He Who Wields The Lightning

by Onomonopia

The Wizard

"I must admit Adam, out of all the villains that have been defeated or sent away by the League, you were the last one I expected to appear in my laboratory," Luthor suavely said to the man, but Adam was too busy muttering a few spells to conceal his presence there. "And I see that you have gotten your powers back. Which is odd, because according to my sources, you were sent to the ends of the universe without your voice--" Adam grabbed Luthor by the throat and lifted him into the air, narrowing his eyes at the smirk on Luthor's face.

"So...we're going...with the old greeting, huh?" Luthor joked.

"How secure is this laboratory of yours?" Adam asked. When Luthor raised an eyebrow in response, Black Adam tightened his grip slightly. "I know you Luthor. You do not like to be spied upon. Are the walls lined with lead? Do you have machines in place that prevent this area from being hacked? Have you tempered the metal with anti-magic?" Luthor chuckled to himself as Adam lowered him to the floor, patting Adam on the shoulder.

"All that and more, Black Adam," Luthor smirked, but Adam was fully aware that Luthor was examining both him and the items he brought--with hidden interest in his eyes. "No one will be able to sense any magic in here. But enough about my humble abode. I highly doubt that you returned from the edges of the universe so that we could talk about how secure my rooms are. You want something from me, don't you?" Adam nodded as he walked over to the armor and weapons he had brought, starting with the suit and the schematics that had been within said suit.

"Over a year ago strange humans, from what I assumed was a parallel world, attacked the land I now protect," Adam began as Luthor took the items out of his hands, studying them very closely. "While disposing of the fools was easy, unlocking the secrets that their weapons and armor held was...out of my area." Luthor held up a hand to silence him as he walked over to the other items Adam had brought. He picked up the helmet and analyzed it for a minute, before he took both it and the gun to a workbench near at hand.

"It seems that this weapon fires some kind of pulse energy in round forms, making it similar to a machine gun," Luthor began as he started to take the weapon apart, quickly observing, learning and categorizing the different parts and how they worked. "Also seems to be a grenade launcher. But this technology is futuristic to what I can make, though not by much. 'Another reality', that's what you said?"

"That is what I believe. They gave off a weird magic from a being that seeks to destroy me," Black Adam scowled, only to get a smirk out of the bald genius.

"Black Adam, nearly everyone wants to destroy you," he said as he picked up the helmet. "You're not exactly the most popular man in the known universe. Hmmm...collapsible while also able to be manually removed. Space worthy as well--now that's interesting. And made of a very strong metal I see. Now for the suit. Hmm...flexible, but durable. Also space worthy, very good. These are all very interesting finds, Black Adam. Why did you travel across space to bring them to me?"

"Because I have a deal to make with you," Adam began as he floated over to the book he had brought on Equestria and the ponies within it, picking it up and tossing it to Luthor. "I need you to replicate the weaponry and armor that these humans had to fit an army, but not the kind of army you are used to." Luthor cracked open the book and quickly skimmed through it, a smile on his face that grew only larger as he read.

"Magical, multicolored horses?" Luthor said almost with disbelief in his voice. "These are the creatures you now protect? That is golden, Adam! You must tell me how they make glue on this world." Lightning flashed from Adam's eyes and Luthor backed away from him a bit, looking around to see if he had any weapons within reach that could harm Adam. "I can do what you ask Adam, hell, I can do anything. But what do I get out of this? Will you try to destroy Superman again? Because the last time that happened you got thrown to the end of the universe."

"I have compensation," Adam said as he cracked open the lead-lined container and reached into it to pull out the green shard, smirking as both of Luthor's eyes went in unison to it at the sight of the green fragment. "I believe that you have good reason to acquire one of these pieces." Black Adam held out the piece and Luthor took it from him in an instance, walking over to a machine so that he could examine the piece. When he confirmed its validity, he looked at Black Adam with a smile on his face.

"Black Adam...my friend...of course I can prepare an army for you," he said with an evil smile as he looked down at the green shard in his hands. "But just to be clear, you want me to recreate this armor for around four foot horses? This is correct?" Black Adam nodded as Luthor looked at the tech with interest. "Only for the horses?"

"I care not if you wish to keep what you have learned for yourself," Adam said. "As long as I receive what I require, then you are free to do what you wish with the rest of it." Luthor chuckled to himself as bent over the workbench, his eyes looking hungrily at all of the knowledge that was hidden within the suits before his eyes rested upon the schematics. He picked them up with interest and brought them over to a large computer at the end of the room, fiddling with both for a few minutes.

