REVELATIONS: SEVEN THUNDERS
During the Revelations crisis, a victory against a powerful evil enemy comes at a cost that could bring an even greater threat to the world. All that stands between the Earth and certain doom are seven teenage heroes.
THE SUMMONING
"And I saw another mighty angel come down from heaven, clothed with a cloud: and a rainbow was upon his head, and his face was as it were the sun, and his feet as pillars of fire:" [Rev.10:1]
"And he had in his hand a little book open: and he set his right foot upon the sea, and his left foot on the earth, [Rev.10:2]
"And cried with a loud voice, as when a lion roareth: and when he had cried, seven thunders uttered their voices. [Rev.10:3]
On the roof of Warriors, where the jet was preparing to take the remaining Guardians to the battle, there was a bright light. A golden-skinned man, with a halo of energy around his head and a red star emblem on a black tunic landed on the roof, and pointed toward Tazer.
"You are needed," said the figure, and with a sudden burst of light a hole appeared in thin air, a glowing tube whose unearthly energies drew Tazer in before she could react. With a noise like a thunderclap the hole closed and it and the golden figure were gone.
THE GATHERING
Tazer found herself in room lit by brilliant sunshine streaming in. With her is another teenager, a boy in an Atlanta Braves t-shirt who introduces himself as Grant. Grant takes Tazer into another room where there are five other teens.
It is quickly established that all seven had been brought here by the golden-skinned man, wherever "here" was. Introductions are made and it becomes clear that all seven teens are metahumans, most with super-hero identities. Grant is the hero sometimes called Damage while the others are a boy from New York named Justin, who calls himself Torch and is affiliated with Justice Inc.; an English-Indian girl named Chandi who went by Maya when she was with Justice League Europe; Cassie Sandsmark, the new Wonder Girl from Gateway City; Andrew Nowlan, aka Ferro, whose face and head are concealed behind an iron mask; and the youngest person there, a thirteen year-old named Tim who says he is originally from New York but now lives at an institute near Chicago.
As the seven puzzle over where they are and why they were brought there the golden-skinned man enters and introduces himself as Takion, and tells the seven they are on a world called New Genesis. Takion leads the group into a series of corridors. The building is a combination of classical architecture and science-fiction high-tech. The group is led into a large chamber; at one end is a glowing wall. There are four men in the room, older, all with white beards, each radiating with a presence.
One comes forward, he is carrying a staff and introduces himself as Highfather of New Genesis. The others are introduced as Zeus, Odin, and the wizard Shazam. Highfather tells the seven that they have been brought to New Genesis because of event that threaten Earth. Tazer assumes that Highfather is referring to the "Book of Revelation stuff", but Shazam indicates that the four had not been aware of that threat until recently, when they received a warning.
PARIAH
At that point another person enters the room. The man appears to be in his late twenties, but his face seems far older. He has curly grey hair, his grey eyes are hidden in shadows that seem to be present despite the light in the room. He is wearing a white tunic with a green vest, black pants and a long, hooded green cloak. He was the one who brought the warning to these powerful beings, and he is called Pariah.
Tazer repeats her question, and Pariah responds that the threat to Earth is not the Biblical event she speaks of. He does not know the name of that which seeks the destruction of her world, but Pariah does claim to have seen its work. He says that the threat is drawn to planets where a force of evil, or good, has grown strong enough to spread out into the cosmos. When a planet is marked, events occur and these events pattern themselves after a doomsday myth of the planet. He does not know whether the events are the work of the threat, or the planet's way of warning its people. Scouts are sent to the marked world to measure its strength, then the comes the Judgement. A handful of the planet's population are taken and the planet is wiped clean, a fate that awaits Earth.
Tazer cries out that she and the Guardians were told by the Three Witches that the threat could be stopped, surprising Zeus and Odin that the team had dared to summon the Fates, and more surprised that the threat was so great that those beings would involve themselves. Realizing the level of the threat to Earth, and his own failures to summon his champions to combat it, the wizard Shazam takes his leave of the group to return to his base at the Rock of Eternity.
Wonder Girl returns to the question at hand, asking Zeus why the seven youngsters had been called to New Genesis. Zeus responds in turn that the seven were shown to them by the Source.
THE SOURCE
When Tazer asks what the Source is, Highfather points to the glowing wall.
"Physically, the Source exists beyond the Promethean Galaxy, at the edge of the universe. The Source encompasses all things. All life is part of the Source, as it is a part of all life. Of all beings in the universe, only Takion, the one who brought you here, can commune directly with it and even he cannot fathom its depths. I often seek answers from the Source, but I must use this wall as a medium. Others have sought to touch the Source directly by breaching the Promethean Wall in their quest for the ultimate Truth. These beings pay a terrible price."
Odin then tells of his own failed attempt at breaching the Wall, and of another failure that now threatens Earth. In an attempt to prevent Ragnorok, the end of the Norse Gods, Odin once created a small pocket dimension where the final battle would play out over and over, giving the god the opportunity to observe and seek a means to avoid the true Twilight of the Gods. Due to Hitler's abuse of the Spear of Destiny, Odin lost control over his false Ragnorok and it threatened to overwhelm the Earth. Only the sacrifice of the Justice Society, who entered the pocket dimension to fight the endlessly repeating battle, prevented it from destroying the Earth.
