"I remain unconvinced of the wisdom of this move," he said grimly. Leaving the park behind, they flew above snow-covered streets.
"But you've seen the way people look at us outside Kahndaq," Osiris reminded him. Sobek dangled below Osiris as the boy carried the crocodile along with them. Afraid of heights, Sobek covered his eyes with his scaly forefeet. His tail swished nervously. "They're afraid of us! Everywhere we go, the people say terrible things about us. I thought Sobek was going to cry when the Teen Titans wouldn't let us join their team!"
Isis sympathized with her brother and his pet. "A crocodile's tears are nothing to ignore, Adam," she advised her husband.
"Please, Adam," Osiris begged. "Captain Marvel Jr. said I can join the Titans—if we can convince the world you've changed."
Black Adam scowled. What did he care of the world's opinion? I have nothing to apologize for.
Isis seemed to read his mind. "You tore a man apart on live TV. Rough House was a criminal, but he was still a man. As a result, and because of your efforts to build a power base to oppose the West, you have made many enemies."
"None I cannot defend myself against," he insisted.
"But your enemies have become mine and Osiris'." She glanced over at the innocent youth, who smiled cheerfully at the gaping pedestrians below. A few Americans smiled back, but most shrunk away in fear from the flying boy and the fearsome-looking crocodile. "Do you think he can handle that? And more importantly, should he have to?"
Adam looked at Osiris as well. Perhaps his wife had a point. Was it fair that the carefree youth should be ostracized because of the actions of another? I have chosen to tvage war on evil, regardless of the consequences, but Osiris should be free to forge his own destiny... and reputation.
A large dais had been erected in front of the embassy gates. Kahndaqi flags festooned the stage, while a festive wreath acknowledged that it was Christmas Day in the eyes of the Americans. Despite the holiday, a large crowd had gathered outside the embassy. As during his appearance here last summer, throngs of reporters and protestors were held back by police barricades and security personnel. Unlike before, however, Black Adam saw a few signs in support of his recent activities. WE V ISIS! read one homemade banner. On the other hand, a sign denouncing MAGICAL TERRORISM proved that not everyone had been won over by his family's humanitarian efforts.
He was surprised at the sheer size of the crowd. "Who invited all these people?"
"I did," Isis explained. "The world will see us all as monsters unless we show them otherwise." Her kohl-lined eyes implored him. "For Osiris, Adam."
Reluctantly, he joined his family as they descended toward the stage. Sobek gratefully dropped onto the dais, while the Black Marvel Family hovered in the air a few feet above the platform. Frowning, Adam crossed his arms atop his chest.
"This will cause him great pain," Adam reminded Isis.
"It's okay. I'm ready," Osiris insisted. An aide from the embassy pushed a wheelchair beneath the boy. "I'm ready to show the world!"
" And he does it with a smile," Isis observed proudly. She beamed at Adam. "So can we." .
Very well, he resolved. If this is what my family truly desires, I shall not deny them this chance at happiness. He owed them that much, for all the joy and satisfaction they had brought into his own life. He raised his voice to address the crowd: ,
"I have come here today—I have brought my family here today—to show you that underneath the powers of gods long neglected, we are as human as the rest of you." He nodded at Isis and Osiris, who smiled back at him. As one, they recited the magic words that transformed each of them.
"Shazam!"
"Black Adam!" .
"Oh Mighty Isis!"
Mystical lightning bolts struck in unison, brighter than any artificial Christmas star. The audience gasped in wonder. Sobek recoiled from a spray of magical sparks. Thunder echoed through the concrete canyons of Metropolis.
When the blinding glare faded, Black Adam and his family no longer levitated above the stage. Instead they stood upon the wooden platform like the mere mortals they had become. Adrianna's gossamer raiment had transformed into a simple cotton dress, while Teth-Adam was clad in the loin cloth and striped head cloth of an ancient Egyptian pharaoh. Amon sagged pitifully within the confines of his wheelchair, his mangled limbs no longer capable of supporting his weight. He grimaced in pain, but did not complain. Adam was impressed by the boy's courage.
Their meager garments were ill-suited to the cold of winter. Adam shivered and placed an arm around Isis to warm her. "I realize that it will be very difficult for most of you to look beyond my harsh actions on these grounds many months ago, but let the coming new year mark a new beginning between Kahndaq and the West, one of mutual respect and assistance. My family and I pledge to be worthy of your trust."
