DC: My Name Is Not Billy Batson [New]

When Hush saw Dane appear, his expression twisted into panic. His thoughts as he locked eyes with Dane: I've confirmed it—this is someone I absolutely cannot fight.

Without hesitation, Hush turned to Ra and blurted, "We can't deal with him. Retreat immediately!"

Without waiting for a response, Hush bolted, disappearing into the shadows.

Hush's panic wasn't baseless—he had witnessed Dane's battle with Superman. The sheer devastation Dane had caused in that clash was a memory burned into his mind. There was no way he was going to stick around to test his luck.

Ra hesitated, his eyes narrowing at Dane. Though he'd never seen Dane in action, he could sense the power radiating from him. A man who could fly wasn't ordinary. Still, unlike Hush, Ra didn't retreat immediately. Instead, he made the first move.

With a flick of his wrist, he threw a cross-shaped dart toward the iron cables suspending the coffins.

Batman, noticing the attack, quickly hurled a Batarang to intercept it. The two projectiles collided midair, but to Batman's surprise, Ra's dart split into two smaller darts upon impact.

"Hmph. You still have much to learn, Bruce," Ra sneered, stepping back into the shadows.

The darts struck their intended target, detonating small explosives that severed the cables. The coffins plummeted toward the ground.

"Dane!" Batman shouted, urgency in his voice.

Dane smirked. "You owe me for this."

Dane flew forward and caught both coffins with ease, one in each hand. He lowered them gently to the ground, the effort barely registering.

Batman exhaled in relief, nodding briefly before taking off in pursuit of Ra.

While the commotion settled, Dane stepped into the Rock of Eternity, the two coffins in tow. The mystical realm's atmosphere buzzed with an ethereal hum as Dane carefully placed the coffins down.

"June!" Dane called out. Within moments, Joan appeared, trotting over. She had been alone in the Rock recently, as Zatanna was busy with affairs in the mortal world. Despite the solitude, June felt a flicker of excitement at seeing Dane.

But her enthusiasm dimmed when she realized he was here for business. She tried to hide her disappointment, bowing her head slightly.

"I need the witch," Dane said firmly.

June nodded, understanding his request. Her demeanor changed as she whispered, "Witch."

When she raised her head again, the transformation was complete. The Witch, with her usual enigmatic aura, stood before him. But something had changed. The once-dominant and imposing Witch now seemed subdued, her head bowed in deference.

Her humility surprised Dane, a stark contrast to her previous arrogance. To his surprise, the change in her demeanor didn't annoy him. In fact, he realized he didn't mind her old attitude as much as she thought.

"What do you need of me?" the Witch asked softly, her voice devoid of its usual sharpness.

Dane regarded her carefully, his expression unreadable.

"I have a task for you," he began. His gaze flickered toward the coffins. "Something that requires your… unique expertise."

On the contrary, there was a different sense of joy about the witch—more akin to the pride of a goddess.

Dane smirked, dismissing the peculiar thought. He addressed the witch, "The coffins you kept before—those are still intact, right?"

The witch nodded silently. Satisfied, Dane waved his hand. Flames erupted, consuming the two coffins on the ground until they were nothing but ashes.

In an instant, the witch disappeared, only to reappear moments later with two identical coffins before her.

The truth was that the coffins Ra had taken were perfect replicas. They were indistinguishable from the originals on the surface, even in weight, thanks to the counterweights Dane had cleverly included. Ra, clearly uninterested in conducting an autopsy on the stolen coffins, had been completely fooled.

Of course, Dane had no intention of resurrecting the Waynes using the Lazarus Pool. He knew exactly what the pool was—and its true nature made such a feat impossible.

In fact, Dane had played a significant role in making the Lazarus Pool what it was. The mysterious chemical that Ra had infused into the pool wasn't some arcane substance but rather artificial amniotic fluid from Kryptonian breeding chambers.

