//------------------------------//
// What Makes Them Strong 
// Story: The War of Champions 
// by Onomonopia 
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Green blood sprayed from the Hulk's jaw when three spikes on a massive fist slammed into his face, hurling him backwards across the meadow and through a number of trees. Hulk groaned weakly as he pushed himself back to his feet, wiping the blood off of his face while looking over at Doomsday advancing towards him.

"How's that plan coming, Doc? I'm...not sure how much longer I can hold him off for," Hulk snarled before roaring and hurling himself into Doomsday, tackling the monster to the ground before he started punching Doomsday in his bony jaw. Yet with a laugh, Doomsday threw a massive 'slugger' into the side of Hulk's head, the force of the blow tossing Hulk off of Doomsday.

'I'm thinking Hulk! Grah! There has to be some kind of weakness, something that we can use against him!' Banner shouted in Hulk's mind until his voice was drowned out by the roaring of Doomsday, who charged at the Hulk and slammed his shoulder into the Hulk's chest, taking him on a journey as Doomsday ran across the land with Hulk impaled on his shoulder spike. Hulk bellowed with pain while he pulled himself off of the spike before throwing hammer-like blows into Doomsday's face, yet doom on legs didn't stop until he came across a small town. Doomsday laughed maniacally as he slammed the Hulk into one of the larger buildings, bringing it down on top of the both of them while ponies began to run for their lives.

Both combatants burst forth from the rubble exchanging blows.  Hulk felt a surge of rage towards Doomsday for bringing them to an inhabited city, giving him a temporary boost of strength that allowed him to fight Doomsday on slightly more even footing. Yet, when Hulk slammed a fist into the palm of Doomsday's hand, something clicked in Banner's mind as he watched Doomsday's arm get slightly more green just from being in contact with the Hulk.

'Hulk! Back away from him now!' Hulk didn't know why Banner sounded so afraid, but he figured that Banner had a good reason. Hulk slammed his other fist into the side of Doomsday's head to stagger him, allowing Hulk to back away with a little confusion.

"What gives, Doc? I finally feel like I can fight this guy," Hulk asked the doctor.

'Tell me something, Hulk. Do you feel weaker after touching Doomsday?' Hulk narrowed his eyes before he looked down at the hand with which he had just struck Doomsday, noticing that he didn't seem as strong as he had a moment ago. His eyes widened in realization and he looked over at the monster with concern. 'So, you've figured it out too. Not only did Doomsday come back from the dead, but he also...evolved and now can absorb radiation. Now, he can counter the strength boost you get when you get angrier. Just touching his skin weakens you.'

"You've got to be kidding me," Hulk groaned before Doomsday shook with laughter while throwing himself at Hulk, slamming into the jade giant before he could react. Hulk roared in fury as he threw blow after blow into the face of Doomsday, but now Hulk was aware that with every blow, he felt his strength leave him a little at a time. Doomsday laughed as he drove his fist into Hulk's face over and over again, his fist moving with such speeds that to the ponies it looked like a jackhammer was being used on the Hulk's face. Doomsday then roared with fury as he lifted Hulk by the face and hurled him across the town street, driving him into the side of a building that collapsed around the Hulk.

"Do you see? You cannot fight doom," Doomsday growled while he marched over towards the house, plunging his fist into the rubble to grab hold of the Hulk. He pulled the green goliath out in one, swift motion before slamming his fist into the Hulk's gut, forcing the Hulk to all fours while he struggled to avoid throwing up blood. Doomsday then brought a fist back to deliver another blow to the Hulk, when the sounds of a child crying reached both Hulk and Doomsday. Both turned their heads, to see that one of the foals watching the fight had broken down in the face of two monsters and started to sob, while the mother tried desperately to silence her child.

"Yes...all shall face doom," Doomsday said before slamming his fist into the side of Hulk's head, knocking him into the rubble before the monster turned and started to march towards the crying foal. He swatted a pony in his way into oblivion before he reached the mother and child, towering over them while he slowly lifted his arms over their fear-filled faces. "All shall die!"

"NO!" Hulk bellowed as he hurled himself forward and slammed into the back of Doomsday, knocking them both off of their feet and hurling the two monsters into the dirt. Doomsday was the first to recover, however, and in an instant he was upon the Hulk again, wrapping his fingers around the Hulk's neck as he started to choke the giant, while at the same time syphoning his radiation.

'Strength...failing me...starting to...lose focus,' Hulk thought weakly as he hammered upon Doomsday, yet the monster only smiled in reply because each strike was weaker than the last. 'Banner...if you...have a plan...now would...be the time.'

"Now it is...your end," Doomsday said in a near whisper as Hulk's vision started to fade, releasing Hulk with one hand while he brought it back, preparing to deliver the final blow to the Hulk. Yet, when Doomsday swung his fist forward...all of time came to a stop. Hulk groaned before pulling himself out of Doomsday's grasp, falling to the ground as he looked around to find everything nearly frozen in place.