A smattering of cheers and applause greeted his declaration. Not everyone in the crowd reacted so positively, but Teth-Adam saw many more friendly faces than he ever would have anticipated. Although he felt uncomfortable being so vulnerable before the world, perhaps this was not such a futile effort after all?
"Thank you," Adrianna whispered as she held him close.
The day was cold, but his heart felt surprisingly warm.
TERREBONNE PARISH. LOUISIANA.
Belle Reve Federal Prison, hidden away in a muggy, alligator-infested bayou, was more than just a maximum-security holding facility for super-powered criminals. It was also the unofficial headquarters of a black-ops government task force codenamed "the Suicide Squad."
"Worthy of your trust."
Live coverage of the media event at the Kahndaqi embassy played upon a large flat screen monitor mounted to the wall of a soundproof chamber deep inside the prison. Black Adam's stirring oration emerged from the speakers. Atom-Smasher recognized Adam's distinctive accent and cadences.
"Listen to him, Waller." Al Rothstein was a former member of the Justice Society of America, now serving time for taking the law into his own hands. A featureless blue hood concealed his face. A stylized atomic diagram was embroidered upon the chest of his dark red tunic. "He's changed."
Amanda Waller snorted in derision. Aheavysetblack woman in a business suit, she ran the Suicide Squad with an iron grip. "Because he's settling down? Do you really believe a wife, a kid brother, and a talking reptile have turned this magical dictator into a peace-loving preacher?" She shook her head at Atom-Smasher's naivete. "You were there when he 'liberated' Kahndaq."
Al nodded. In fact, he had fought beside Adam in that struggle, before he'd decided to turn himself in for the crimes he had committed while allied with Adam. "And back then he never let anyone see him in his human form."
"So you expect the boys in Washington to breathe a sigh of relief because he's standing on stage in his underwear?" Her mind was clearly made up, and not in Adam's favor. "He's the most powerful international terrorist in the world. He has to be brought in."
A third voice entered the discussion, one with a pronounced Eastern European accent. "And now we know he has a weakness. His entire family does."
"Everyone has a weakness," Waller declared. "That's why all of you ended up in Belle Reve."
"But we signed the papers," a fourth voice protested. An Australian accent colored the indignant words. "We join your little team, do this errand, and our life sentences vanish like lightning."
A gleaming metal boomerang whizzed past Waller's head. It ricocheted off the monitor screen before zipping past her again.
Waller didn't even blink. "I heard you were smart," she said scornfully. "I still don't see it."
"You will, gorgeous." The missile returned to its owner's waiting fingers. Captain Boomerang, a cocky red-haired rogue wearing a black leather jacket and his trademark blue scarf, loitered alongside the other inmates Waller had recruited for this mission: Plastique, Count Vertigo, the Persuader, and the Electrocutioner. "As soon as the Suicide Squad wish the Black Marvel Family a happy bloody holiday."
/> WEEK 34
NORTHERN CALIFORNIA.
"I see them," Count Vertigo reported. He employed a pair of high-powered binoculars to spy on Black Adam and Isis as they flew over Redwood National Forest. His green velvet cloak swept the mossy floor of the forest. The verdant canopy of the trees concealed him from view. Fog drifted through the lower reaches of the vast redwoods. “Intel was right. They're coming to meet him after his first day at Titans Tower and they're..." He hesitated, as though taken aback by what he saw.
"They're what, Vertigo?" Amanda Waller demanded via a comm-link. The mastermind behind the task force was monitoring the operation from her headquarters back at Belle Reve.
"They're holding hands," he divulged. Soaring above the towering sequoias, the romantic couple hardly looked like threats to world peace. Count Werner Vertigo felt a twinge of sympathy for Black Adam; the rightful heir to the throne of his own native Vlatavia, he identified with the forbidding Arab monarch. But mine is not to reason why, he thought bitterly. He was only a convict now, not a king. Amanda Waller was calling the shots today.
"Do you have a visual on the boy and his pet yet, Boomerbutt?" she asked another of her operatives.
"Quit calling me that," the young man protested. Over a dozen specialized boomerangs were tucked into the man's belt and jacket pouches. A long blue scarf was draped over his shoulder. He swaggered through the underbrush.
