The blow Shazam delivered shattered the laws of sound. The walls trembled, and the ground split beneath the alternate Superman's feet. His body was hurled into the air before crashing onto molten wreckage.
A charged silence filled the chamber.
White smoke rose from the point of impact, cloaking the alternate Superman like a shroud of temporary defeat.
No one dared move closer.
Shazam stood at the center of the room, his body radiating energy that seemed to scorch the air. His eyes no longer looked human-they burned with pure lightning. He wasn't just a man anymore; he was the embodiment of the storm's wrath.
Peter, his body aching, dropped to one knee, breath ragged.
Dinah rushed to him, sliding down the debris at his side, placing a hand on his shoulder, eyes full of concern.
"Can you stand?"
He replied with a half-grin of pain, "Only if you're helping me stay alive for another minute."
She gave him a strained smile. "Temporary help."
Above them, parts of the ceiling still crumbled from the lightning's echo. The dark team had started to retreat, sensing the terrifying new threat that Shazam had become.
The other Wonder Woman looked at Shazam with hesitation... then at Dinah, as if reassessing the situation.
"He's not from our world..." she whispered, eyes wide. "That's... something else entirely."
But Shazam didn't wait. In a flash, he was in front of her, striking with a lightning-infused palm that slammed her into the opposite wall. She collapsed, unmoving.
"Next?" he asked, without sarcasm or mercy.
Dark Batman hesitated, but Peter shouted, "Now, Batman! The plan!"
From the shadows, the real Batman emerged, pressing a button on a black device strapped to his wrist.
A portion of the back wall slid open, revealing a long emergency tunnel.
Dinah understood instantly: "Tactical retreat!"
"A soft retreat-before Shazam turns into a tornado that can't tell friend from foe!" Peter yelled.
But Shazam heard him.
He slowly turned to face them. His voice was deep, thunderous.
"I still know who you are... but I won't be in control for long."
A massive stone fell from above. The ground trembled again. Time was running out.
The team rushed toward the exit, Peter barely keeping his weight on Dinah's shoulder.
Before leaving, Peter looked back one last time at Shazam.
"Hit them hard. Then... come back to us, if you can."
Shazam smiled for a brief second-something human amidst the storm.
Then he turned toward the alternate Superman, who was rising again from the debris, eyes burning with hate.
"Good," Superman muttered. "Finally, a challenge that won't die easily."
Shazam responded, voice like thunderclouds:
"And you... finally, a lie worth breaking."
In the next instant, the two bodies collided faster than light in a second explosion... and the rear door sealed behind the true heroes as they sprinted down a tunnel that seemed to stretch into nowhere.
_______________________
I was going to call this chapter Endgame but changed my mind about making the midgame title a trilogy before making a final chapter to end the event.
Peter will not actually participate in the final chapter because the final chapter will be after the battle since Peter will lose consciousness once he reaches the watchtower due to changes in the new web
In short, it will form the structure of the story starting from the next chapter and will form the ov
erall story of Peter's life to fit with my vision from the beginning.