'Hello there, angry green giant.' Hulk slowly turned to see a silver changeling standing behind him, a smile on its face as its golden eyes held more mirth and merriment in them than Hulk believed possible.

'What is going on?' Banner asked.

'And hello to you too, Doctor Banner. It is so nice to finally meet the both of you,' the changeling said as it bowed politely. 'But to answer your question, Doctor, I am here to aid you in your time of need. Or rather, I am here to bestow upon both of you what you both have earned through this journey of yours. From the beginning, when you two first met each other, to right now, when you are fighting the physical manifestation of doomsday, you have suffered, laughed, learned and fought. And now it is time for you to have what this journey has led towards.'

As the changeling said this, a golden armband appeared around the Hulk's left arm with a green radiation symbol in the center of it, causing divine power to flow through him as he felt his strength skyrocket beyond what he believed possible without massive amounts of rage. 'It is time you were given your Element, my Champion of Peace.'

"Peace? You really believe that me, a guy that is fueled by rage, and Banner, who has loathed himself more than anyone else I know--asides from myself--are worthy of the Element of Peace?" Hulk asked with a laugh, but the changeling smiled at him as it nodded its head.

'Yes, you two have fought for peace against evil, that is true. But that is not the peace I am talking about. I mean eternal peace; the peace that you can only find when you accept who you are,' the changeling explained as it looked over at Banner, who was shocked to find that he was standing next to the Hulk. 'Banner, you have always been either selfish in your actions or ashamed of what you created. But after a long road, you finally came to realize that you are still a good person who only wants to help others, and nothing will change that.'

'And you, Hulk...you have suffered far more than most I have ever met. Hunted since your very first day of creation, always distrusted by friends and enemies alike and causing more devastation than others, you have hated what you are for the longest time,' the changeling said with sympathy in its voice as it placed a hoof on the Hulk's shoulder. 'But then you learned that you are more than a monster, that you could become something far greater than what others, including Doctor Banner, saw in you. You accepted who you were and changed yourself for the better. For despite how painful and lonely the journey was, you brought out the best in each other and helped the other to accept who they were, faults and all. You both became even greater champions of peace by first finding peace within yourselves.'

'You really think that we're worthy of this?' Banner asked, getting a small chuckle from the changeling as it vanished into nothingness.

'Of course. How can you truly hope to make others laugh if you can't even find joy in yourself? Now go and stop doomsday, the both of them.'

Doomsday roared with surprise as a massive column of light shot skyward from where the Hulk had been standing, knocking the monster back as all eyes gazed at the form that walked out from the column. Hulk's skin had gone from green to a divine silver, with golden magic pulsing through his veins. Yet the biggest surprise came to the ponies and to Doomsday when he spoke in a voice that wasn't entirely the Hulk.

"Oh, look," Hulk said in a voice that sounded like both Banner and the Hulk as he cracked his knuckles. "It's that time of the week again. Time to stop Doomsday!"

Hulk hurled himself forward and slammed into Doomsday, taking the both of them to the sky where Hulk and Doomsday began to trade blows. Despite the large amounts of radiation that Doomsday had absorbed from the Hulk to further his own strength, the power of the Element fueled Hulk to new heights and allowed him to surpass the monster's strength. They both came crashing down in an abandoned area, both quickly rising to their feet as they continued to slug away at each other.

"What is this?" Doomsday asked when the two monsters traded blows once again, yet this time it was Doomsday that staggered back under the power of the Hulk. "Where did this come from?"

"It's called being rewarded for a good deed," Hulk roared as he punched Doomsday in the face hard, snapping his bones and sending him spiraling backwards. "Not that a creature like yourself would know anything about that. But I'll tell you now, this power," Hulk began as he brought a fist back, "allows me to regain my title as strongest there is!" Hulk drove his fist down into the gut of Doomsday, shaking the planet beneath the power of the strongest there is. Doomsday roared in pain as Hulk grabbed hold of his head and pulled him back up to his feet, forcing Doomsday to watch as Hulk wound up a punch before letting it loose right into the face of Doomsday. The sheer might behind the blow sent Doomsday sailing across the sky, where he was an easy target for the Hulk as he lunged up after Doomsday. Two fists to Doomsday's chest sent him hurtling back down towards the planet, creating a new gorge upon his impact with the ground.

"Do you give up?" Hulk asked as he landed next to Doomsday, pulling the monster out of the crater and glaring into his eyes. When Doomsday failed to answer, Hulk snarled as he brought back his fist and swung towards Doomsday's face. Yet to both Hulk and Banner's surprise, the moment before the fist impacted Doomsday smiled. The smile was still on his face as the blow slammed into it, yet when Hulk brought his fist back, he realized that Doomsday's head was grey again, not green like it had been.

