//------------------------------//
// Speechless 
// Story: He Who Wields The Lightning 
// by Onomonopia 
//------------------------------//

With the vague notion of pain coursing through his body, the human named Teth slowly sat up in what he assumed was a bed, rubbing his hands as he looked down at them through blurry eyes.

'Ugh, what happened to me? Last thing I remember was...' His train of thought was derailed when he looked up and noticed that a horse in golden armor was looking through the bars of a cell at him. He shot back in his bed as he began to envoke the word for the greatest magic known to man...only to realize that no sound escaped his lips. He looked down at his throat with wide eyes, realizing what had been done. 'Damn you, wizard.'

"Glad to see that you are awake, seeing that you were out for a week," a new voice said, as a giant white horse with both wings and a horn entered the room, leaving Adam to try and grasp what had happened and where he was. "I can see from the look on your face that you are confused, but I can provide the answers you need if you wish." Teth scowled and tried to call out for the power of SHAZAM again, but without his voice he could not summon his power. So all he could do was nod to the horse with resignation, while he began to plan a way to get his voice back. The horse told the smaller horse to unlock the cage and it did so, allowing Adam to leave the cell. 

"Please follow me," the white horse said as she began to lead him out of what he assumed was a dungeon. "I do not wish for you to be hurt, human." Adam was a bit surprised that she knew him to be human, but his biggest concern right now was the lack of his voice. Without it, he was powerless, in what he assumed to be a new land. He followed the horse down a bleak hallway into a quiet room with a mirror on one wall, which he guessed was a one-way window. The white horse sat down in one of the two chairs in the room and motioned for him to do the same.

"I must admit, I did not believe the legends that humans were real, but here you are to prove me wrong," she said with a thin smile. When he didn't reply, she frowned a bit and took on a more formal pose. "I am Princess Celestia, ruler of these lands and the ponies that live in them. I am responsible for their safety." Adam raised his eyebrows at this, wondering why the wizard would send him into a world under tyranny without his powers. Was the wizard trying to torture him? "And since they are my responsibility I must ask, why did you fall out of the sky into my gardens? Were you trying to hurt us or did you have no control over your actions?"

'Foolish pony, is it not obvious that I cannot speak?' he thought to himself, but it was obvious that this pony could not read minds. When he didn't answer, Celestia sighed and closed her eyes. 

"May I at least ask for your name then?" Teth figured since the idiot couldn't tell that he couldn't speak, he would have to point it out for her. He pointed to his throat and then shook his head, rolling his eyes when he saw the realization spread on Celestia's face. "You cannot speak? I am so sorry, I did not know. Hold on just a second." What Adam saw next terrified him a bit, as he watched her horn begin to glow.  Then, the door opened on the other end of the room, and a sheet of parchment and a quill floated in through it.

'That feels like...magic,' Adam thought to himself as the items were placed in front of him. Due to his being enchanted for nearly five thousand years, Adam could almost immediately pick up on the sources of magic, and this pony, while not giving off energies that could match his own, still had a considerable amount of magic in her. That only made her more dangerous to him. 'So, the ponies here can use magic as well? This is definitely not any of the Earth's I know of."

"Now then, would you please write your name for me?" Celestia asked him once again, and this time Adam was forced to think about it. He could not fight the ponies if they could utilize magic, not without his powers at least. And from the energy coming off of his throat, it was obvious that the wizard's magic is what held his voice at bay. So with no reasonable alternative, he grabbed the parchment and quickly scrawled his name. "Teth...that is a weird name for a human, but it is your name. Hello, Teth, and welcome to the land of Equestria. May I ask how you got here?" Teth scowled at her fake kindness and crossed his arms, telling Celestia that she was getting nothing else from him. Celesita sighed at his stubbornness and stood up, walking over to the mirror.

"Teth, I know that you must feel lost in this new land, but if you do not help me, I cannot help you," she said as she walked back over to him and sat down. "I only wish to help you. So please, tell me how you got here." Adam leaned back in his chair and slightly lowered his head, remembering exactly how he had gotten here...

====Earth====

"...This is Vickie Vale of Gotham news. Fires have spread all over DC as apparently bolts of lightning have struck the White House..."

