Monsters II: The Age of Heroes (Wanda Maximoff x male Superman reader)

Chapter 31: The Price of Being a Hero

-ONE YEAR AGO-

The battlefield was filled with ash, dust, and the bodies of people on both sides. The Avengers watched as Superman fought Thanos, wrestling the gauntlet from his hand.

(Y/N) kneeled on the ground as the nano-gauntlet clamped around his hands. The stones began to glow as power surged through him. He snapped his fingers.

A wave of power surged from the gauntlet and into (Y/N), eliciting a scream of pain from him as a column of light from the stones shot into the sky.

Wanda was kneeled on the ground nearby. She looked up, breathing heavily, as she saw the man she loved in pain during what would inevitably be his final moments.

Diana looked up from the ground, hearing (Y/N)'s scream from nearby. She had a surprised look on her face as the column of light continued to shoot up. That hadn't happened when Thanos snapped his fingers, so why had it now?

Bruce had his rifle aimed at Thanos, still clutching it, waiting for something to happen. The column of light dissipated and (Y/N) went silent. He began to collapse to the ground. Bruce lowered his rifle, knowing that they had won, but at the cost of his friend's life.

The soundwaves from (Y/N)'s scream travelled away from the battlefield, towards the destroyed compound, passing it and moving towards the city.

It shook the walls of Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum. Fortunately, no one was home. But in the room where he kept his magical artifacts, something began to shudder. The black box he had kept buried away had litten up and was shaking violently.

The scream passed and it returned to normal.

In the city of Metropolis, the scream travelled over Heroes' Park, past (Y/N)'s statue, and towards the Kryptonian scout ship.

Inside was a scientist working the night shift. He heard a rattling noise from nearby, towards the genesis chamber. He stepped over towards it, and saw gold particles coming together to form some sort of shape. It came together into a tall figure with battle armor and horns, carrying three boxes. One of the boxes showed a light, and the figure looked at it before roaring and disintegrating.

The scream travelled over the ocean, disturbing the realm of Atlantis. A stronghold on the outskirts of the city, to be exact, being guarded by a female Atlantan by the name of commander Mera. She heard the scream, wondering whose it was. Who was strong enough that their voice could be heard this deep?

She heard something behind her. She turned around and saw the Mother Box shuddering on it's pedestal. It quickly returned to normal, but the anomaly still confused her. What had just happened?

The scream travelled over the ocean until it reached the distant island of Themyscira. Inside a domed structure on the edge of the island, a group of Amazonian warriors stood, wielding weapons, circling around a pedestal. On top was the Mother Box they guarded. It started shaking, and they drew their weapons, mostly consisting of bows and some swords. Unlike the others, it continued shaking after the scream passed.

One of the warriors slowly took a step towards the box. Nothing happened. Another step. Still nothing. A third. No change. She threw her shield down and reached her hand out towards the box, nearly touching it.

As her finger neared the mother box, a crack appeared in it's casing, a blinding light showing through it. She recoiled, startled, before turning to her sisters.

"Alert the queen!"

-NOW-

"Always be aware of your surroundings," Bruce said. "Chances are your enemies will know their territory. They'll use that against you."

For the past month or so, the team had been training (Y/N) and Wanda's kids so that they could become Avengers at some point in the future. Barry was training Tommy, Charles and Wanda were training Billy, and (Y/N) was supposed to be training Connor. However, (Y/N) was in Philadelphia that day, searching for a new recruit. Bruce had come in from Gotham to train Connor in basic swordfighting.

He had laid down tree limbs, tires, anything that could get in Connor's way.

They circled each other for a moment before Connor swung his sword. For a ten-year-old, his form was surprisingly precise. Bruce deftly blocked the stroke, and then the next.

After a few minutes, Bruce decided to let Connor go.

"Good job today," Bruce said.

"Thank you, Mr. Wayne."

"Call me Bruce, kid."

"I have a question."

"Go ahead."

"When do I get to go on missions with you?"

Bruce smiled. "One day, when you're older, you will."

"Why not now?"

"Because there's people out there who can hurt you. And while you might be able to beat some of them, your power will only take you so far at this age. My son once went out on his own, and he..." Bruce trailed off.

Connor nodded. "Ok. Thank you for today, by the way. I'm going to go find Laura."

——-

(Y/N) floated down on the roof of the building. Below him was the exact person he was looking for. A new hero who had risen in Philadelphia, and had fought the evil Thaddeus Sivan.

That hero went by the name Shazam.

He wore a bright red bodysuit with a yellow lightning bolt on his chest. He was black-haired, and was probably just a little younger than (Y/N) himself.

"Oh my god, wow! It's really you!" Shazam said as (Y/N) walked over.

"It's really me. Listen, I-"

"Oh, man. My buddy Freddy is a huge fan of yours. Like, really huge. He had this bullet that you were shot with, but then I stole it, and I lost it-"

"How old are you?"

"Oh. I forgot to mention. SHAZAM!" A bolt of lighting struck him and he suddenly turned into a 14-year old boy.

"Ah."

"Yeah. My name's Billy. Billy Batson. Listen, if you don't want to recruit me-"

"Don't get discouraged because you're young. My kids are younger than you and they joined the team as trainees."

"For real? And you have kids? Oh yeah, you're married to the Scarlet Witch. Doesn't stop all the girls at my school from swooning over you, though."

"Good to know."

"Listen, before I join - Can you do me a favor?"

——-

(Y/N) was holding a lunch tray behind the corner while Billy, as Shazam, was sitting with Freddy and talking about how great he was. Everyone was stunned.

"Oh, and by the way, I hope it's alright, but I brought a friend."

That was his cue.

(Y/N) stepped out, in full costume, and the room went silent.

"What the-" Freddy shouted when he saw (Y/N), but his next words were cut off as the entire cafeteria began shouting. Some of the girls tried to take pictures with him, the guys asked for autographs, it was complete chaos.

(Y/N) smiled. "Guys. I'd be happy to give out autographs and take pictures. No need to shout."