Batmare didn't need Mr. Bubbles to light his hand ablaze in order to illuminate the dark corridors, since her cowl allowed her to see in the dark just fine, but she still gave him a grateful nod at the gesture. The two had arrived in the sunken city of Atlantis to find it exactly as Trixie had described it: dark, slightly flooded, and devoid of all life.
'Which is worrying me even more than I would like to admit,' Batmare silently thought as she crept ahead of Bubbles. But all of her efforts to be stealthy were wasted, due to a metal titan whose boots slammed onto the ground like bricks. 'I mean, we haven't even seen a single guard of Adam's or any of his judges, and Adam's not the type to leave a Spire unprotected,' Batmare's train of thought continued while she gave up on stealth all together and just decided to walk alongside Bubbles, who seemed happy at her decision.
"Alright Mr. Bubbles, you came from an underwater dystopia. Any idea where anything is?" Batmare asked Mr. Bubbles, but all she got in reply was a number of low moans and an offer for her to sit on top of his head, which she politely declined. "Okay, that was useless. Let's try option number two. Mare, you listening?"
'Yes...I am here,' the silver mare responded weakly, instantly making Batmare wary. Bubbles growled slightly at the return of the silver mare, but he went silent as the mare continued to speak. 'Sorry if I...have not been around, it has gotten tougher maintaining my form. What do you require of me?'
"I wanted to ask, why is Bubbles being so friendly to me, more so than anypony else on this team?" Batmare grumbled slightly when Bubbles tried to open a rusted door for her. "And don't say he isn't. If he's not tending to the foals, then he's trying to help me no matter what I'm doing. Not that it's annoying, but I like answers to questions."
'You simply remind him of his home and the ponies that he knows,' the silver mare replied exhaustedly, getting Batmare to growl at another cryptic answer from the mare. But her annoyance at the pony melted away the moment she walked through the door that Bubbles had just forced open, revealing the secrets of Atlantis.
"Wow...just wow," Batmare muttered as everything within her sight became golden, which was the only way she could describe the room before her eyes. Everything in the room was a solid gold, be it the pillars that held up the ceiling or the ceiling itself, which had golden images carved into the gold that was used to make the ceiling. From the floors to the walls, no matter where the Batpony looked, all she could see what gold. "So they weren't kidding when they said that everypony wanted Atlantis for the gold. What do you think?"
To Batmare's surprise, Bubbles shrugged in response to her question and marched forward into the large golden room, turning his body from left to right as he looked down the hallways to see where to go next. He then pointed the way to the left and began to walk down the hall, until he realized that Batmare wasn't following him and he waited for her to catch up.
'Color me surprised. For a being that's nearly covered head to foot in gold, he sure doesn't really seem to care about it,' Batmare noticed as she walked over to Mr. Bubbles, who moaned happily as the two of them began to walk down another hallway together.
Without warning one of the walls shattered and water came bursting in, giving Batmare just enough time to yell in shock before a storm of ice not only froze the water, but also sealed shut the break in the wall. Batmare then slowly looked over to Mr. Bubbles, whose hand was covered in ice, and he was glaring at the wall with yellow eyes. Those eyes then turned green as he looked back at Batmare and motioned for her to continue following him.
"Heh, I guess your life of living under the sea made you ready for any situation like that, didn't it?" Batmare asked, getting a moan and a nod in response from the Big Daddy. Mr. Bubbles then held out a hand to stop Batmare when the two of them passed by a pitch black hallway, Bubbles turning his body to look down the corridor and using his eight glowing eyes to illuminate the darkness. "There's nothing down there Bubbles. My cowl isn't picking up any signs of life," Batmare informed him before moving on. Bubble's eyes flashed red for a moment before he followed her farther into Atlantis.
"You've noticed it too, haven't you?" Batmare asked when they came to an exceptionally large part of the city, where hundreds of golden stairs led down into an area that looked like it had once housed theaters, shopping areas and what seemed to be an ice rink in the very center. Batmare quickly scanned the area with her cowl before looking over at Bubbles, who was in a more defensive stance than usual. "Something's wrong here."
Bubbles moaned in agreement while the two slowly began to walk down the stairs. Bubbles determined that the stairs were strong enough to support him, and the steps were large enough so that his boots barely hung out over them. His eyes changed to yellow while he slowly began to look around the large chamber, feeling that something was wrong despite not seeing it.