"There we go. Now let us see what is on this," Luthor muttered as he hacked into the schematics with relative ease. He whistled slightly as Adam walked over beside him, unable to make out what was on the screen. "It's a number of weapons, tools and other suit designs that this world apparently has. Also it seems to have been overrun with undead alien-like creatures that reanimate corpses. Going to look into that later."

"And what does this mean for the suits for the army?" Black Adam asked.

"This means that this is going to be harder than I thought," Luthor muttered as he scrolled through the different designs within the schematics. "The suits are equipped by a special machine, but it seems that you only need one. But refitting the suits will be difficult as well as finding a way to allow those without magic to fire the weaponry, not to mention the stasis and telekinesis...hmm, on second thought Black Adam, I might need a little more payment if you wish for me to do this. I am a busy man after all and this will be time consuming." Luthor had expected Adam to threaten him, but instead the dark god walked over to the lead container and reached inside, but this time he pulled out another shard of kryptonite.

"I assumed that you would try this. That is why I brought insurance."

"Is that...gold kryptonite?" Luthor whispered weakly, his composure breaking down as he saw what Adam held within his hands. Adam nodded with his own evil smile as Luthor walked over to him, but before he could grab the shard Adam caught him with his free hand and lifted Luthor up. "Forgive me if I do not give you this one, but I do not wish to give away my hold on you so easily."

"Then tell me what it does! Does is set him on fire?! Turn him to ash?! I must know!" Luthor grunted as he tried to grab the piece of kryptonite, but Adam kept it at arms reach.

"I know not what it will do to the Kryptonian, but if you wish to find out you will create the weaponry as I have requested," Adam said as he dropped Luthor to the floor. "I also wish to know how those I protect can create the armor themselves so I do not need to return here every time I wish to forge new armor. Seeing you again after ten years is still too soon for me." Luthor rose to his feet with his composure, though Adam saw that his eyes never left the kryptonite that he held within his hands. Silently Luthor walked over to his workbench, grabbed the book of Equestria, and taking it to his computer, began to make measurements and formulate how he was going to make this work.

"I am sorry if I will not be good company, but making suits and weaponry for an army will take time," Luthor said to Adam without emotion in his voice, though Adam knew that the bald man was planning something. "Why not go out, see the city while you're here? Or do the heroes still hate you after you killed all of Congress. Oh yes, that was a spectacle. Did you know that the people of Earth almost elected me president in their desperation. Of course Superman changed their minds, but it was nice to see that they'll put me in a position of power if they feel desperate enough."

'You in power is truly a terrifying thought,' Adam mused. But as he leaned against the wall of the room while Luthor worked away, he found his mind wandering back to the silver mare and what she had said. He had confirmed it for himself that Sunnysmiles was dead, but how did the mare know so much about her? Did she read their minds and use that information against them? The more Adam thought about the mare, the more he realized that her magic was, while not superior, something with which his own could not keep up.

'The more I think about it, the more I have realized that...my powers alone may no longer be enough to protect those I care about...my nation,' Adam bitterly asserted as he clenched his fists. 'I need more power, yet I cannot go after Marvel as the other heroes would overpower me, as they did before...but if I go to the source, if I take his power...' Adam placed the kryptonite within his sash and floated towards the exit, getting Luthor's attention.

"I'm sorry, is my making weapons for an entire army boring you?" he asked with a smirk. Adam turned to look back at him with cold eyes before he sighed.

"I am going someplace where I have not been welcome in a lifetime," Black Adam began before he shot through the door and out of the building. He shot into the heavens with speeds that no mortal could fathom, going faster and faster until all of reality seemed to merge together. Then as he burst through the confines of his own reality, he found himself standing before a massive stone castle that was suspended by nothing. He wondered for a moment if the heroes had sensed his speed, but it did not matter now. He had work to do.

'Yes, it has truly been eons since I was last welcome at the Rock of Eternity.'

S=H=A=Z=A=M

The ancient halls looked like they hadn't changed a day since the last time Adam had walked through them, but back then he had been allowed to roam through them. Now he knew that he was on restricted territory for him, and that it was only a matter of time until the wizard or any of the other magical beings here sensed him.

'But none of them are powerful enough to stop me. Not even the Seven Sins,' Adam mused to himself as he entered a large chamber, where he found two staircases that headed up towards his destination, while banners adorned with the symbol of the wizard hung lazily from the ceiling. But what gained the warrior's eye was the suit of armor, the mirror and the jar that rested off to the side of the room. He inhaled once before placing one foot inside of the room.

'What are you doing back here?!' the armor roared as it came to life, lightning flowing through its joints as it flung itself at Black Adam. Adam caught the armor by the face and hurled it against a wall, the suit being torn to pieces by the impact. Black Adam then entered the room fully as he looked around, pausing to see if there were any other surprises waiting for him. The armor had begun to reform, the lightning connecting it once again as the empty helmet seemed to glare at Adam. 'After all you have done, you have the nerve to return here?!'