" 'Cause 'Captain Boomerang' is so much classier," chortled a burly figure clad head to toe in futuristic steel armor. His metal gauntlets gripped the haft of a glowing Atomic Axe.
"Shut up, Persuader," Boomerang snapped at his teammate. Extracting a polished silver boomerang from a pouch, he sent it spinning into tire trunk of a venerable redwood, where it lodged in the tree's thick bark. Intricate circuitry flashed along the length of the boomerang. "Osiris and Sobek left the Tower five minutes ago," he informed Waller. "They're still in range, but my electromagnetic boomerang will jam their Titans communicators."
"Good," Waller replied. Miniature earpieces conveyed her voice to the entire team. "Then it's up to Plastique and the Electrocutioner to start the fire and give Atom-Smasher his opening."
"We're on it," the Electrocutioner agreed. A black bandana, with two matching eyeholes, covered the upper half of his face like a mask. His insulated red costume was wired to deliver lethal electrical charges via his metallic copper gloves. "Just remember our deal. We bring in the Black Marvels and our records go clean." '
"So what are you waiting for, lover?" Plastique asked. Her hot pink PVC bodysuit gave no hint of the massive explosive energies at her command. Long red hair cascaded over her shoulders. A French Canadian accent testified to her past as a Quebecois terrorist. "I'm the explosive. You're the detonator." She gave him a saucy wink. "Tickle me."
The Electrocutioner grinned back at her. High-voltage sparks crackled around his fingertips. "Yeah, baby!"
He reached out to touch her....
"Adam! Isis!"
Osiris called out to his family as he saw them flying toward him. His spirits were as high as his altitude, many feet above the treetops. He carried Sobek beneath him, holding onto the crocodile with both hands. The shredded state of Sobek's jogging suit hinted at a furious battle.
"Osiris!" his sister greeted him. "How was your first day?"
"Unbelievable!" he enthused. "Robin gave us a tour. I have my own locker and my own Titans communicator!"
Sobek climbed onto his friend's shoulders, having seemingly overcome his fear of heights. "And after we helped Kid Eternity stop the Keeper's plan for controlling the dead, Raven conjured up some wonderful ham and cheese sandwiches for lunch!"
"Sobek ate twelve," Osiris said.
Isis laughed at the crocodile's appetite. "Oh, Sobek."
"Despite our demonstration last week," Black Adam observed cautiously, "many are still condemning my actions in and out of Kahndaq."
It was typical of Black Adam to add a somber note to the conversation, but Osiris chose not to begrudge his brother-in-law his dour attitude. He ap-predated everything Adam had already done on his behalf. "Your speech was enough for the Titans to give me a shot." Captain Marvel Jr. had been true to his word, arguing for Osiris' admission to the team. "The world will come around. They'll see all the good we're going to do."
The happy family hovered in midair... until a sudden explosion blasted them apart. Stunned by the shock wave, they plummeted toward the forest below. A giant hand snatched Black Adam out of the sky. A gigantic figure expanded in height, until he towered over the mighty redwoods.
"We need to talk, Adam," Atom-Smasher boomed.
"Albert?" Black Adam gasped as the colossal fingers closed around him. Dazed by the explosion, he struggled in vain to escape the giant's grip. The Brobdingnagian fist squeezed him like a vise. "What are you doing here?"
"I'm doing what I have to, Adam." His rueful tone made it clear that he took no pleasure in attacking his former comrade. "You can't ignore what you've done in the past. You need to turn yourself in."
He slammed Black Adam down onto the floor of the forest, over three hundred feet below. The thick mulch covering the ground did little to soften the impact of the blow. Ignited by the explosion, a wildfire spread across the woods, feeding on the dense carpet of mosses and lichens. Frightened birds and animals fled from the flames. Smoke rose from burning shrubs and trees.
Anger flared inside Adam as he rocketed out from beneath Atom-Smasher's hand. A titanic blow sent the oversized hero tumbling backward, toppling a stand of giant sequoias, many of which were almost as old as Black Adam himself. Massive redwoods snapped like twigs. The wanton destruction of the ancient trees only enraged Adam more.
