Champion of Heroes and Magic (Shazam! x Invincible) Chapter 44: Check Yourself
[Third Person Pov]
Mark, Marie, and the rest of the Teen Team hovered high in the air, most of them seated along the sleek edges of Robot’s humming hover vehicle as it maintained a steady position above the chaotic cityscape.
“Everyone got the plan?” Marie asked, her voice steady and commanding as she held her glowing staff firmly at her side.
“It is a stupid plan,” Robot replied with sincere, unflinching honesty, his mechanical tone cutting through the tension like a blade. “If we truly want to take down the Guardians of the Globe efficiently, it would be far better for us to work together and eliminate them one by one. Splitting up and attempting to handle them individually is reckless. None of us possess the individual abilities required to face members of the Guardians of the Globe alone.”
“Speak for yourselves, dude,” Rex shot back with an arrogant sneer, puffing out his chest. “I’ve got everything I need right here to handle the entire Guardians of the Globe if I have to.”
He flexed his powerful arms directly toward Marie’s direction, grinning cockily. “Do you see these guns? They pack quite the punch, let me tell you~”
Eve smacked him hard on the back of the head without hesitation. Marie rolled her eyes, completely unimpressed on the surface, while inwardly she couldn’t help but think, ‘Billy's are much bigger…’ She instantly cringed at her own thought, heat rising to her cheeks as she realized how that sounded in her head.
“The goal isn’t to defeat them outright,” Marie explained, patiently sharing Billy’s careful reasoning with the group. “It’s to draw their full attention and restrain them long enough for the rest of the plan to unfold. Right now, their focus is scattered across the populace—they’re spreading chaos and destruction everywhere they go. By becoming the primary focus of their wrath, the civilians will be ignored and given a chance to evacuate safely. This approach will prevent the least amount of casualties possible. Just trust the plan that Captain Marvel has laid out for us.”
“The amulets you’ve all received will prevent you from becoming corrupted by their influence,” Mark added, his voice firm and reassuring. “So you don’t have to worry about that either.”
“We’ve already wasted enough time as it is,” Marie said, gripping her staff tighter as she prepared to take off. “The more time we waste, the more innocent people we lose in the process.”
“Do I really have to battle two Guardians instead of one?” Dupli-Kate asked hesitantly, her usual confidence faltering as she glanced around at the team. She didn’t have the strongest faith in herself for such a demanding matchup.
“It was only assigned that way because of your duplication abilities,” Marie replied, her patience starting to wear thin with all the questions and delays. “If it’s truly too much for you, either I or Invincible will take the task off your hands.”
“There won’t be any need.”
Mark and Marie turned around swiftly to see the Immortal finish materializing from his dramatic teleportation, his imposing figure solidifying in the air before them.
“I’ll even the odds and make it fair,” the Immortal declared, arms crossed confidently over his broad chest. He looked directly toward Marie. “Do you perhaps have a spare of those amulets?”
“As a matter of fact, we do,” Marie answered, not even slightly surprised by his sudden appearance. “Captain Marvel predicted the possibility of your attendance since you weren’t present earlier, and he gave us an extra one just in case you showed up.”
The Immortal raised an eyebrow in genuine surprise, clearly not expecting them to be so prepared. “I see. Thank you. In that case, I’ll handle Omni-Man—”
“What? No!” Mark protested immediately, flying closer to the Immortal with urgency in his eyes. “I’ll handle my dad! You take one of the Guardians that Dupli-Kate was supposed to handle.”
“Woah! Wait a minute—Omni-Man’s your dad?!” Rex exclaimed loudly in shock, his voice carrying across the group. He looked around and saw that most of the other Teen Team members were staring in equal surprise, eyes wide with disbelief.
“Listen here, kid,” the Immortal continued, undeterred, “I’m the only one here who truly stands a chance against Omni-Man. In fact, now that I’m here, I’ll be taking charge of this entire operation—”
Before he could finish, Marie shot forward and grabbed the Immortal firmly by the collar, twisting the fabric tightly in her fist. Through gritted teeth, her eyes blazing with fierce determination, she snarled, “Listen here, I don’t care who or what you are. You could be the President of the fucking United States for all I care—you don’t just get to show up and start making demands. Last time I checked, I’m the one with the magic stick and the only real way to deal with the Deadly Sins permanently. That means you’re dancing to my tune.”
Marie shoved him back firmly, her expression hard and unyielding. “Check yourself, you fool.”
Marie started motioning and pointing to each member of the team individually as she continued with clear, decisive authority.
“Invincible will be the one to deal with our dad. Atom-Eve will take on Red Rush. I will take War Woman. Rex-Splode will handle Aquarius. Dupli-Kate will take on Darkwing. Robot will face Green Ghost, and you,” she said, turning her gaze to the Immortal, “will take on Martian Man.”
“I—” the Immortal began to interject, his voice rising in protest, but Cecil’s stern voice suddenly crackled over his comms, cutting him off sharply.
“Listen to what Noblesse has to say,” Cecil ordered with brutal honesty, his words carrying no remorse or sugarcoating. “You lost the privilege to lead anything the moment you decided to walk out on the rest of your team because of your cowardice. You don’t suddenly get to become the big man on campus just because you’re suddenly feeling remorseful and want to make things right, correcting all your past mistakes.”
“And like the Noble Lady said,” Cecil continued, his tone final, “she’s the one with the magic stick.”
“I… I concede,” the Immortal said quietly, lowering his head in visible shame. The heavy weight of his regret was etched deeply across his weathered face, shoulders slumping under the burden of his failures.
“Are we just going to ignore the fact that she said Omni-Man is also her dad?” Rex asked Robot in a low whisper, leaning in close.
“Yes, Rex, we are,” Dupli-Kate replied with a firm shake of her head. She was sitting nearby on the hover vehicle and had easily overheard him. “Right now, that isn’t our main concern.”
“Everyone already has their roles,” Marie announced, her voice rising with urgency. “Now we’ve wasted enough time as it is. Let’s go!”
The team turned in different directions and took off in a flash, streaking across the sky like determined meteors.
“Wait,” Atom Eve called out. She quickly constructed a sleek communication device out of glowing pink energy and tossed it smoothly to the Immortal. “Here, that way we’re all connected.”
She didn’t wait for a second response. She took off flying straight toward Marie’s direction, accelerating rapidly to catch up.
She was quick to pull alongside her. “I have to say, I’m impressed with the way you handled Immortal back there,” Eve said, genuine admiration in her voice.
Marie flashed a faint, satisfied grin. “Really? I was worried I might have overdone it.”
“What? Nonsense,” Eve replied with a light, playful nudge against Marie’s shoulder. “When all this is over, you and I definitely need to be friends and hang out properly.”
The two girls snickered together for a brief moment before Marie nodded in warm agreement. Then, just as suddenly, the two of them veered off into separate directions and shot away at high speed.
Ahead of her, Marie spotted War Woman—possessed by the sin of Wrath—hovering menacingly above the city, watching with cold satisfaction as flames consumed the streets below.
“Hey, lady! Your wig is on fire!!” Marie shouted loudly, her voice echoing across the burning skyline as she pointed dramatically at the villain’s flaming hair.
“What?” War Woman touched the top of her helmeted head in confusion. “But I’m not wearing a—”
Before she could finish, Marie was already right in front of her, fist cocked back with tremendous power. The punch landed with explosive force, sending War Woman rocketing backward through the air. She crashed straight into a grand apartment complex, the impact shattering concrete and sending rubble and bricks cascading down around her in a massive cloud of dust.
“Don’t worry,” Marie said coolly as she blew on her knuckles with a smirk, “I think I managed to snuff it out.”