"...Reports of Black Adam killing the President and all the members of Congress, more coming as it..."

"...Possible retaliation for the nuking of Kahndaq which happened only a few days ago..."

"...Superman and other members of the Justice League have finally managed to subdue Adam after a long battle that has left most of DC in ruins, but the body count is still unknown. This is Lois Lane, bringing you more as it..."

The old wizard closed his eyes as he heard all of these reports of the damage, once again asking himself how he could have been so blind to Adam's true nature. He slowly opened his eyes as he felt the presence of an evil and good magic of the same nature enter his chamber, along with a few other people that assisted the Champion of Good. He watched as a bloodied Adam was dragged in front of him, with Superman holding one arm and his true champion, Captain Marvel, holding the other. Behind them were Batman and Wonder Woman, two other key members of the greatest force of good on Earth. Adam slowly lifted his head at the wizard with a scowl, spitting out a bit of blood at the wizard's feet.

"Why have you done this, Adam?" the wizard asked his fallen champion, who only scowled at the old man.

"I did this because the United States government is responsible for the destruction of my home...the destruction of Kahndaq!" he roared as he tried to escape his captors' grasp, but a blow to the back of his head from Superman put him down.

"You have no proof of this," Batman said as Adam slowly picked his head back up. "You only suspect that the United States had something to do with it."

"Your CADMUS organization was the last known place to house Doomsday, yet somehow he and a nuclear warhead ended up in my capital!" Adam screamed at the Bat, lightning flashing in his eyes. "My nation is gone! Hundreds of my people have been lost and your government is to blame! Nobody else on the planet could get both of those into my nation without me knowing. Nobody but CADMUS!"

"Even if you are right, you're still in the wrong for what you just did," Captain Marvel said with a shake of his head as he tightened his grip. "You killed hundreds of innocents in DC, along with the US government. You have a lot to answer for and you will pay for your crimes."

"And who was going to make them pay for theirs?" Adam asked his rival. "No one would make them pay for the crime they committed but me. And once I have disposed of all of you, I will do the same to CADMUS."

"No Adam, you won't. Not any more," Superman said with a frown as he looked up at the old wizard in the chair. "Are you ready Shazam?"

"Yes, I am," the old man said as power began to course through him. "Adam, for too long you have used the power of good to kill and destroy all who opposed you. I still do not know how you managed to trick me into thinking you were this world's savior. But after today, that will all end. Diana, if you would." Wonder Woman nodded and wrapped her Lasso of Truth around Adam's neck, waiting until it was at full power before she spoke.

"What is the name of the word that causes you to transform?" she asked him. Adam struggled against it, feeling the sudden desire to tell her whatever she wanted.

"N-no...I will not..."

"What is the word?"

"S...SHAZAM!" A massive lightning bolt came down in the cave, striking Adam square in the chest and changing him from his powerful, godly form into that of a regular man. Wonder Woman slipped off the lasso as Adam struggled back up, looking up at the wizard who shook his head before he grabbed Teth by the throat, muttering an incantation. Adam gritted his teeth as magic flowed through his throat until he was released by the wizard.

"You will now no longer be able to call on the power that you do not deserve," Shazam said with a shake of his head. "And because you cannot be trusted, you will also no longer remain on this world. I will send you to the ends of the galaxy where hopefully you will find peace." As he said this, a golden energy began to wrap itself around Adam, lifting him into the air as he looked down at the wizard one last time.

"Farewell...my fallen champion." And then Adam was launched into the farthest reaches of space, with four relieved heroes and one sad wizard there to watch him go.

===Equestria===

'I have no idea how I got here,' Adam wrote down on the paper, handing it to Celestia who looked at it with a frown. She looked at the mirror for a moment before speaking again.

"Do you have any idea where your home is? Maybe I can use my magic to send you back?"

'I have no home,' Adam wrote on the paper before he leaned back in his chair again and closed his eyes, ignoring all of Celestia's other questions. When she finally realized that he would reveal no more, she stood up without a word and walked out of the room, leaving Adam alone for a few minutes before she came back in with a guard.

"Teth, I have decided that if it's alright with you, you can stay in one of the guest rooms until we can work out a place for you to live," Celestia said with a warm smile that caused Adam's eyebrows to raise in suspicion.

