Thursday

Part 1: Stormfront



Stay here.

Thor stepped over the corpse of Earth's last hero. The last one to fall in a days-long war for control of humanity. Where Loki had failed through guile, Thor had succeeded through strength. The tattered remains of the fallen one's cape was symbolic of everything that the human race had left. Broken. Torn. They would rebuild under Thor. They had no more need for red and white. No need for the blue that their hero had worn so proudly. All that the Earthlings needed was the hammer. A symbol for most. A reality for those that would refuse him.

The Asgardian floated from where he had slain the Kryptonian and suspended himself above the humans, arms outstretched. "You have met my kind before, humans. This visit should come as no surprise to you. Your leaders, your governments. They are weak. Insufficient."

He gestured to the sobbing masses with his free hand and then back to the Kryptonian. "Your protector, your Superman, refused me. He died for it. The rest of his 'League' died for it. I would not have all of you killed needlessly."

Thor floated to the ground and spread his arms wide, to embrace his newfound people. They were still sobbing. Crying for their hero. They would come around. Or they would be dragged.

"Your people, your world, will unite under the God of Thunder! We will take back Asgard and-"

A voice spoke quietly from the crowd. "Is that what this is about? You can't go home on your own? Little brother kicked you out, so now you've come to enlist an army?"

Thor spun on his heel and strode into the multitudes of people. Some were shouting, some still cried. Most were silent as the grave. One stood differently than the rest, though. His back was not bent in fear, his head was not thrown back in anger. He stared at Thor with flat, dead eyes.

He was not yet a man, but not an Earth-boy either. He was short and skinny, with a red and black sports shirt hanging off of his thin shoulders. One of the many games that Earthlings played to pass time. 

"We won't be your puppets."

Protect them when I'm gone.

Thor laughed from deep in his chest. "You would speak out against me? Tell me your name, human, so that my bards can sing of your foolishness."

"Billy," he said quietly.

The Asgardian prince laughed again. "Billy? Not the most heroic of names. I suppose it will have to do..."

The young man shrugged. "You could try the other one."

Thor furrowed his brow. "Interrupt me again and you will speak with Mjolnir. Tell me this 'other' of yours so that we can end this, child."

"Shazam."

A bolt of lightning gouged the cloudless sky and struck the young man. Concrete and other rubble exploded outwards, sending bystanders flying backwards and ruffling Thor's cape. He smiled. It seemed that even Earth's skies had accepted him as their rightful ruler. The lightning had come unbidden by him and smote an enemy of Thor. The Fates were indeed on his side. The coming war would be glorious.

A red streak shot from the smoke and rubble and struck Thor in the chest. The wind was knocked from his body and his head snapped back from the impact. Both the red bolt and the demi-god careened across the streets of Metropolis. They smashed through walls, knocked cars from their places and scattered crowds. Their momentum was only stopped when they crashed through the wall of a parking deck, sending steel beams, asphalt, and concrete in all directions.

Thor bounced across the ground, rolling and spinning, until a red van stopped him. He stood and gripped Mjolnir. Somehow, he hadn't dropped the hammer in the flight across town.

"Who dares? Who dares lay hands on me?"

A man in red and black, caped and cowled in gold, walked towards Thor from the other side of the parking deck. His fists were clenched and his shoulders squared at the Asgardian. His eyes prophesied murder.

"I dare," he said. "Will Batson. You killed my friends, Thor. Bruce, Diana, Hal...you even got Superman."

He stopped, nose-to-nose, with Thor. "I'm going to make you pay for hurting each of them."

Thor smiled. "Oh, human..."

A lightning-charged fist struck him across the jaw, skipping him back and over the red van and into the ceiling. He fell to the ground in a heap of man and cape. Thor shoved himself back to his feet and walked at the human.

"I tire of you interrupting me, boy."

He lunged forward and swung Mjolnir in a sideways arc, catching Shazam in the ribcage. There was a deafening crack and grunt of pain from the human. He flew back, through a pair of concrete walls and into a warehouse that adjoined the parking deck. Thor flew after him, landing lighting on his feet in the darkness of the storage unit.

The human, Shazam, wore a lightning bolt on his chest. He should have worshiped Thor. Then again, he had thought the same of the other man in red.

"You know, human. You dress quite a lot like the fast hero. The other who wore red and yellow. He was fast." Thor chuckled. "Not so fast after I removed his legs, though. Hopefully you fare better. I desire a worthy opponent, at least."

"Yeah. Barry, too. Add him to the list of the ones I'll be hurting you for."

Thor's eyes widened. The voice had come from behind him. The human could not possibly be that fast.

A hand gripped the hair on the back of his head and twisted, causing Thor to cry out in surprise. The hand, with immense strength behind it, heaved upwards and with wrenching force, threw the god of thunder through the roof of the warehouse, into the blue sky above.

Shazam flew after Thor and caught him in midair by the throat. He drew back and punched once, twice, three times to the Asgardians face. Once in the stomach. One more in the face, for good measure.

Billy wasn't sure if gods could bleed.

He meant to find out.

To be continued...

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Let me know what you think! If you think Shazam would win in a fight, let me know. If you think Thor would win, let me know that too. If you have any critiques, feel free to throw those my way. I love constructive feedback. Most of all, enjoy the story. There's more coming in the next few days.







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