Words could not describe the horror that chilled Batmare's soul, when she gazed into the flashing eyes of the white-clad reaper as he slowly floated towards both Batmare and Mr. Bubbles. The very sea around them shook from the sheer rage and power that radiated from Black Adam. She had been trained by Batman not to lose face in even the most dire of situations, but in the face of absolute power she couldn't stop herself from shaking with fear.
Bubbles, who had already faced death and died twice, had the strength of mind to place himself between Black Adam and the pony behind him. The drill revved at maximum speed as Bubbles pointed it at the golden lightning bolt on Adam's chest while letting out a warning moan, eyes a crimson red.
Batmare let out a shriek and the very air around her shattered as Adam appeared before her with his hand raised to the side. She barely registered that Bubbles had been hurled across the room and crashed into the wall of the chamber, which collapsed down upon him and buried the daddy. The fear burned through her cowl while she slowly raised her quaking head and looked up at Black Adam's face, which was devoid of all emotion save for his eyes--eyes that held within the wrath of a being that had slaughtered millions.
'Stop them now, my love. Finish them for good.'
"I have been far too kind to your feeble attempt at a rebellion, and to the End of Days, allowing the both of you to grow under my nose while I tried to...heal Equestria," Black Adam whispered, but the looming threat of complete annihilation hung over every word. "But now I can see that the rebellion is not a simple wound that will heal with time, it is a growth," he whispered in such a low tone that Batmare barely heard, yet she did not need to know what he said to know what his intentions were. "And the only way to be rid of a growth...is to destroy it."
Fifteen years of training with the greatest martial artist in history saved Batmare's life, for the moment Black Adam finished speaking her reflexes kicked in and she hurled a smoke grenade at her hooves, creating a cloud of smoke that momentarily blinded Black Adam. Yet with a simple wave of his hand he shattered the sound barrier and decimated the smokescreen, finding that Batmare had vanished into the darkness that still persisted in the golden room.
"It seems you are just like the man that you imitate," Black Adam muttered softly while he slowly began to look around the room for the pony, slightly surprised that even his vision could not find her. But avoiding his sight would not be enough to conceal her. "You both hide in the shadows when faced with a stronger foe, just as you and Luna have hidden for five years, trying to bring down one of the kindest beings that I have known in my five thousand years of living. But you will fail. I guarantee that today, you will fail. And it will cost you everything."
Adam had floated up into the center of the room as he finished his sentence, all of his senses on alert for the pony that hid in the shadows. "But what I will do to Luna will pale in comparison to what I shall do to you. Perhaps I will leave you at the bottom of the ocean, wondering if you will drown or if the pressure will crush you instantly. Or would you like to see the sun up close? Celestia speaks very highly of its beauty." Despite his words, Adam scowled because he neither heard nor smelled the fear from the pony. 'She was indeed trained well if she has such mastery over her fear. But she is a hero,' Adam thought as he looked down to where Mr. Bubbles lay motionless. 'And all heroes have the same weakness.'
Adam floated down to the pile of rubble and drove his hand through the stone, pulling forth the Big Daddy and holding him up by the tanks on his back. Some of the ports on his helmet had been shattered and red stains could be seen starting to bleed through the white suit. "Very well, Bat, if you do not wish for me to kill this one here and now, you will reveal yourself and suffer his fate. Do I need to give you a count?"
"No, I'm here." Adam turned his head to see Batmare standing in the middle of the room, surprised that even with his reflexes he had not seen her appear. "Now let him go." Adam narrowed his eyes, but fulfilled his promise and hurled the Big Daddy at Batmare's hooves. Bubbles skidded to a stop just in front of Batmare, where he moaned weakly as he flashed his eyes at her.
"No, I can't run now," Batmare whispered with as much confidence as she could muster while Adam began to advance towards her. "If I run, he'll kill you. And my Dad taught me that every life is worth fighting for, no matter the odds."
"A noble sentiment," Adam whispered as he kicked Mr. Bubbles to the side and glared down at the bat pony, who looked back up at him with as little fear as she could muster. Then, with the speed of a lightning bolt, Adam's hand was around her throat and he hoisted her into the air, making sure to keep his grip tight enough so that she hurt. "But it means nothing. None of you will make it out of this place alive."
"I...thought...you didn't kill anymore," Batmare gasped out, getting Adam's eyes to widen for a moment in realization before he steeled his gaze again.
"I may have promised Celestia that I would not kill anypony, but you changed the game when the silver mare brought you six champions here to end her!" Adam snarled with rage before he hurled Batmare onto the ground. She screamed out in pain as she felt a bone snap. Adam placed a golden boot onto her chest and slowly began to press down, getting Batmare to scream in agony because her wings were next to shatter. Bubbles let out a roar as he threw himself forward, but a bolt of lightning to the helmet sent him spinning back into the floor.
"And with the arrival of you six champions, some of whom have the power to match even me, I realized that in order to protect this land from its enemies, I must erase its enemies," Adam whispered with death in every word as he slowly lifted his boot, holding it just above Batmare's motionless head with murder flashing in his eyes.
'Yes, my love. Now finish her. Put an end to those who seek to hurt you.'
'Adam, wait-!'
"DIE!" Adam roared as he stomped down...before everything froze.
Mr. Bubbles looked around weakly in confusion because he realized that no one was moving, before his gaze rested upon a pure white griffon that rested in the air above him, a smile upon its beak.