'And what do you want in return?' he scribed.

"I have no need for repayment. I just wish to help you," she said with another warm smile.

'Why would you help me?'

"Because I try to help all that I can, even if they are aliens," she said with a smile, while a pony wearing doctor's garb came in and walked over to Adam, who instinctively brought his hands up to defend himself. "Do not worry, he is not going to hurt you. He just wants to make sure that you are healthy and well. You did fall from the sky after all." Adam didn't like the pony being so close, but any hostile action might result in him getting killed, so he had no choice but to endure the indignity of having the pony look over him. The doctor examined him while occasionally looking amazed at the human's form, but he did not seem to find anything wrong with Adam--not until he got to Teth's throat.

"Celestia, I don't know why, but there is a strong magical field on the human's throat," the doctor said to the princess as he examined Adam's throat, moving a hoof close to it so he could feel the power. "And it's strong, much stronger than any magic you or any pony could generate."

"That is indeed worrisome," she said as she looked at Teth. "Do you have any idea where this magic came from?" Adam didn't answer her again, causing her to sigh. "Please follow me. I will lead you to your quarters." Adam slowly stood up and followed her out of the room, noticing that the guard that had come in with her was looking back at him every few feet.

"Princess, why are you being so kind to this creature?" the guard whispered to Celestia, but loud enough so that Teth could hear. "We know absolutely nothing about it, and we have no idea what it's capable of. He could be dangerous!"

'If I had my voice, I would show you my dangerous side,' Adam thought with a smirk.

"If you were stuck on a foreign planet with no idea of how you got there and you were missing your voice, wouldn't you hope that somepony would be kind to you and help you out?" Celestia asked the guard with a smile as she looked back at Teth. "He needs our help, so I am happy to give it to him." Adam didn't know the real reason behind Celestia's kindness, but he didn't believe it for a moment. But he had little choice but to follow her, so while he did so, he looked around the castle to see the new place he would be staying. It was a decent castle, not grander than his Kahndaq palace back when it was still standing. He followed her and the guard up into a secluded part of the palace where one of the turrets held a single room, which Adam assumed was where he would be staying.

"These will be your quarters," Celestia said as she opened the door to reveal a simple room that held only a bed, a table and a bathroom in the corner. "Please stay in this room until the time comes for dinner a little later. If you need anything, feel free to write a note to the guard that will be stationed just around the corner. Now if you'll excuse me, I need to find out what you humans eat." Before Adam could do anything, Celestia had already stood up and left, leaving him alone in his new "home." With nothing better to do, Adam lay down on the bed and closed his eyes, thinking about what he was going to do now that he had a moment alone.

'The first matter, is what do I do about the lack of my voice?' he thought to himself. 'That pony said that the wizard's magic was beyond anything they had, which I am not surprised by. But that means their pitiful magic cannot be of use to me, and I refuse to be a prisoner of this foolish princess for long. I must find a way to access my power before they decide to dispose of me, so I can go seek vengeance on those who took my land.' But the more Adam thought about it, the less he knew where to begin. He had no idea if he was close to his world or not, although the wizard said that he was going to send him to the ends of the galaxy, which led Adam to wonder if the Lanterns were out here. His thoughts were interrupted when he heard the faint sounds of two voices outside of his door.

"Come on, Sis. Mom said not to bother him. We could get in trouble."

"I don't care what Celestia said. I could be the first pony in history to have an actual conversation with an alive human. This is a chance that I am not going to pass up." Adam listened as the door creaked opened and the sounds of two sets hooves on the floor got closer and closer until they came to a stop right next to his bed. "He's definitely a lot uglier than I thought." The moment that she had finished speaking, Adam had shot up in his bed and grabbed her by the throat, causing a smaller pony to scream as he lifted the silver-ish pony up by her throat. At the sound of the scream the guard came running in, snarling at Adam when he saw what was going on.

"Get your hooves off her you-" Before he could finish, Adam swung his arm and hurled the pony to the guard, stunning them both. He then threw a punch into the guard's jaw for all he was worth and decked the armored horse, knocking him to the floor where he stayed. He was about to go finish the guard off when he found himself surrounded by a white aura and lifted into the air, slowly being turned so that he could look into the eyes of an angry filly.

