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Chapter 65: Dealing With A Shade.

(General P.O.V)

(Johnny Storm)

She was here. His ex.

And she didn't even spare him a single glance. Instead, she seemed to have eyes for someone else. Someone she'd just met!

Their connection was instant and plain to see. Or that could be his jealousy leering it's ugly head, causing him to read more into things.

In any case, Johnny and Crystal had been broken up for a couple of years now. He was fine with her liking whoever she liked.

Even if that whoever was Billy. A... different Billy.

Still, she could have looked his way...

(General P.O.V)

Crystal blinked, realizing she had been staring at the black haired cute stranger she'd never seen before.

To hide her blush, she whipped her head around.

"Lockjaw's back is not for your luxury."

She coldly told Fury.

"Trust me, that wasn't fun for me either. I don't like animals. Especially ones that could swallow you whole. Thanks all the same "

Fury said, jumping off the giant Bulldog, called Lockjaw.

He landed on the marble floor with an audible thud.

"Fury."

Cap nodded at the Premier Spy, walking forward and shaking his hand.

"I suspected you were alive."

"Of course I was. Who else was going to save your collective asses?"

The one eyed spy snorted.

"The Avengers were gone. The Fantastic Four bombarded by a nuclear bomb and the world thrown into chaos. Someone had to stay alive to deal with this shit."

"And naturally that responsibility fell on you."

Widow said.

"Naturally? Don't humor me Natasha. I'm still your boss."

Fury responded.

"And I'm an Avenger."

Black Widow was quick with a comeback.

"Touche'."

Fury acquiesced, gazing around.

"Quite the team you have gathered here, Uatu."

He addressed the Watcher who he seemed to know, eyes sweeping through the room. They eventually landed on Shazam.

"Well... here's someone I wasn't expecting to see."

Fury raised an eyebrow.

Billy walked forward. He was now just as tall as Fury. The two stared at one another. One with an annoyed look on his face(Fury), the other with a slight smile on his(Shazam).

The latter gave him a once over before speaking,

"You're like a cockroach. Tenaciously hanging onto life, Nick."

"I would say it's good to see you but we never have a pleasant time together, so I won't."

Fury shot back.

Shazam chuckled as Fury turned away from him. He walked forward, approaching the House of Agon.

Unbeknownst to him, Billy's eyes narrowed as he scanned Fury's magnetic field.

No one except for Crystal who was stealing glances at him noticed the frown on his face.

"King Blackagar, thank you for having us here."

Fury inclined his head in a nod.

Black Bolt returned the gesture.

"It is good to see you again Fury."

Medusa spoke up on behalf of the King and his vassals.

"The pleasure is all mine, your highness. Though I wish we were reuniting under better circumstances."

Fury sighed, slight regret his tone.

"That's why you're here, Nick. With you, we can deal with this threat once and for all. Earth is done for but Attilan can still be saved."

Medusa stated, this time addressing the whole chamber.

"Saved? Saved from what?"

Johnny asked.

"Are we... missing something? And what is this about Earth being done for?"

"You- don't know."

Queen Medusa muttered in realization.

"No, not really. Reed said it before, we've been stuck in the negative Zone for the last 5 weeks."

Invisible Woman replied.

"A machination from our mutual enemy then."

The statement came from a man standing next to King Blackagar, the chief bodyguard of the king, Gorgon.

He was an inhuman with sharp horns and hooves for legs.

"Explain."

The Thing demanded, hands crossed over his chest.

Cap walked to the middle of the room.

"A few weeks ago, sometime before 0600 hours, the world ended. We found ourselves teleported to Asgard, only narrowly escaping the fate the rest of the world faced."

"The bastard deployed Nukes, and bombed every major city across the world. Naturally that resulted in an astronomical loss of lives."

Fury interrupted.

"We lost many of our own people as well."

"The world...was nuked?"

Johnny muttered in disbelief.

"Why would anyone do that? What would be the motive?"

"It's called Ultron."

Shazam cut in, with a heavy voice.

"An AI that seeks to end all human existence. I was on my way to warn the Avengers about his coming when the Nukes landed. All I remember is a bright flash of light...and then nothing."