'That clever bastard,' Banner growled in the back of Hulk's mind as Hulk tried to piece together what had happened, before the Hulk looked into Doomsday's eyes to see that the red light had gone out. Yet a few moments later the lights roared back to life and Doomsday slammed his fist into Hulk's face, hurling the Hulk back into a cliff face before Hulk fell to the ground. Hulk rose again with a snarl to see that Doomsday had gone from a greenish gray to full on white, almost mirroring the way Hulk looked now.

"What happened Banner?!" Hulk asked as Doomsday charged into Hulk, both of them slamming their fists together to intercept the other's attack. Yet to Hulk's utter confusion, Doomsday was once again able to match the Hulk.

'It's just as Ryan said. Whenever Doomsday dies, he only comes back stronger and with a way to deal with whatever killed him,' Banner explained as Hulk and Doomsday both struggled to overpower the other. 'So, when Doomsday realized that you were stronger than him, he allowed you to kill him. Then a few moments later he came back stronger and apparently with a power to match our Element. I think he's magic now.'

"DAMN!" Hulk roared as he slammed a fist into Doomsday's face, knocking the monster back and giving Hulk a moment to breathe. "Then how do we beat this guy?! Every time we knock him down, he's just going to get up stronger and tougher!"

'There...might be a way, but...it would never work! Doomsday wouldn't stay down long enough for me to do it!' Banner growled with helpless frustration in Hulk's mind while the Hulk knocked Doomsday back into the dirt.

"What's the plan, Doc? Come on, we need to do something, damn it! Remember, there's still a monster back in Canterlot waiting for us!" Hulk reminded him as he pinned Doomsday as best he could, getting Banner to sigh with frustration.

'I discovered a negative zone, if you will, after you went wild, a place that held nothing within it. I had created a device that would send you there if...you got out of control again, but it might be able to work on Doomsday. The only problem is, I would have to recalibrate it to work on him, but in order to do that I would have to come out and work on the machine. Yet nothing we do to Doomsday will keep him down long enough to stop him!'

Hulk lowered his head in thought for a moment before Doomsday shot up and slammed into him, forcing the Hulk to slam both fists into Doomsday's head to send him back into the earth. "Hey, this...machine...it's back at the base, right?" When Banner confirmed its location, the Hulk leapt into the sky and headed for the base, reaching it in a number of jumps. As he landed on the ground outside of the entrance, he looked off to where Doomsday was, with a sigh. "Alright Banner, I'll buy you time. You go in there and finish the machine. When it's finished, find a way to contact me."

'What the hell are you talking about, Hulk? How do you plan to...' Banner's words stopped cold when he realized that Hulk was holding the device that Tinker had used to separate them, causing fear to clutch at Banner's heart when he realized what Hulk was implying. 'Hulk, you remember what happened the last time we separated? And with the state you're in now, you might just destroy the world on your own.'

"Yes, Banner, I remember what happened the last time we separated," Hulk said--not with bitterness, but with strength in each of his words as he placed the device to his chest. "And I believed myself a monster, that without you, I am nothing more than rage incarnate. But that was just the guilt talking. Ryan was right. If I had wanted to kill him, I would have. If I had wanted to break the world, I would have. But I didn't, because even without your brains there to keep me thinking, I'm still the Hulk. I'm still the guy who fought for the very people that tried to hurt him. I'm the guy that chose to live in isolation instead of living near others and risk their safety."

"And that's where I draw my true strength...where the both of us draw our strength from. The desire to help others. The desire to make sure that the pain we experienced will not be felt by another. That is what burns deep in our hearts. So even without you there to help guide me, Banner, I still have that desire in my heart--the desire to help. I might be furious without you, I might be dangerous, but I will still fight to save this world. That is the 'me' I have made peace with. Please Banner, trust me."

'Do it,' Banner said without a moment's hesitation. Hulk smirked as he pressed the device to his chest and activated its power, causing both him and Banner to roar as they were ripped apart. A moment later, Banner moaned as he found himself lying on the ground next to a mass of green. They both rose at the same time, and at that moment Banner looked into Hulk's eyes to find no semblance of the intelligence that Hulk used to have. Only sheer wrath.

"No," Banner said without fear when Hulk reached forward to grab him. "No Hulk, you are better than that. You just told me that without me in your head you might not be smart, but you'll still have the heart of a hero. So was I wrong to trust you? Are you a monster? Are you going to kill me before Doomsday gets a chance to?" As he said this a roar could be heard off in the distance, making both heads turn to see that Doomsday had leapt into the air and was hurtling towards them. "Or are you the Hulk? Are you the hero? Are you the one who is stronger than your rage?" 

