Nearby, he detected some motion, and slowly moved forward. As he turned a bend, his sensors detected a human sized object coming toward him with great speed. He quickly targeted a bloodseeker towards the object, when, to his horror, he recognized the form.
Superwoman!
As her form collided with him, he rolled with the force. Almost immediately, power was restored, and the lights came on at full power, completely blinding the grim villain.
Frantically, he fired all available projectiles in all directions. “I have bloodseekers, razorangs!!!” he exclaimed. Immediately, he was lifted up by the collar. With great dread, Owlman’s vision adjusted to make out his foe.
“And I don’t care!” said Captain Terror as he crushed a razorang in front of him. Owlman sneered at that remark.
Terror continued. “You have two choices Fowlman, you can either stay and deal with us, or leave with your ‘girlfriend’ and deal with Ultraman!” he smiled menacingly.
Owlman quickly pondered the situation. He clearly couldn’t last five seconds against them on their own turf. With Ultraman, however, at least he had the negatives.
“Major, Mary, escort these two outside the city. I gotta ‘clean up’” said Terror icily. He immediately dropped his victim and rushed towards the control center.
When he arrived, he immediately noticed Ultraman’s device, which had finally activated. Uncertain of its purpose, he put his fist through it, putting it out of his misery. He then quickly entered the security passwords on the mainframe, and started to bring the tower back on line. He smiled. “Ultraman, you never learn, do you?”
At that moment, a nearby radio transmitter blared. “Owlman! Come in! It’s Terror, he returned!”
Terror’s smile widened as he picked up the radio.

ULTRAMAN’S FORTRESS, FIFTEEN MINUTES EARLIER

The Thangarian laser. Destroyed.
His priceless trophies. Damaged, most beyond repair.
Wherever he looked, his equipment, personal effects, and valuables were either damaged or destroyed.
His inner sanctum. VIOLATED!
Ultraman was furious.
They were DEAD!
He found them at the lower observation deck, surrounded by damaged Braniac drones fighting over some glass vials.
“Hey! Save some fer me!” said Power Ring desperately.
“No way man! You have enough!” he then glanced towards Ultraman. “Oh shi…”
He grabbed them both by the neck, his face twisted with rage.
Power Ring quickly responded. “It was Terror! He tricked us!
“YeahitwasTerrornotuspleaseitwasntourfaultwelldoanythingdowhatyouwanttousjustpleaseletuslive!!!
“Terror?” said Ultraman as he dropped the two villains. No, it COULDN”T be! And yet… Quickly, he reached for his communicator.
“Owlman! Come in! It’s Terror, he’s returned!”
To his horror, a different voice responded.
“Ultraman, is that you good buddy? You’re just in time to watch me put the shield back up!”
With a quick scan of his Ultra vision, his worst fears were verified. The shield was activated!
“NNNNNNOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!” said Ultraman.
With ultra speed, the villain sped back towards the city, only to collide smack into the shield!
As he struggled helplessly with the energy barrier, he noticed Captain Terror, a few feet on the opposite side, looking at him with that grin he SO despised.
“Our duplicates Ultraman? You can’t even FACE us anymore? You have to use duplicates? How pathetic can you get?”
Terror watched, smiling, as Ultraman slipped into unconsciousness, and tumbled down to the ground.
Behind him, Major Terror and Bloody Mary observed the situation gleefully. Mary was particularly ecstatic. She had FINALLY remembered to bring a video camera. There were people on the outside who would pay a mint to see Ultraman make a fool of himself!

Two miles away, on the outskirts of town, Alexander Luthor, smiling, viewed these events through his binoculars. It was true that nothing had changed, and relations were currently strained with Sivana…
But it was worth it to see Ultraman get his for once!
It was events like this that made life worth living.

A few miles farther away, Owlman was trying to bring Superwoman to consciousness. When she finally awoke, she noticed where she was, and the activated shield.
“Hungh… he screwed up again, didn’t he?” she said.
“I’m afraid so, babe.” He said grimly. ”I think it would be wise if we avoided him for a while. Let’s get you back to Centropolis.”
Unbeknownsted to both of them, they were being observed by a strange white figure, who was eying Owlman with interest…

FAWCETT CITY, EARTH TWO

As the events unfolded, everyone looked in stunned silence. Even Shazam seemed surprised by these sudden turn of events.
All of a sudden, the historama readjusted, showing Mazahs.
“Well done Shazam.” Said the wizard eerily. “You have managed to save them from my grasp.” He continued, eying the Marvels.
“Everything is as it was before my friend. The balance has been restored, although with admittedly unexpected results.” Said the good wizard.
“Don’t be coy with me! No one can hope to challenge me and survive!”
“Why don’t you come HERE and say that?” asked CM3 smugly.
Mazahs paused for a few tense moments, and finally spoke. “Farewell Shazam.” Said the evil wizard menacingly.
“Farewell, COUSIN!” said Shazam smugly, as the other wizard faded from view.