The fluid, a pinnacle of Kryptonian biotechnology, was something Ra couldn't even begin to comprehend. Blending this with the pool's dark magic resulted in an unpredictable alchemical cocktail. Who could guess what might emerge from such a mixture?

Dane himself was curious. A combination of Kryptonian science and demonic power—what kind of monstrosity had the pool become?

And who better to test it on than Hush? The thought amused him.

"That project we've been working on—should be ready by now, right?" Dane asked the witch.

The witch nodded again, flipping her palm over to reveal a slender stinger, about the length of a small arm.

This was their latest creation, the product of days of effort. It was an artifact imbued with the combined powers of death and magic—a weapon capable of imposing finality.

Dane took the stinger, which dissolved into countless tiny pieces and seamlessly integrated into his suit.

"I want the Waynes' coffins returned to the cemetery at Wayne Manor," he instructed. As he spoke, he transferred a fragment of his memory to the witch to ensure she knew their exact location.

The witch nodded in acknowledgment and vanished to complete the task.

The witch placed the coffins back in their rightful place, but as she turned to leave, she noticed a man approaching. His movements were cautious.

Recognizing him from Dane's memories, she realized the man was Hush. But something was strange—Dane's memory had shown Hush in a completely different location at this very moment.

Her sharp mind quickly deduced that one of the two Hush figures must be a decoy. Without hesitation, she rushed to inform Dane.

By the time the witch arrived, Dane already had one of the Hush in his grasp. But something felt off. As his hand gripped the man's shoulder, the texture wasn't right.

"Why does this feel… slimy?" he muttered, narrowing his eyes.

At that moment, the witch appeared, hurriedly speaking in an ancient dialect. Dane, fluent in all human languages, immediately understood her warning.

With a single slap, he struck the head of "Hush." Instead of blood or broken bones, there was only a splatter of shapeless, formless mud. he slipped from his grasp, reforming slowly like a blob of clay.

"Clayface," Dane muttered, disgusted. "A clown's trick—but why does the Joker always insist on rewriting the script?"

Reaching into the mass of mud, Dane let arcs of electricity crackle through his fingers. The sparks danced across the surface, and Clayface let out a guttural scream as the charge ripped through his amorphous body.

He instructed the witch to leave before speaking to Batman over the intercom:

"The Hush here was just Clayface pretending. Guess where the real Hush went?"

Batman movements suddenly halted. Ra seized the opportunity to land a punch and then retreated from the battlefield.

"Wayne Manor! Dane, get me there!" Batman barked.

Dane extended his hand, conjuring a shimmering portal. Batman wasted no time and leaped through it.

Now, the ACE Chemical Plant was left with Ra and his daughter, Talia.

Talia stood facing her dutiful son, Damian, locked in a tense confrontation. As for Ra was already on a plane, making his escape.

Dane smirked. Funny. Are you underestimating me, Shazam?

He gauged the distance with his thumb and, with his other hand, conjured a bolt of lightning. Like a javelin, he hurled it across the sky.

The lightning arced in a graceful parabola before striking its target with a resounding boom.

If Ra wasn't dead, he was at least half-crippled now. Though the sequence of events had diverged slightly, the result remained the same.

Clayface, of course, was as difficult to kill as ever. The amorphous villain was practically living mud, nearly impossible to destroy.

Adding to the complexity, Clayface had no consistent origin story. The uncertainties surrounding him were immense.

In some versions of the comics, the "Clayface" had even been to hell, returning imbued with infernal influences that further muddied his abilities.

Instead of wasting time trying to kill him, Dane opted for a simpler solution. Retrieving a magical urn from the Rock of Eternity, he trapped Clayface inside.

The Rock of Eternity already housed a collection of sealed artifacts and entities. One more wouldn't hurt.

Not killing anyone, right? Batman won't complain. As for Ra, he was the right candidate for experimentation. The man had already died and been resurrected countless times.

What harm would one more death—or one more resurrection—do? Dane chuckled. Then it's up to you now, Ra.

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Bonus chapter on every 100 power stone