In time, the Justice Society were rescued and their place taken by twelve imprisoned creatures, the creatures called the Daemen that now battled alongside Brimstone. When Brimstone, with the Spear of Destiny, released the Daemen it meant that the pocket Ragnorok again threatened to spill into the real world. Now faced with the possibility of two doomsdays threatening the Earth, Odin and Zeus consulted with Highfather and Shazam to seek a solution - and the source guided its servant Takion to each of the seven teens now assembled at New Genesis.
With that tale told, Highfather says they must learn why the Source selected the seven. He turns and the strange wall behind him begins to glow as Highfather touches his staff to it. Letters begin to appear in the wall, written in flame.
IN EACH OF THESE SEVEN THERE IS A SPARK. WITHIN THEM THE POWER TO STOP THE DAEMEN AND STOP THE WORLD FIRE.
WITHIN THEM I HAVE SEALED THE KEYS TO COMBAT THE BEAST. IN TIME THEY MAY USE THIS KNOWLEDGE TO STOP THE EVIL WHICH CONDEMNS THEIR WORLD.
The Source having spoken, Highfather asks if the seven accept the challenge to fight Odin's rogue spell and the fury it has spawned.
THE TASK
Tazer is the first to jump aboard, followed quickly by the others. Highfather gestures and seven hand-sized boxes appear before the seven. Each is covered in some kind of circuitry and is emitting a faint pinging sound. Highfather tells the teens that these are Mother Boxes and they will serve to guide and protect the seven young heroes.
Each of the seven young heroes takes one of the Mother Boxes. The pinging increases and one of the holes in space, like the ones which originally brought the seven to New Genesis, appears in the room. Highfather calls the portal a Boom Tube, and tells the seven that it will take them where they need to go.
THE ENEMY
The Boom Tube closes with the sound of a thunderclap, transporting the seven teenagers across time and space and depositing them in a wasteland. A mountain stands at the edge of a desolate sea. And towering over the landscape is a giant figure swathed in flame. At its feet stand twelve beings, some human, some not, the Daemen.
The Daemen are in shock; seconds ago they had been on the verge of destroying Washington DC, now with Brimstone's destruction they have been sent back into the pocket Ragnorok. However this time they are not trapped in the loop, which means they can side with Surtur and the Norse Gods would be sure to fall. That will re-open the gate to Earth and destroy everything. The fires of Ragnorok will wipe the planet clean!
The Daemen then spot the newly arrived young heroes, who are all clad in costumes now (the Mother Boxes having transformed the clothing of those who had not been wearing their super-hero garb). The Daemen mockingly refer to the group as the "Teen Titans", but the teens leap into the fray with another name on their minds: the SEVEN THUNDERS.
THE BATTLE
Outnumbered and outpowered by the Daemen the Seven Thunders seem doomed, but the Mother Boxes that were provided by Highfather have empowered the heroes, boosting their abilities. Many of the Thunders pair off against Daemen with abilities similar to their own. Torch goes after the fiery Zhazor, Tazer chases the speedy Tzingaas, and Maya pits her mystical bow against the whip of Dhaozan. Elsewhere Wonder Girl goes after the earth-manipulator Huromon, Damage battles the icy Kishtimaak, and Ferro confronts Inztuk.
Young Tim evens out the odds with the revelation of his powers, the ability to manifest incarnations of fictional characters (mostly from television, Tim's go-to source of inspiration). The Daemen go from nearly a two-to-one advantage to even as Tim summons the powerful robotic Decimaxx (from a toy tie-in show) and the super-heroic cartoon Captain Carrot and the Zoo Crew. Being constructs, these combatants are immune to the powers of the Daemen that rely on psychic attacks and make short work of Blaquokar and Piztok; and shortly after the Zoo Crew take care of Feth Sudol. Seeing Tim's ability, Torch dubs him the Vid-Kid.
Several of the Thunders switch off their opponents, with Tazer zapping the shrill Calabri and Damage sets off a massive explosion that takes out Arquol and Gulgak. Their numbers diminished, the Daemen try to regroup but the Seven Thunders redouble their onslought. Wonder Girl and Ferro finish off Tzingaas, Torch fries Kishtimaak, Vid Kid's Zoo Crew constructs polish off Feth Sudol, and Maya immobilizes Inztuk. Now hopelessly outnumbered Dhaozan, Huromon, and Zhazor are quickly dispatched.
AFTERMATH
With the Daemen defeated, the Seven Thunders are able to channel their Mother Boxes to once again bind the creatures to the looping battle of the pocket Ragnorok. The threat ended, the Boom Tube returns them to New Genesis. With the thanks of the gods, new and old, the Seven Thunders are sent back to Earth. Takion opens a Boom Tube to New York, where he had taken Tazer from, and where the other six offer to go as well to help with the looming crisis that still threatens the planet.