"I do," Adam muttered as the knight drew a blade of pure lightning, Adam narrowing his eyes as the armor rushed towards him. He intercepted the first strike with his gauntlets and kicked the suit in the chest, sending it skidding back. An uppercut sent it into the ceiling, where it struck the roof hard before falling back down. Adam tore its blade from its hand before impaling the suit upon its own sword. He then lifted both the sword and the suit on the end before throwing both towards a wall, the sword impaling the suit to the wall.

'Why are you doing this, Black Adam?' a lady in the mirror asked him. Adam turned his head to face her. 'Haven't you caused enough pain?'

"I do not need to explain my actions to you," Black Adam snarled before he cracked the mirror with his fist, still able to see the woman within it. "Go and tell the wizard that I am here. And, that I am ending our feud today." The woman vanished as Black Adam took to the air, ignoring the remarks made by the suit of armor. He floated down the long hallway to where the wizard resided, passing by the statues where the Seven Deadly Sins were imprisoned. At the end of the long hallway was a room far larger than any other in the castle, and at the end of it rested a single throne with a plate beside it, along with a mirror. But Adam's eyes rested solely on the figure that sat on the throne, eyes filled with sorrow as he gazed upon Adam. He wore a long white robe and had an equally white beard, but power flooded through him that very few had seen before. He was the wizard.

"Shazam," Black Adam snarled, moving forward to avoid the lightning bolt that followed. The wizard did not speak in return but instead shook his head sadly. The woman in the mirror said something to him, but the wizard held up a hand as he looked upon Adam.

"Nearly ten years since I have last seen you."

"And it has not been long enough," Shazam replied with power filling every word, a power that did not cow Adam in the least. "But I sent you off without your voice, without your power. How did you manage to make it back so quickly this time?" Adam sneered in response as he let the power crackle off of him.

"Because you forget, the prodigal son always returns home," Black Adam growled. "Did you think that by removing my powers, that I would forget about what you did to me, what you denied me? Because of your interference, my people were not served the justice that they deserved that day." The wizard shook his head slightly as he motioned for the woman in the mirror to leave them, which she did but with hesitation.

"Justice? From what I saw that day you were exacting vengeance, not this justice you seem to seek," Shazam replied sadly. "But you have never been able to tell the two apart. How could I have been so blind as to believe that you could be the champion I needed so badly? But it matters not now," Shazam replied calmly, but Black Adam gave him a small smile.

"If you are trying to call for help, do not bother. I sealed this place within my magic after I entered," Black Adam boasted, but the wizard remained emotionless. "The barrier will fall when I wish for it to do so." Shazam looked at Black Adam with pained eyes, before he closed them and rested his head against the back of his chair.

"What is it you seek to accomplish here? Do you seek to destroy me once and for all? Without me, you will not be able to call down the word that empowers you so. You will be mortal again." The wizard had hoped to stop Black Adam with this information, but to his surprise all Black Adam did was shake his head with a small frown on his face.

"I know full well what killing you would do, Wizard, but you are not truly alive, not anymore. But I am not here to kill you," Black Adam snarled as he clenched his fist. "I am here for your power, the power of the wizards that has been passed down since magic first began." Adam began to smile at the look of horror the wizard now wore. "And if I take your powers upon myself, then the word will still be empowered, but I will be the Wizard...no, I will be more than you ever were! I will use the magic in a way that you never bothered to use!"

"To do what, Black Adam?" Shazam asked with scorn filling up his voice. "To destroy all those who stand in your way? To make the world submit to you in the way you have always dreamed of? To finally have the absolute power that you crave?" When Black Adam looked into the wizard's eyes, the old man gasped, for the first time since Teth had become Black Ada, did the wizard see something in his eyes. He saw courage, honor and the will to protect.

"No, Wizard. In your thousands of years of living you have spent your time hiding within these walls, afraid to communicate with the outside world, believing that it did not deserve the help your magic could bring it!" Black Adam roared with fierce power in his voice. "And that is where you fail as a protector of the humans. But I will not make the same mistake you have! I will use my magic to protect the weak, to heal the sick, and to inspire hope within those who cannot find it themselves. I will become what you failed to be."

'Is this...really the Black Adam that I knew?' the wizard asked himself as he gazed upon his fallen champion. 'He seems...so much stronger than he did before, and his eyes are filled with purpose now...no Shazam, do not fall for his lies. If he seeks the power you hold than nothing good can come of it. You must stop him...or die trying.' "You do realize that I am not simply going to lie down and allow you to take this power from me, do you?"

