“Do you have anything left in the tank?” Sam asked.

He wasn’t used to the electrical energy rolling across his body, wrapping him in a brilliant blue glow that lit up his surroundings like he was a Christmas tree. It was uncomfortable in that way one wears an outfit they’re not quite satisfied with. There was also far less pain involved than he was used to.

“I’m a hero... I always have just enough left for the fight,” Thunder replied.

“Alright... then throw me,” Sam said.

Thunder’s eyebrow arched. “Are you sure?”

Sam offered her his hand.

“Yeah, it’ll be fun,” he insisted.

Another ear-piercing roar caused the ground to rumble beneath them. It was quickly followed by Farsight screaming scientifically sound obscenities at their enemy the likes of which Sam might have been embarrassed to have come out of his own mouth. After all, there were only so many ways one could “Shove something up a giant shadow’s black hole!”

“You’re going to need this.” Thunder placed the Stasis Band into Sam’s hand just before grasping him by the wrist. “Now, hold on tight. It’s time to fly.”

Lightning cascaded across her arm as she tightened her grip on him. And then, in the speed it takes one to blink, Thunder pulled Sam forward and flung him into the air like a human javelin zooming straight for the giant shadow’s massive chest.

Remember lesson number thirty-three, kid, aim! Chiron reminded him.

Thunder did the aiming, so it’s her fault if I miss, Sam thought.

He was soaring through the air at the swiftness that was faster than a speeding bullet. The air buffeted his face. The wind howled around him. Still, all he could really hear was the beating of his own heart.

I’ve got this... I’ve got this... I’ve got this... He repeated over and over in his mind.

Suddenly, the darkness that was originally still a distance away was right before him for the giant shadow had stretched out its arm and reached out for Sam just like it had in his nightmares, giving Sam a flash of déjà vu that was quite disorienting.

No Apollo... it’s all on me, Sam realized.

But that wasn’t true. For in Sam’s hour of need, Crow-Man had come to his rescue.

The caped crusader appeared at the corner of Sam’s eye, swinging through the air with the help of his grappling gun in one hand and a dagger in his other — a dagger that differed greatly from any he’d brandished before.

A shadow that was darker than black grew out of the blade’s tip. It was long and feather-shaped but curved like a katana.

Even from a distance, Sam could sense the energy leaking out of this shadow blade, almost as if Crow-Man had poured all of himself into this one attack.

“Fear not death for the hour of your doom is set and none may escape it,” Crow-Man chanted.

In a single swing of awesomeness, Crow-Man severed the giant shadow’s outstretched arm by the wrist, clearing the path for Sam’s attack run.

As if unwilling to let Sam close, the giant shadow raised its second arm to block him too. But then reality warped around the giant shadow’s hand — like a mirror had cracked in the space between it and Sam — and caused the obstruction to shatter into nothingness.

Sam didn’t need to see Farsight to know this was her doing. She must have found a probability where nothing obstructed Sam’s path and superimposed it into their reality in the exact moment he needed it.

Why does every hero besides me have excellent timing? Sam wondered.

WARNING! Your HP is already at a critical range. Breaching the dark ectoplasm of the elder giant’s shadow form will put your life at risk.

Tell me something I don’t know, Sam thought, smiling despite the situation.

A moment later, and Sam’s body — enveloped in Thunder’s Lightning Raiment — smashed against the giant shadow’s chest, causing an ear-shattering shockwave to explode out of their point of impact.

Krak-ka-boom!

It felt like smashing himself against the side of a mountain — their two opposing energies colliding — but the fabric of dark ectoplasm gave way to the lightning, allowing Sam to plunge into the heart of darkness where his consciousness finally winked out.

***

A half-conscious Sam floated in darkness as if he were an astronaut who’d been ejected out of a spaceship and was now lost in space. He could feel nothing though. Not even the freezing cold he imagined the vacuum of outer space would be like.

In his mind, he heard a voice — and it was unlike any voice he’d ever heard before. Ancient and enormous like a mountain. Deep and mysterious like the depths of the ocean. Powerful and all-consuming like a black hole.

You’re lost, little hero, the dark voice taunted.