"I will not turn myself in to a hypocritical government to be judged as you have. To rot in a cell while there is still so much work to be done." He had been greatly disappointed in Albert Rothstein when the American had let his squeamish conscience undermine his resolve. Black Adam had no intention of making the same mistake.
"Murder is a sin that can't be washed away," Atom-Smasher insisted. A gargantuan hand reached out for Adam, who dodged the hand with the speed of Heru. He flew out of range of the log-sized fingers.
"I have already asked for forgiveness," Adam said. "In some eyes, that is enough."
Climbing back onto his feet, Atom-Smasher rose to his full height once more. Over sixty stories tall, he loomed like a colossus over the foggy old-growth forest. Fists as large as boulders were raised menacingly. "I don't want to hurt you."
"Albert," Black Adam warned him, "you won't."
He drew back his fist.
Osiris landed hard upon the forest floor. The fall alone would have killed any ordinary mortal; only his god-given endurance had ensured his survival. His ears were ringing as he slowly sat up amidst the squashed ferns and fungi. Scorch marks defaced his uniform. Green-tinted sunlight filtered through the dense canopy overhead. Firs and hemlocks were interspersed between the sky-high sequoias. Smoke tickled in his nostrils. He looked about in confusion, unclear what had befallen him. Are zoe under attack?
He spotted Sobek sprawled upon the ground nearby. To his relief, the crocodile appeared to be in one piece as well. Groaning, Sobek massaged his bleeding snout. The explosion had blown away most of his clothing; only a few raggedy scraps clung to his scaly body. His tail twitched spasmodically.
What about Isis and Adam? Osiris fretted. He heard a rustling in the bushes and looked up hopefully, only to see a trio of villains advancing on him instead. He recognized them from the Titans data files Captain Marvel Jr. had e-mailed to him prior to the meeting. The wisdom of Zehuti allowed Osiris to swiftly pluck the renegades' names from his memory.
"There's the kid and his monster," the Electrocutioner snarled at his cohorts. Lightning arced between his outstretched fingertips.
"Suicide Squad's job doesn't include animal control," Plastique objected. Was she the source of the explosion that had knocked them out of the sky? Her
file said that she had reformed, but clearly that information was out-of-date.
Captain Boomerang shrugged. "So cook the croc," he said callously.
Plastique aimed one hand at Sobek and beckoned to the Electrocutioner with the other. No! Osiris thought, determined to save his friend. He leapt to his feet, but his legs felt like rubber and darkness encroached on his vision. He could barely stand up, let alone come to Sobek's rescue. Plastique was about to kill his best friend and there was nothing he could do!
Before the scarlet-haired terrorist could unleash her destructive blast, however, an immense shadow suddenly fell over the misty grove. Looking up, she yelped in alarm and dived out of the wave just as an enormous body came crashing to the ground. A tremor shook the ground. Fallen logs and leafy redwood sorrels were flattened beneath the fallen goliath. Apparently unconscious, Atom-Smasher lay supine across several acres of woodlands. His mammoth chest rose and fell steadily.
"Oh, hell," Plastique swore. Her azure eyes widened as she spotted Captain Boomerang flat on the ground as well. The Australian's right leg was crushed beneath Atom-Smasher's huge skull. An unflung boomerang rested on the mossy sward just beyond his limp fingers. Several more weapons were scattered all around him. He looked dead to the world. "Boomerang?"
The cause of the giant's downfall became clear as Black Adam descended from the sky. His arms crossed atop his chest, he gazed down sternly at the unworthy miscreants who had ambushed his family. His voice was cold and unforgiving. "If you have hurt the boy ..."
"Adam!" Osiris cried out, fearing that his brother's righteous fury would undo all the work they had done to win the world's trust. "Please don't kill them...."
His desperate plea distracted Black Adam long enough for Plastique and the Electrocutioner to launch another attack. "Tickle, tickle," the male villain said with a smirk. His sparking fingers caressed Plastique's shoulder.
A deafening explosion sent Osiris, Adam, and Sobek flying across the woods.
Not far away, Isis confronted the Persuader. "The trees are crying out," she accused. She could hear Nature itself screaming inside her head. The largest and oldest of the redwoods would likely survive the blaze, thanks to their hard outer bark, but the rest of the forest was being burned alive. A flock of panicked wrens and thrushes flapped wildly through the flaming branches above her. She called on the wind to keep the harsh, black smoke away from her.