After the two of them reached the bottom of that staircase, they got a first look at what had happened to one of the inhabitants of Atlantis. "Faust, the thing's covered head to hoof in gold," Batmare muttered when she poked the golden seapony with her hoof, not surprised to get no reaction out of it. "According to my scanners, this has been here for nearly a thousand years. Great. So Trixie was telling the truth when she suspected that what happened to the Atlantians of our world happened to this one. Question is, is this the same creature that sank our Atlantis or are we dealing with something else?"
Bubbles let out a moan before he reached down to pick up the bat-clad pony, who quickly jumped away from him at the last second. He let out a quick, pleading moan as he pointed to the stairs, hoping that Batmare would understand what he was asking.
"What? No, I'm not leaving," Batmare said with a small shake of her head that gained her a moan of urgency from the Big Daddy. "Yes, I know I'm in danger, but this is no different from the other hundreds of times I've been in danger. Just because your suit looks fancier than mine doesn't mean that mine is any less bulletproof. Now stop complaining and let's keep going."
Bubbles almost seemed to sigh at her response as she zipped down the next flight of stairs, leaving the Big Daddy to play catch up. It barely took him a minute to reach her again, though when he caught up with her he found the bat kneeling down next to an indentation in the floor. She was intensely looking at the indentation, but after a moment Daddy realized that it wasn't an indentation. It was a footprint.
"And a recent one too at that," Batmare confirmed for him when he had moaned in realization. "Which is both scary and interesting. Interesting because that would mean the creature that froze all of Atlantis in gold is still alive, and scary because that would mean the creature that froze all of Atlantis in gold is still alive. Come on, let's keep moving."
Using the scanners built into her cowl, Batmare was able to faintly pick up on the magic that the orbs produced, giving her an idea of which way to go. Unfortunately for the both of them, some of the areas were either flooded or dropped off into nothingness, with neither of them willing to find out how far down the drop was.
"So, if we're to assume that the creature that is responsible for Atlantis becoming the golden city of the sea is still alive, then I would also wager money that it's the reason there are no guards stationed down here," Batmare deduced when the trail of magic became stronger, helping her lead both of them through barely lit areas or through crossroads that may have confused them otherwise. "But now the question that needs answered is, does it work for Adam? Or is it so dangerous that he found it best to leave it to guard the orb? Because if it's intelligent, we might be able to talk our way through."
Bubbles let out a worried moan in response, and he pointed to Batmare and then towards the exit, getting the knight to roll her eyes while she continued onwards. It annoyed her slightly that Bubbles was never more than a few feet from her and was constantly trying to get her to turn back, but she simply assumed that he was just concerned for her safety and wasn't trying to do the mission solo.
The magical signal reached its strongest when both of them reached a pair of massive, golden doors that seemed to have the history of Atlantis carved into the gold. Batmare quickly read about how the city waged war with the surface world, and how the only way the Atlantians had to defend themselves from the might of the princesses was to sink the city into the sea, where it seemed to do well for a hundred years. Yet, that was where the story ended because the rest of the images were never finished being carved.
"Which is when, I can guess, that whatever it is showed up," Batmare said before turning her head to look up at the iron titan. "You ready to do this?" Bubble's nodded his head as best he could before he placed his hand on the door and shoved it open with an effort, revealing the treasure for which the two had come. The orb could be visibly seen resting upon the center of a machine, similar to the ones that Batmare had already destroyed within the other Spires, yet the only difference between the one before her and the other ones was that this one seemed built more for the depths of the ocean.
"Alright, seems simple enough. Now where's the dungeon boss?" As if summoned by her words a massive roar echoed throughout the chamber, prompting Bubbles to nearly throw himself over Batmare while she began to look around for the source of the noise. The beast that had let loose such a roar came crashing down from the ceiling, and it landed around the machine with another bellow of fury as it glared at the two with golden eyes that seemed more primal than intelligent. Yet, the eyes were not the only golden part of the beast, Batmare discovered, because the rest of the creature's body was covered head-to-toe in golden scales and armor, telling her what they were up against.