"I defeated you once old man. I can do it again," Black Adam said as he held both hands to his sides, drawing power from the magic that surrounded the place. The wizard closed his eyes and bowed his head for a moment, praying for his fallen family to give him strength. Then he opened his now pure white eyes as he clasped his hands together. When he separated them he drew forth a staff of golden light, with a thunderbolt at its tip that shone with power. The stones beneath his feet were then absorbed into his body, giving his slightly ethereal form strength. "You take on a physical form to face me? You will not win that way."

"After all this time, you still believe that the pain you cause was for justice," Shazam scorned as he raised the staff over his head, dark thunderclouds forming in the center of the Rock of Eternity. Black Adam rose into the air as well as the clouds began to encircle him, lightning flashing across his suit as he prepared himself. "Slaughtering millions, destroying both hero and villain alike. All you are is a greed-filled monster, who seeks a power that he should have never even received a taste of."

"And you are still the frightened old man that you have always been," Adam spat in return. "You have always been too afraid of getting involved with the human race, despite all the good that you could have brought to them. Imaging all the wars you could have stopped, the diseases you could have cured if you were willing to be among them. But you are weak and afraid."

"I stayed away from the humans so that they would not become dependent on magic to save them!" Shazam roared as he slammed the butt of his staff into the floor, blowing away the walls that surrounded them to reveal what looked like hundreds of galaxies surrounding the ground upon which they both stood. "So that they could learn to be strong on their own! So that they would not need a god to rule over them and shape their destiny for them!"

"The humans do not need a god to save them. What they needed was a teacher to put them on the right path," Black Adam responded with a growl. "But you could not even do that. You could not even teach them how to use magic. Because you believed that they would destroy each other with it."

"Because they would," Shazam snarled as he tossed his hands to the side. "You have seen what they have done with their weapons and their technology! If I shared the magic with them, they might destroy the whole world! Humanity cannot be trusted with magic! That is why I--"

"Chose only a select few to inherit the power," Adam spat. "But that is where you and I differ, old man. You do not believe in humanity and never have; that is why you strove to find someone who was perfect to inherit the power of the world. I have been shown that all have the potential to be mighty, yet they do not have someone to guide them. But that is what I will do with your power. I will show them what it means to be mighty."

"You will have to do it over my dead body, Adam," Shazam said as he spun the staff over his shoulders and pointed the tip of it at Adam's chest.

"The old me would have had it no other way," Adam responded as lightning crackled along his body, causing his eyes to turn as white as the wizard's as they glared at each other. "But now I will ask you once, give me your power and I shall not erase you." When Shazam snarled in reply, Adam nodded once in acceptance.

And then they began.

Comments

[badninja]

Oh, not good. Why do I feel that both Captain Marvel and Superman will fall soon. Black Adam is going to have his home universe fall all because he wants more power to save the ones he loves, instead of relying on friends to stand with him. He has lost 7 beings who if he had not acted rashly to, he would have ready to help him at a moments notice. I hope before he gets his comeuppance he realizes his mistakes.

[Shadow-silver]

We just need this story to take its course

[Phreak_91]

Are your Black Adam and Captain Marvel from the same universe, or is the Marvel that is in your previous story from a different reality than this Black Adam?

[Onomonopia]

5402848
different universes

[Sparkfire]

You know, I suggest the Spectre needs to deal with some villains in your fics mostly because in some cases, death is too good for them (or the hero has a no-kill rule, but the Spectre can actually do worst to the bad guy), Onomonopia. This is the first I'm actually saying that the Hero need to face the Spectre (aka: Black Adam needs a reality check in terms of power). Adam has been lucky so in that the Spectre hasn't dealt with him yet.

[Onomonopia]

5402893
Probably, but the specter is not apart of these stories. if I wanted him to be i'll make one for him.

[Sparkfire]

5403075 True, and to be fair the Spectre is way too OP for most stories (Hell, the only way to actually use him without having any fic with him end in the same chapter he first appears in, is to give a really good reason he can't just defeat the bad guys instantly. For example: In my Superman/FiM story, he is a multi-dimensional being whose attention is divided between all version himself, and thus limiting his power. Not saying that's a good idea, it was hell explaining it).

Also, if someone is suggesting that the Spectre (aka: Mr."I will kill you by turning you into cheeze and have your mice, who've abused and treat horribly, eat you") deal with your characters, you're doing something right. If you ever make a Spectre fic set on Equestria, I fear the the world will explode from awesome.

Plus along with Superman, the Spectre is the hardest Superhero to write (You've done Superman right, so you could probably write a good Spectre fic if you wanted to).

[Onomonopia]

5403547
if I do specter, it would have to be a one shot and it probably would have little fighting. But that's a train of thought for another day.