The Marvelous Adventures of the Superbat Family

Dr. Sivana's Weather Machine

It was just before sundown when Dr. Sivana attacked Fawcett City. There were no giant robots this time (at least not yet, Batman thought sourly) but very outrageous weather. Hail rained down from the sky accompanied by loud thunder and brilliant bolts of lightning that lit up the sky. Judging by the way that Captain Marvel was carefully avoiding them he suspected that they weren't regular lightning bolts but something else entirely. The unnatural storm was also causing interference with their electronics thereby preventing them from contacting the rest of the League. They were just lucky that Batman and Superman had already been in town when the storm hit, passing along the gratitude from the museum curator along with his pleas to have the dangerous artifacts back. Captain Marvel's refusal had been expected and Batman had to agree with him. Things that dangerous should not be available to the general public. Although he would have preferred a more in-depth explanation of their whereabouts instead of a vague, "They're at the Rock of Eternity."

A brilliant lightning display shook Batman from his thoughts and he called, "Any idea where Dr. Sivana is?"

"There are a few different places where he could be hiding," Captain Marvel replied, "but since he'll have his kids with him that limits his options a little bit."

Although he was preoccupied with using his heat vision to weld a bridge back together Superman still asked, "What kind of egomaniac brings his kids on an evil scheme?"

"The kind that can't get a babysitter," Captain Marvel replied, just barely dodging another bolt of lightning.

"Unbelievable," Batman muttered. Not only did he have to look for an egomaniac but he had to keep an eye out for kids. "How many does he have?"

"Four," Captain Marvel let loose a ball of lightning then dodged another bolt. "But Beautia and Magnificus are out visiting some of their mom's relatives so we only have to worry about Georgia and Thaddeus, Jr. They'll probably be armed with laser guns, those are their favorites."

"Laser guns?" Superman repeated disbelievingly. "Why does he still have custody of his kids?"

Captain Marvel caught a massive pine tree seconds before it crushed a young woman and her toddler. Only once they were out of harm's way did he answer, "He may be an evil genius but he loves his kids and he does take good care of them. If they get put in foster care then there's no guarantee that they'll be taken care of there."

Batman frowned but before he could say anything his wrist beeped and he looked at his mini-computer. "I've located the source of the weather anomaly. It's in that building," he pointed to a recently abandoned factory three doors down from Captain Marvel's place.

"Again?" Captain Marvel groaned. "Why does he always have to do this next door? I'm getting tired of having to move every time he comes up with a new scheme."

"I'd be more concerned with how he keeps finding you," Superman called as he carried an elderly woman out of the line of fire.

"He can trace my magical signature," Captain Marvel explained. I could hide it but then he'd just attack a more populated area so it's just easier to let him track me. This way it cuts down on the number of innocent civilians."

Superman then resolved to get Captain Marvel's advice the next time he went up against something he had trouble with. He supposed Captain Marvel's easy-going nature was why everyone underestimated him – it was an oversight he was going to have to correct. The man was a demigod (and possibly an autistic child Superman reminded himself) but most ignored that fact.

Unfortunately, by the time they arrived, Dr. Sivana and his children were long gone. Their departure appeared to have made rather hastily judging by the discarded laser gun and scattered papers. The weather machine was smoking and shaking with random bolts of lightning coming out of it.

"This isn't good," Captain Marvel said at last. "If Dr. Sivana abandoned his machine then it must have been beyond repair. I don't see any way to fix it either. The best thing to do is destroy it but we'll have to be careful. That's my lightning he's using. If it hits me I'll be out of commission for a bit and it'll definitely hurt the two of you."

"How?" Superman finally asked.

"Well," Captain Marvel looked rather sheepish. "Black Adam got possessed once and I had a lot of trouble taking him down so Dr. Sivana and I had to work together. Long story short I had to show him how to capture our magic lightning to use against him since I was kind of out at it at the time."

Batman looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "You have a really weird relationship with all of your villains, don't you?"

"Yep," Captain Marvel nodded happily, "and most of the time that's a good thing."

"Any suggestions on destroying it?" Superman wanted to know even as a stray bolt of lightning singed his black hair.

Batman shook his head. "Our best bet would be to overload it or just destroy it. I'm afraid we'll have to take a few hits either way."

"Joy," Captain Marvel sighed. "Well let's get started." He formed a giant ball of lightning and threw it only to have it thrown back at him. "Yikes!" he dived out of the way, allowing the lightning to destroy the wall and the building behind it – Captain Marvel's building. "Aw, man, not again."

"We'll help you find a new place," Superman promised. "But first we'll stop this crazy thing," he opened his eyes wide and tried blasting it with his heat vision but to no avail.

"Try it again," Batman urged as he pulled out an explosive batarang.

"I'll help," Captain Marvel reached out and placed a piece of lightning on the batarang. Batman eyed it warily but threw it even as Superman used his heat vision again. This time there was a loud explosion and the machine blew into several pieces. "Look out!" Batman didn't even have time to react before Captain Marvel was in front of him, absorbing the last bolt of lightning. Batman and Superman were forced to close their eyes as a blinding light filled the room. When they reopened them Captain Marvel was gone and in his place was a child.

"Aw, man," the boy groaned.