"How did you even survive thar?"

Crystal curiously asked.

"I didn't."

Shazam said, then went quiet without offering up anything else.

"That's not all. We have another issue on top of this. Asgard...was attacked and destroyed."

Cap informed the chamber.

The news caused everyone's spirits to plummet. They could have relied on reinforcements from Asgard as Midgard was under their protection, but now...

"Indeed. By the World Eater, Galactus."

Uatu revealed.

"You might be surprised to know that both incidents are connected. The AI was advanced enough to track the energy signature of the Bifrost that saved you, Avengers. Then it broadcasted the exact Coordinates of Asgard out into the Universe."

"Dammit!"

Tony punched the floor from where he was studying the Sentinel. The floor cracked.

"The Old Man was right, it's our fault that Galactus turned his attention onto Asgard."

His eyes underneath the visor looked haunted,

"My fault that I create it..."

"Enough."

Thor announced.

"I have wasted precious time here. Take me back Watcher. I won't ask again."

"I cannot. I apologize. All you would find where Asgard used to be is floating debris and wild magic."

Uatu's response did not seem to appease the God Of Thunder.

"I don't care. If I cannot save my home then I will bloody well Avenge it!"

"Listen to the peeping Tom, Thor. According to one of my abilities, the chances of you going up against Galactus as you are...is less than 2%."

Shazam broke the news to Thor before the God could continue harassing Uatu.

"Please, everyone. I beseech you to rest and eat first." The Queen offered.

"We can discuss our strategy for a counterattack afterwards."

"That's probably a good idea..."

Reed sighed, getting to his feet.

"I will need some time with this thing. Maybe I can find a way we can wrest control from Ultron. Failing that, at least we can learn their weaknesses. Maybe even rewire it to work for us. With Tony, Viktor and I, we can-"

Sue grabbed his hand, breaking him out of his thoughts.

"You can do all that honey, right after food and rest."

"Yeah, rest and actual food sounds nice."

Johnny drooled.

"We've only been eating fried bugs. Do you know how gross that is?"

"It's decided then."

The Queen clapped.

The doors to the Throne Room opened as servants walked in.

"Please follow them to your quarters. Someone will be over later to summon you for the feast. Fury, Dr.Richards and Captain America, my Husband requests you to stay back for a while."

A dismissal if Billy had ever seen one. He wasn't concerned about it though, he had something else to attend to.

Without waiting for anyone else, he turned and hurried away, only throwing a nod at The Ancient One.

Johnny tried to catch up to him on the hallway. The Servant leading Shazam seemed to understand he was in a hurry, and responded by increasing her pace as well.

Once he was in his own room, Billy wasted no time in walking to the bathroom.

(Billy's P.O.V)

What was this heat?

It was a burning in my chest that was steadily growing uncomfortable. One of my eyes felt as if it was on fire too.

In the mirror before me,

My left eye kept on flashing red while the other remained my normal blue.

Not to mention, my mind felt like it was fighting a war with itself. Sweat was starting to pour down my face and the grip I had on the sink had already cracked the marble.

'What's...happening?'

I managed to stumble my way into the shower. Luckily my language comprehension let me understand the instructions on the faucets.

Turning the cold water on, relief coursed through me as the icy temperature hit my head. It flowed down my body and caused shivers across my skin.

The heat died away slowly.

I was breathing heavily. But I could think now.

It all started once I spotted her...Crystal. No other Inhuman had a massive Bulldog that could teleport as a pet.

As soon as our eyes locked, my left eye had begun burning. It had thrown my concentration off.

Something within me had reacted to her. The question is, what could that be?

I knew Crystal had the ability to command the elemental forces, maybe it was something to do with her powers? But that made no sense! Our abilities were not similar.

"I'm figuring this out now."

I decided, sitting cross-legged under the shower of cold water.

Taking in a deep breath, I released it, diving deep into my own body and mind.

Time lost all meaning.

I flew over my Mind scape, inspecting the city, the green terrain and finally the Ocean. Each drop of water was a self contained memory.