"A dragon? They're using a dragon to guard an orb that's underwater?" Batmare asked with a half chuckle, pondering why they would use a flying beast that breathed fire underwater, when three large fins emerged from its back in place of wings, surprising her while also answering her question. Then, as it brought its head back, sucking in the air around it, Batmare spotted a number of burn marks all along its neck that the cowl informed her were all magic-based...a magic that was in her father's index.
"Oh, so that's how Black Adam got you to work for him," Batmare realized. The next thing that she knew, however, was that she was being hurled through the air and that the dragon had just unleashed a hellish torrent of golden flames upon Mr. Bubbles, who had just barely managed to get Batmare out of the way of the attack. Her wings spread wide and allowed her to catch herself in the air, where she quickly turned back to see the Big Daddy barely holding back the golden flames with a stream of ice from his hand.
"Hang on Bubbles, I got you!" She let an explosive batarang fly from her hoof and arced it so perfectly that it sliced through the air and embedded itself right next to the dragon's eye, where an impressive explosion quickly distracted the dragon from Mr. Bubbles, and instead forced it to howl in pain as it ceased its fire breath. A quick burst of speed brought her next to Bubbles to discover that, while he had escaped unharmed, the area around the titan had not been so fortunate.
"So, I was right in assuming that you were the one who froze all of Atlantis," Batmare muttered as she took in the now-gold covered floors, turning back to the dragon to see that it had recovered from her attack. Yet, one of it's eyes had not survived. It unleashed another hellish roar as it lumbered towards them, shaking the entire room while it charged with fury in its eye. Batmare was quick enough to throw herself to the side, but as the dragon reared up onto its hind legs with one claw outstretched, Batmare saw from behind a pillar that Bubbles still hadn't moved.
"RRRRRAAAAAGGGGHHHHHH!" the dragon roared as the dragon drove its claw down to crush the Big Daddy, but the sound of the dragons' roar was drowned out by the sound of Bubbles' drill revving up to full speed. A blast of ice magic quickly shot forth from Bubbles' left hand just as the dragon's claw was about to crush him, completely freezing the claw in ice moments before it struck. Unable to stop its attack and with its claw frozen, the dragon could do little else but watch as Mr. Bubbles drove the spinning drill right into the center of the frozen claw, tearing it apart and hurling hundreds of little pieces across the room.
The dragon howled with pain as it staggered back and clutched at where its right claw used to be, leaving it open for Bubbles to unleash a swarm of hornets as well, before charging forward towards the dragon. With a roar the dragon began to swat with its only claw at the insects that pestered its only good eye, forcing it to take its eye off of the Big Daddy, which was a terrible mistake.
With a roar of his own, Bubbles quickly charged to where the dragon's tail lay on the floor, leaping into the air and driving his drill right through the tail and spraying blood across the room. The dragon opened its mouth as it let loose another bellow of pain, only to be silenced as Bubbles shot a massive blast of ice into the dragon's gaping maw, creating a small glacier that prevented the dragon from moving its jaw at all. Without a moment's delay, Bubbles raced over to the front of the dragon, where he watched as the dragon inhaled through its nose to take in the air needed so that it could let loose its fire. The moment it stopped breathing in, Bubbles threw a fist forward and punched the dragon in the gut hard.
The dragon didn't even have the option to cry out in pain as it collapsed to the floor with a large thud, laying motionless as Bubbles marched over to it and placed a boot on its head before he lifted his still spinning drill into the air and let out a moan of victory. Then, with eyes now a crimson red, he slowly lowered the drill and aimed it at the dragon's remaining eye, letting out a deadly roar while he drove the drill forward...only to stop when a batarang whacked him in the side of the head. He slowly turned to see Batmare glaring at him with an explosive batarang in her hoof, her eyes narrowed dangerously as she took aim at him.
"Good job on defeating the dragon, but if you finish what you were about to do, then I will bring you down myself," Batmare threatened in a cold voice. Yet, to her moderate surprise, Bubbles' eyes flashed from red to green before he hopped down off of the dragon, walking over to Batmare without so much as a look back at where the dragon lay while giving her a friendly moan. "Um, okay? Look, let's just get the orb and get out of here."