Hearing it made Sam’s mind feel like there were a thousand ants crawling inside his brain.

I...I’m not afraid of you, Sam thought. Obviously, this was a big fat lie, one Sam would compound with, I eat monsters like you for breakfast...

Honestly, how could Sam not be shaking in his mental boots when he was having a telepathic conversation with a true immortal who wasn’t grinning and talking like a goofball like Apollo did?

But you are afraid, little hero... I sense it... You’re terrified... because you know the truth, the dark voice mocked.

What truth? Sam asked.

The truth that you cannot stop my return, it declared. Gaea calls me back from Tartarus.

Don’t count your cockatrices until they’ve hatched, Sam countered. I’m going to stop you... whoever you are!

You... stop me? Sam heard the mocking laughter echoed in his mind. I am the Eldest of the Gigantes, Father of Mountains, Strongest of Gaea’s brood, Lord of the Black Herd... I who cannot die in the land of my birth — and you, puny little mortal hero, will stop me?

These were some pretty impressive titles, and Sam was certain he’d heard some of them before. Although he couldn’t quite place the name of the elder giant that held them. It was probably the panic and fear finally blossoming inside him that no amount of bravado could hold back.

I...I—

—I sense your terror, little hero, the dark voice said. No... You are no hero. You are nothing at all.

An Emperor-Palpatine-level evil cackle reverberated all around Sam, and it was so bad that a scream was forming in his throat.

Sam!

How strange it was that in this darkest of moments, he could hear Thunder’s voice so clearly in his mind almost like she was talking to him.

Wake up, lame-brain!

Alright, that was just way too like Thunder for it not to feel strange.

It’s almost like she’s in here with me, Sam thought.

I am in here with you, she replied in an exasperated tone. Fusion attacks aren’t just physical... they can sometimes form a temporary telepathic link between two people.

That would have been nice to know beforehand, Sam thought.

Now that he knew Thunder was in his mind, it became infinitely hard not to think of her and her action figures and her pin-up calendars and —

Sam!

Sorry, sorry, can’t help it... Sam sighed.

The one thing this awkward mental conversation managed to do right was obliterate the fear inside Sam’s chest.

If you’re done with the pervy thoughts then wake up and catch the villain already, lame-brain, Thunder snapped. Wake up!

***

Sam woke up with a start, and then he was choking.

It’s about damn time, sleeping beauty! Chiron’s disembodied voice was back inside his mind. Now get to it... end this fight already!

It was very hard to end anything when Sam couldn’t see a thing or breathe. Then there was a glow in the darkness; a brilliant blue glow that took seconds for Sam to realize was actually coming from him. Apparently, Thunder’s Lightning Raiment was still active.

But there was also another light nearby also, one Sam was quite familiar with. They were weak shimmering sparks in blackness so deep and all-encompassing that Sam might have mistaken them for stars winking weakly against the backdrop of outer space.

Sam would later claim that it was like diving into a pool, but instead of water, something far heavier pushed against him. Despite this, Sam managed to inch his way toward the sparkles. Even as his breath left him, he kept wading toward the sparkles until at last, he could see the villain who’d made his life so miserable these past few days.

The Trickster’s body was contorted in the weirdest way, like a doll whose strings were tangled together. Shimmering sparks exploded out of his body like his power was on the fritz.

Despite his personal feelings, Sam stretched his hand toward his enemy to save him from his own doom.

Come on! Sam cried. Come on!

Strangely enough, the final stretch of distance between them wasn’t getting any smaller.

How is this even possible? Sam wondered. The giant’s not that big...

But it felt like the giant shadow’s interior space was exactly that massive.

The giant’s messing with you, kid... It’s all in your mind, Chiron explained.

It’s all in the mind, Sam repeated.

Believing in this one line, he tried again to reach out, to break through the illusion that had obviously taken hold of him. And suddenly, almost impossibly, Sam did manage it after all.

He realized quickly what it was he was holding onto, and then, with a memory of Mr. Moonday’s suggestion flashing across his oxygen-deprived mind, Sam slapped the stasis band onto the Trickster’s ankle. And just like that, the darkness disappeared.