Hulk glared down at Banner for a moment before a roar of fury left his mouth while he spun and lunged up at Doomsday, colliding with him in mid air and tackling the monster off course. Both of them fell into a ravine by the base where they continued their grudge match, with Doomsday landing devastating blows upon the Hulk that nearly collapsed the monster. Yet Hulk refused to let Doomsday move him back so much as an inch, knowing, in his heart, that he was all that stood between Doomsday and Banner. And he made sure it stayed that way.

"Fool. Without the Element to fuel you, you are not able to match me!" Doomsday roared as he threw an earth-breaking right hand into Hulk's face, yet to the monster's shock, despite his blow breaking the Hulk's jaw, the jade giant remained on his feet. Hulk slowly turned his head back to face Doomsday, where the monster could see into Hulk's eyes. There was an unending sea of rage in them, but in the center of that sea was a small island, an island that shone with purpose. 

For nearly five minutes the battle between the two continued, with Hulk struggling to match the raw power of doom incarnate, yet he never so much as stepped back under the relentless power of Doomsday. But the fight was interrupted when a bolt of lightning exploded in the sky above the mountain within which the base was buried. Hulk snarled while he pushed Doomsday off of him and leapt into the air, getting Doomsday to roar in fury as he lunged up after the Hulk. 

Hulk came crashing down inside of Banner's lab, turning as Doomsday followed him inside. Yet the moment Doomsday touched down, two spheres shot off of a table and latched themselves onto Doomsday's fist, causing him to look down in confusion before a vortex appeared in a massive, metal circle behind him. Doomsday roared with confusion as two beams of telekinetic power shot from the spheres and into the vortex, causing Doomsday to roar with more rage and confusion as the spheres began to draw him into the vortex that only showed emptiness. Struggle though he might, the spheres remained strong and continued to drag Doomsday towards his prison.

"HULK!" Banner roared as he raced over to the Hulk, getting the green giant to look towards Banner as Banner came to a stop, staring up at the Hulk with fearless eyes while he held out the tube towards Hulk. "Come on, Hulk, you know what we have to do. Let's go put an end to this." For a brief moment, the Hulk considered smashing Banner and freeing himself once and for all. But then, the better part of the monster took over and Hulk reached out to touch the tube with one of his fingers. A flash of light went off as the two merged back into one and with the two of them merged back together, they were able to activate the Element's power again, causing the Hulk to be silver instead of green.

'Dimensional vortex. With those spheres on his hands, even he won't be able to escape,' Banner explained when Hulk looked at Doomsday being pulled into the vortex. 

"Alright Banner, let's get back to Canterlot and..." Hulk then turned to face Doomsday, who had begun to laugh despite just being inches from the vortex. "What, you got something to say to me?"

"You did not beat me. I am still stronger than you," Doomsday snarled with rage as he glared at the Hulk while still struggling against his bonds. "You could not beat me. You had to seal me away using him."

"Hmph. Sore loser," Hulk smirked as he turned towards Doomsday. "Hate to break it to you, but I'm more than strength. I've got a genius riding shotgun with me and when the two of us work together, there's no one we can't beat. That's what makes us such great heroes." At the word 'hero' Doomsday began to laugh, getting a look from Hulk. 

"They will never accept you. Do you really think that humanity or the ponies will always see you as a hero? No, the day will come when they will fear you as a monster again," Doomsday chuckled as he managed to prevent himself from moving any further back. "For us monsters, the future is uncertain. But there are two things we know that will never change. That no matter what, we will be feared and hated, no matter what."

"You're right, Doomsday, in more ways than one," Hulk agreed after a moment of thinking over what Doomsday had said. "You are right in saying how similar we are. I shudder to think that, without my friends and allies, that I might have become like you, a monster that only sought to destroy all in its way. That I would be everything that humanity feared me to be. But again, you are right in saying that only two things are certain for monsters like us. But see, those two things are different for you than they are for me. You are right in saying that your two certainties will be that you're feared and hated."

As Hulk said this he walked towards Doomsday with a smile, leaning in close enough so that he could glare into the monster's eyes. "But for me, it's different. For me, there are the two different things that will always be certain for me. The first is that no matter what happens, I'll always be the Hulk. The second is, that no matter what, no matter who I fight, no matter what ungodly, reality-destroying force I face, " Hulk then brought back a fist and aimed it between Doomsday's eyes, a smile crossing his face as he did, "I will always be the STRONGEST! THERE! IS!" He slammed his fist into Doomsday's face as he said this, hurling the roaring monster into the vortex. The vortex closed behind him, leaving the Hulk alone in the room while staring at where Doomsday had been standing.

'Hulk?' Banner asked in the back of Hulk's mind.

"Come on, Banner, we need to get to Canterlot," Hulk said before leaping out of the laboratory. "There's a second doomsday we need to prevent. And I have a feeling this one won't be so easy to beat."