The two walked over to the machine and, with a bit of trouble, managed to remove the orb from it. They both looked up as the beam of magic vanished into thin air and the machine slowly turned itself off. "Alright, we're done here. Let's hope we can get out the way we came in, or else Captain Marvel might need to lift the entire city just so we don't-"
Batmare's words were interrupted when the glass above their heads was shattered at mach ten, causing both Bubbles and Batmare to brace themselves as they were knocked to the ground by whatever had just entered the room. They both slowly lifted their heads to find, to their shock and horror, that a human in white garb stood in the center of the room, his magical energy keeping the water that poured into the room from touching his body. Yet, they didn't need to see the golden lighting bolt upon his chest nor feel the thundering magic that surrounded him to know who he was...and just how deep they were now in.
"It ends today," the Dark God said as he slowly lifted his head to face the two of them, with eyes thundering from the power of hundreds of thunderstorms as he glared at the two, giving them both only a moment to see that his eyes also were a reddish tint. "The rebellion, the End of Days, and all who seek to harm those I protect...they ALL END TODAY!"
S=H=A=Z=A=M
"Mare! COME IN MARE!" Trixie yelled to nopony as she tried to dig Captain Marvel out of the crater that his body had carved into the landscape just a few moments before. "Mare, Black Adam just showed up out of nowhere and one-shot the Captain! We need Banner and the Hulk back here now! Mare, are you listening?!"
To both Trixie's disdain and horror, the voice of the mare never answered her back, telling Trixie that either something was wrong with the mare or that Adam had gotten to her before he had dealt with Marvel. With an effort, she managed to use enough power to drag Marvel out of the hundreds of pounds of dirt beneath which he was buried, causing Trixie to gasp when she saw that blood was pouring from his mouth. Yet, she could see the rise and fall of his chest, telling her that he was alive.
'Hold on, Billy, I think I can...yes!' Trixie thought to herself as she used her magic to put Marvel's jaw back into place, allowing herself a quick sigh of relief while she began work on mending the injury completely.
'Trixie, I am here. What is the matter?' the broken voice of the mare echoed within Trixie's mind, snapping her attention back to what had just happened.
"It's Black Adam! Captain Marvel and I were here waiting in case he showed up, and with speeds that I couldn't comprehend he flew by, nearly tore Marvel's jaw off of his face, and dove into the ocean with enough speed to create a tidal wave!" Trixie quickly relayed while she turned her worried gaze to the hole in the ocean that still hadn't filled back in--the ocean where the beam of magic had just vanished. "We need Hulk here now! Because he's after Batmare and Bubbles. And Faust help them, because after what Adam did to Billy, I don't think anypony else can."
S=H=A=Z=A=M
Celestia wiped away the small droplet that slid down from the corner of her mouth with the back of one of her hooves, closing her eyes so that she could completely feel the power that surged through her as the potion began to take its effect. And she knew that she would need that strength soon, because she had just heard from the guards that the shield around Canterlot had fallen. Not that she needed them to tell her that, since she had observed the shield fall with her own eyes minutes before they had told her.
'But I also know now that it doesn't matter if my sister has managed to finally lower the shield,' Celestia thought with a wicked grin as she walked over to a closet that rested against the wall, opening it to gaze upon her gold and orange armor that she had not worn in so long. 'For Black Adam has just left to deal with those so-called champions himself. And with the look that I saw in his eyes, it will be a miracle if any of them survive his wrath. So all that will leave is you, Dear Sister.'
Celestia then grabbed hold of her chest plate with her magic, slowly placing it over her shoulders, and gave herself a moment to get acquainted with her old armor. It was a little tighter than she remembered it being, but with a smile she found that it still fit fairly well. She next removed the grieves from her closet and slipped those over her legs, before finally removing her old battle helmet which had the sun carved onto it, and slid it over her mane and onto her head.
'And you will fall just as those champions will fall, Sister,' Celestia thought with venom as she picked up her broadsword which shone like the sun and placed it upon her back, remembering what it had been like the last time she had to use her greatest physical weapon. She then walked over to a mirror in her room and gazed into it, smiling at what she saw. Her mane was a burning orange, almost as if it were ablaze, while her armor was as regal and proud as the one who wore it. Yet in her eyes she could see something that made her smile grow even larger. There was power in her eyes, pure, all-consuming power. 'Because I am no longer the weakling that you once knew me as.'
'I am now a god.'