"You think that you can hit me and get away with it?" the filly said with narrowed eyes, as she began to tighten the magic on Adam. Before she could do any real damage to him however, her magic was suddenly cut off when a blast of solar magic clashed with her own.

"That is enough, Radiance," Celestia said in a low voice as she appeared between her daughter and Adam, who had fallen to the floor and was clutching his ribs in pain. "I told the two of you to stay away from the human, and instead you come in here, disobeying me?"

"I just wanted to see a human," Radiance muttered as she looked away.

"And you almost ended up killing him," Celestia said with a scowl. "Come with me. You need more practice at controlling your magic when you are filled with emotion. We're going to go to training now." Radiance muttered under her breath as both she and Sunnysmiles followed her out of the room, stopping behind her as she turned to Adam. "I am sorry about what happened, I promise that it will not happen again. You are welcome to join us if you wish." Adam stood up and glared at the small pony for a moment before he decided to join them, wanting to see the mare get her deserts for attacking him. He followed the three through the castle until they reached a small room that had rows of seats with a stage at the bottom.  A sign hanging over the door read, "training room."

'Let us see just how skilled this annoyance really is,' he thought to himself, as he sat down in a chair while Celestia and Radiance walked down to the stage, whereas Sunnysmiles annoyed Adam by sitting down next to him.

"Now then, today's lesson is about how to use your magic while you cannot focus as well as you want to," Celestia said as she cast a red spell on Radiance, making her slightly more angry. "That is when the real training will begin."

"I'm fine," Radiance said as she focused on levitating a pile of books that Celestia told her to levitate, with Adam smirking at her pitiful magic skills. Radiance could barely keep the book afloat, and the spell wasn't even at its full power yet. Adam would have enjoyed the spectacle more if a little filly next to him wasn't constantly trying to get in his face.

"Sorry about that," Sunnysmiles said with a smile, once Teth had glared at her to get her to stop. "I just really wanted to talk to you. Or, let me talk since you can't. Wait, I didn't mean it like that, I--" Adam put his hand over her mouth to shut her up, tired of hearing her talk. Radiance's spellcasting was getting worse and worse due to the red spell, and now she couldn't get the book to float even an inch, causing her to become more and more frustrated.

"Not so easy to use your magic when you have lost your focus, is it?" Celestia asked with a smile. "You must learn to fight through pain and exhaustion if you wish to obtain the power you seek." Radiance let out a roar and channeled all of her magical power into the spell of levitation, fighting through the red spell to lift the books up with all her might. But in her rage, the books hit the table and fell over, leaving her panting in exhaustion as Celestia shook her head. "Rage will not be your ally if you wish to use your magic to the best of its ability."

"Yeah, but it gives my magic a kick that no other method can," Radiance snapped back, causing the princess to narrow her eyes at the filly.

"My sister has a bit of a temper, kind of like you," Sunny whispered to Teth, who glared at her to be quiet again. "Jeez, aren't you a grumpy one. You need a timeout?" He despised the way she talked to him so casually, without respect or thought. He had killed for lesser insults than that.

'If I had my power, she would not speak to me in such a way,' he thought as Radiance got back up and tried once again to levitate the books with her magic. But once the books fell over again, Radiance let out a roar of rage and sent a fireball spell into the books, setting them ablaze as she snarled. Then she began to fire magic in every direction, unable to get herself to stop.

"Stop, Radiance!" Celestia cried out as she tried to use her magic to stop the spells, but the ones that had already been cast were bouncing around the room. Radiance cried out that she couldn't stop, as Teth began to predict where the next bolts of magic were going to land, preparing to get out of the way of one that he knew was heading for him. He was about to move when he realized that Sunnysmiles was still rooted in place, too terrified of the magic to move. He saw the spell coming towards the two of them and knew that he had only a moment to react.

'You are a lucky pony,' he thought as his arm shot out and grabbed Sunnysmiles, picking her up into his arms. But as he turned to run, he realized that he had made a mistake in the timing, and the brief second that he had spent grabbing her had taken away his time to get out of the way. 'I hate you wizard, for sending me here. And I hate these ponies even more.' And then the spell hit him in the back and everything went black.