And I could access any of those memories by merely touching the water.

That said, nothing strange stood out. No one had messed with my mind or tried to manipulate my memories like Solomon had.

"Maybe I'm going about it the wrong way."

I mused, floating in the air above the Ocean.

"Instead of looking for what's wrong with me...I should look for what's different instead."

It made sense it you think about it.

And oh boy was that list a long one. For starters, the change in my attitude. One might call it arrogance (they wouldn't be wrong), but the way I was acting was something else.

It was reckless and dumb. I had a new appreciation for power, especially the part where you could exercise that power by clashing against more powerful opponents.

However, what I had been doing was picking fights.

I was impatient with those weaker than me and borderline hostile to anyone on my level. I WANTED to FIGHT. To DOMINATE everyone and show them my power.

That... Wasn't necessarily bad but it made me look unhinged. I couldn't control my lust for battle and I knew that hadn't won me any new pals.

'But fuck that! Who needs friends when you have strength? Friends only slow you down! You had to save Parker for crying out loud. Without him needing you, you could have begun to study magic under the Sorcerer Supreme and then saved the day all by yourself!'

See.

That wasn't me by the way. It felt like me. But that thought had come from somewhere else. Or rather... someone else.

I opened my eyes...

And found myself at a place I never thought I would see again.

A familiar burning castle. It's walls were collapsed and run down. Outside was a world of deep red flames.

The only thing missing would be the countless souls burning in the flames.

And before me, on a cracked and shattered throne was a familiar being.

Mephisto.

Only this Mephisto was nothing like the one I had fought. The only similarity between the two was the same cruel and cunning glint in his eyes.

Everything else was a former shade of his past glory.

His body was shrunken and weak. He was missing one of his horns and his red cloak was tattered, dancing in the hot air of the chamber.

"I never thought I would sense one of Gaea's little Avatars so soon. That bitch caused me to lose everything."

He hatefully begun.

Avatar? Could he be talking about Crystal? Was that why my body had a strange reaction to her? Because Mephisto's hate had influenced my body?

'Chances that my conjecture is true?'

I used Quantum Prognosis.

'100%'

Good to know. Now to get rid of this parasite.

I raised a hand at him. This was still my mind. 'Which means I am the strongest here. I defeated him once, I could do so again.'

Die...

Mephisto stared at me without saying a word. He looked like he was waiting for something.

Huh...

My powers, they weren't working. Not again.

"Now that you have realized you cannot attack me, I propose a deal."

The Hell Lord offered.

Why were my powers not working? This was my mind right?

Wait.

'Chances that we're not in my Mind?'

'0%'

The answer came back, confusing me even more. So we were in my mind. But then why was nothing working?

I could still feel my abilities, they were not locked from me, but activating them yielded no results.

"It's useless. I know how your abilities work and I've had time to create a counter. Ever since you defeated me and absorbed my essence. I have been lurking in wait... changing things to make myself more comfortable here."

He rose from his seat, back hunched.

"If it wasn't for that little upstart of an Avatar...I would have eventually reinforced my presence in your soul, and by then there would be nothing you could have done to cast me away. Call it payback for ruining my plans."

I see. I understand now. He's the reason I've been so out of control.

Though I can't blame him entirely. The truth was, I was different. Everything that had happened had forced me to evolve or die a true death. I wasn't the same guy from before.

I was the fucking Champion of the Gods. I was Shazam. But more than that, I was my own person and no one was going to control me.

"Why the silence, old buddy?"

Mephisto cackled.

"Not happy to see me?"

He walked a few more steps.

"Don't worry, you will be. All you have to do is shake my hand and I'll let the past be. We can still work together."

I ignored him, still studying the place.

I could feel his frustration mounting.

"The alternative is that I never let you leave here. And you will be forever stuck in your own mind. Forced to watch as I gain control of your body and wreak havoc across the universe. I'll start with Gaea's little Avatar... she'll scream as I rip out her innards. Is that what you want?"

Mephisto smiled, revealing a neat row of teeth.

