Billy Butcher

An abandoned basement somewhere in the underworld of New Jersey. It reeks of mold, rust, and—for the first time in thirty years—real, concentrated human fear emanating from Earth's Mightiest Hero.

Stronghold sat in the center of a cheap lamp's circle, bound to a steel chair with zip ties. The same ones he would have once torn with a simple sneeze. But now... now the plastic cut into his skin, leaving shameful red streaks. The soldier hadn't just burned the "V" out of him—he'd burned the god out of him, leaving in his place a pathetic, quivering husk in a ridiculous star-spangled leotard.

The Stronghold twitched, his face contorted with tension. He tried to summon that familiar fire in his eyes, that blessed fury that turned men into bloody mince. But there was emptiness inside. Only the dryness in his eye sockets and the wildly pounding heart of a mere mortal.

Heavy footsteps on the concrete stairs echoed in his ears like hammer blows. The door creaked, and Billy Butcher entered the basement. He wore that grin you usually see on a hyena just before it sinks its teeth into a wounded lion's throat. In his hands, he clutched a trusty old crowbar, still stained with someone else's blood.

"Well, fuck, are we done yet?" Butcher stopped a couple of steps away, spitting on the dusty floor. "Look at him. The Great Stronghold. The beacon of the nation. And in reality, he's just another pimply asshole in a fancy dress who's about to pee himself."

Billy slowly approached, leaning close to the superhero's face. Butcher smelled of cheap whiskey and stale hatred.

"You know what I was thinking about all these years while you were floating around up there in the clouds, thinking you were fucking Jesus? I was thinking about what your voice would sound like when you started whining. Not growling, not threatening, but whining like a beaten bitch."

Butcher ran the end of the crowbar gently across the golden eagle on Stronghold's chest, then pressed the metal sharply into the fresh bruise on his ribs.

"This is for Becca, you bastard. And believe me... we're just getting started..."