Later in the day, after the league had left, the Marvels, after reverting to their original forms, hung out at Freddy’s newsstand. After some time, Mary broke the silence.
“I still can’t get over it.”
“I know what you mean.” Said Freddy.
“I just wish we could have done SOMETHING, instead of make a mess of things.”
“I know.” Said Billy, “but like Superman said, it’s a law of nature. There was nothing we could do!”
A few seconds later, Mary continued. “I wonder how they feel about us?”
“They certainly aren’t too pleased with us!” said Billy.
“I still feel guilty about what we did to THEIR Sivana. And leaving Adam to fend for himself, after what he went through and all.”
“Shazam said he made his choice.” Said Freddy.
“Yeah, but I guess when it’s all said and done, maybe we it isn’t wise to force a point of view on others. It’s greater to have the courage to stand up for yourself, not to force your will on others.”
“I suppose so.” Said Mary.
Freddy then looked at his watch. “It’s almost time for me to shut down. You guys wanna grab a burger?”
“Sure! You buying drinks?” said Billy optimistically.
“Yeah, only if you grab the fries.!”
“Great! Let’s go!”
And the trio headed off.

FAUCET CITY, WIZZ TOWER

Major Terror, with a pair of newly cloned Tawny, made a final check of the main control panel. Everything SEEMED to be in proper working order, but he wanted to be absolutely certain. Willy made it perfectly clear that he wanted to learn the full scope of Ultraman’s sabotage.
“Wanna call it a day?” asked Bloody Mary at the entranceway in a seductive voice.
Freddy looked at her and smiled. On second thought, screw him! And flew toward her.
Unbenownsed to him, when he left, the mainframe activated, as if it was recalibrating itself…

A few minutes later, as they were locked in a passionate embrace, Freddy whispered in her ear. “I don’t know what I’d do without you!”
She smiled, and brought him closer.
The next few minutes, they laid together in silence. Then Freddy spoke up. “What do you think they’re doing?”
“You mean our duplicates? Why do you care?”
“I dunno. I mean they’re LIKE us, yet different.”
“It doesn’t matter. They’re on their world, and we’re in ours, and I couldn’t be happier!”
“All the same, I was worried when I nearly lost you.”
“Try not to think about it lover!” she smiled as she continued the embrace.

CITY HALL
“…and in conclusion, Captain Terror feels that in light of these new developments, the shield is due for an upgrade. In which case, it will be necessary to raise the tax to about, oh, say, eighty five percent!”
A council member spoke up. “Of course Mr. Batson, I guess we could afford to cut funding for social services.”
“Not to mention the schools. Anything to keep Ultraman out.” Said another one.
Willy smiled as they heaped up the pile. Of course, he had no idea how he could defend the city against these other worlders, but THEY didn’t know that!

Later, when he was heading home in his limo, he pondered. Everything DID seem to turn out for the best. The new council members were FAR more reasonable than those previous whiners! Plus, with the added tributes and what not, he was set for life!
He grinned. But even that paled in comparison to the fact that he was able to royally piss off Ultraman!
As he lay back, he spoke out loud. “And the moral of this story is, no one SCREWS with Captain Terror!”
“William, to me!!!” commanded the old Wizard mentally.
Willy gulped. “Except for him!”

SIVANA’S LAB, AN HOUR LATER
The old scientist returned to his lab, carrying some spare parts. He had heard the news about the new taxes for the shield, and was preparing for the weeks ahead, organizing supplies and what not.
“Let me help you with that father.” Said Georgia, who emerged from the power room.
“That’s okay dear! I can handle it!”
“You should really take it easy, you’ve been working like a madman since that incident with that horrible Luthor!”
“Now now, it wasn’t his fault! Besides, we were able to straighten up the lab.”
“I know, but still… if it wasn’t for that new helper, I don’t know what we would have done.”
“I’ll tell you what, he MUST be tired after all the work he’s done for us, why don’t you make him a snack?”
“Okay!” she said as she quickly went to the kitchen.
As he entered the lab, he saw the new helper, hard at work, setting up the transfer device. “You can take a break now, my daughter’s fixing us lunch!” This gentleman was clearly a godsend, he thought. He arrived shortly after the Terror’s returned, and not only cleared up the mess the Marvel’s had made, but helped with his experiments, and other chores. And without breaking a sweat!
The man emerged from the shadows. He was tall, black hair, wearing a worn jacket, with a white tee shirt underneath. “That will be fine!” said Adam the White.

THE END?

[dans]

Do you know the author?

[johnreiter902]

Jun 12, 2024 1:49:06 GMT dans said:

Do you know the author?

Seth Gottlieb is the name i have written down

[dans]

oops I missed that sorry.