And that, if anything, reminded me of what he excelled at. Deception and manipulation. He wasn't really a threat was he? And if he could take possession of me like he claimed, he would have done it already.

So I ignored him in favor of gazing around once more.

At the flames burning around me...yet I could feel no heat from them. At the smog in the air, yet I could not detect it through my Psionic Field.

The only real presence here...

Was Mephisto.

'Chances that I'm in an illusion?'

'0%'

Okay, guess this space is actually real. Kinda fascinating.

Then...

'Chances that I'm in a dimension within my Mind-Scape?'

'0%'

Dammit. So it's not Within my Mind-Scape. Then maybe close to it or near in some form?

'Chances that I'm in a dimension attached to my Mind-Scape?'

'100%.'

There we go. Just like I thought, he was a parasite.

"Well, what do you say Boy?"

Mephisto asked, gritting his teeth.

"Your current body has Demon Blood running within it's veins. I can help you unravel it's secrets and powers. All you have to do is just Shake. My. Hand."

He insisted, the smile on his face growing tighter.

I ignored him, instead looking around at the castle.

"I get it now."

"Huh?"

Mephisto blinked.

I gestured around.

"You managed to create an entire plane of existence around your soul and give it substance. It might be incomplete for now but the second I agree to your deal and shake your hand... I'm fucked."

It would be akin to giving him access to my Mind-Scape. A bad bad bad idea.

"You will bleed Psionic Energy out of me and completely devour my will, taking over my body for yourself. I called you a parasite before but...I didn't think it would be so literal."

Mephisto said nothing for a while. Then his claws lashed out, headed for my neck. Only for his hand to go through my body.

I raised a brow at him. Really?

"I truly despise you."

He finally found his voice. The smile on his face having slipped off.

"I regret ever finding your soul. I regret saving it from the stream of souls."

That's when I noticed everything I hadn't before.

His body was filled with rotting wounds. His neat row of teeth was actually a glamour that faded away, revealing chipped off fangs in a blackened mouth.

And as he turned around to walked back to his throne, he was limping.

Sitting heavily on the Throne, the whole castle groaned. As if what he had done had taken a monument amount of energy.

"Look at me."

He said, the glint in his eyes replaced by Resentment.

"You made me into...this. This weak and pitiful Shade of my former glory."

He spat.

"I despise that you have such a powerful relic, soul bound to you. Not one but two! Hahahaha."

A self deprecating laugh escaped him.

"You. Someone who is afraid of what they can do if they put their mind to it. It sickens me. It's worse than giving a gun to a child. Atleast you can be sure they will be reckless. But with you..."

He trailed off, defeated.

"Do it. Just destroy me and be done with it. I will not beg for mercy anymore."

We stared at each other.

This monster was the reason I saw the world for what it was. In a way I was grateful.

However that was all. He was still an enemy. One that had proved dangerous even in death.

Now that I knew what this space was, I could attack it from the outside. The Ocean within my Mind-Scape roiled violently, rising up under my control.

It formed into a sharp blade that struck upwards, severing the parasitic plane attached to the boundaries of my soul.

There was a rumble.

And the castle, the burning fire and Mephisto begun to fade away into a gray mist.

"One more thing."

The Hell-Lord smiled.

"If I were you, I would be careful of them. The Gods. Especially that bitch..."

The plane faded and Mephisto along with it, only leaving one word behind,

"..Gaea."

I scanned the whole Mind-Scape but...this time he was truly gone.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I opened my eyes in the real world. The shower was still running, cold water pouring down my body.

I took a second to feel it out. I was slightly cold, but that was it. The heat within my chest had fortunately disappeared and my eye was no longer on fire.

Switching off the shower, I got out, dripping water on the floor of the bathroom from my wet clothes.

Nothing my Symbiote side couldn't fix.

Speaking of, I needed to figure out what my three bloodlines could do. There was also the matter of Solomon's Ring.

I was yet to use it. Should I even use it? My experience with Demons had been unpleasant to say the least.

Oh well, I'll cross that bridge when I get there.

For now-

Wait, something in the mirror grabbed my focus.

Why was one of my eyes red?