'He is going to kill her and you are not powerful enough to stop him,' the griffon said in an ancient voice to Bubbles, who roared weakly as he strained to push himself towards Adam, his eyes flashing crimson. 'Do you care so much for this pony, that you would fight a god for her? That you would lay your life on the line for a filly that you THINK you know? Are you that devoted to her?' the griffon asked, only to smile wider when it saw Bubbles ignore its words and continue slowly towards Adam. 'Of course you would. So what are you waiting for, Champion of Devotion?' it asked Bubbles before vanishing. 'You already know what to do.'
An explosion of energy went off behind Black Adam, taking his attention away from the bat pony and spinning him around to see what had happened, only to be engulfed by a torrent of magic that assaulted every one of his senses at the same time. He roared in agony as he was hurled across the room, his body writhing as he felt an emotion course through him that he had not felt since he promised his love to Isis--absolute, undying, devotion. The torrent of magic ended only a few moments after it had begun, allowing Adam to snap his eyes open and face the wielder of the magic.
"You?" Black Adam asked in shock as he looked at the Big Daddy, who no longer resembled the being that he had just crushed. "What happened?"
The Big Daddy's armor was fully repaired and shone a divine gold, with his suit's white pieces having been replaced by shining silver. His ports were fully repaired and each one of them shone with an unbelievable power, yet what drew Adam's eyes was the golden shoulder pad upon his right shoulder, a shoulder pad with a grey drill in the center of the new piece of armor.
In response to his question, Mr. Bubbles let out a roar that shook both the city and Black Adam to their very cores, drawing out the smallest amount of fear from the Dark God as he looked upon his foe. "It does not matter what magic you called upon, it cannot match mine!" Adam roared while he lunged forward with fist outstretched, knowing without doubt that the combined power of his own magic with the wizard's could overcome any foe.
That was until Mr. Bubbles caught Adam's fist in his hand.
Adam looked from the caught fist into the eight eyes of the titan, unable to comprehend what had just happened. Bubbles did not spend that moment in confusion and thus was able to spin his golden drill up to full speed, the drill tearing the very air apart as Bubbles drove it forward into the gut of Black Adam. Adam roared with both agony and shock as the drill pierced his godly form and splattered blood across the golden room as the drill dug deep into his stomach, the only thing keeping it from piercing through completely was when Adam teleported back in a flash of lightning.
"W...what magic is this?" Adam stammered in pain as he also muttered a few spells to help heal the physical wounds, yet there was no magic he possessed that would allow him to comprehend what had happened. Bubbles' response was to rev his drill once again and slowly begin to march towards the wounded god, cycling between golden fire or silver ice with his left hand.
"No...you cannot best me!" Adam roared as he shook any doubt from his mind before hurling himself forward once again, yet he slammed into a wall of armor that hardly budged as Mr. Bubbles caught Black Adam with his one hand. Both Adam and Bubbles roared as their powers collided, but Adam could slowly feel Bubbles begin to slide backwards. Yet it was only for a moment, because the moment Bubbles felt himself sliding he unleashed all of the golden fire held within his left hand into the chest of Adam, blasting the god backwards and through one of the walls.
'This...this should not be possible. I defeated Marvel with ease. How can this being have a power that matches my own?' Adam wracked his brain in a desperate attempt to find an answer, yet even the wisdom of Zehutti was unable to find him an answer. Adam lifted his head to see Mr. Bubbles walking towards him again, the lights in his eyes more reddish white than sheer white. Adam's eyes narrowed as he rose back to his feet, having just finished healing the wound that the blood covered drill had inflicted upon him.
"I owe you an apology, Bubbles," Black Adam said to the Big Daddy who never stopped marching towards Adam. "When I visited the reality you came from and saw that you were a being that was massed produced, I believed that you were nothing more than an error on the silver mare's part--that she had made a mistake," Adam admitted before tightening his fists and taking up a fighting stance. "But now I see that there is indeed something special about you. That...symbol proves it. So, now I shall fight you as a worthy foe."
With the sound of thunder blasting apart the air, Adam unleashed a hellstorm of magical lightning into the chest of Bubbles, forcing the Big Daddy back as he roared in pain. Despite the divine power, the magical power of Adam was still beyond godly and hurled Bubbles back across the room. To stop himself Bubbles slammed his drill into the floor and quickly slowed, giving him time to take aim with his left hand and unleash magical lightning of his own at Adam, but with a roar of fury Adam vanished before quickly reappearing behind Bubbles.
"Fall!" Adam roared as he slammed his boots into the back of Bubbles' helmet, hurling him straight up and into the ceiling. Adam followed up by slamming his shoulder into the Big Daddy imbedded into the ceiling and driving the both of them into the next higher floor of the sinking city, but his grip was broken when Bubbles ignited his hand and clamped down on Adam's face, unleashing his full hellfire upon Adam.
"RRRRRR!" Bubbles roared as he let go of Adam's face and slammed the side of the drill into the side of Adam's skull, knocking the thunderer through the wall to the side and into an underground forest, which was also drenched in gold. Adam crashed through a number of golden trees before he came to a stop, rising back to his feet just in time to be tackled from behind by Mr. Bubbles, who drove Adam face first back into the floor. With another roar of rage, Bubbles lifted his boot and slammed it into the back of Adam's head, slamming his face even further into the golden floor while he began to spin his drill.
"Doron des SHAZAM!" Adam roared, sending electricity lancing from his body and striking the titan that still pinned him down. Bubbles roared in pain while the lightning tore through him, but to Adam's horror Bubbles did not back off like he had planned, but instead his eyes went full-on crimson and he looked down at Adam--and brought the fully spinning drill back. With all of his godly strength Adam managed to spin around and stick out his hand just as Mr. Bubbles struck with his drill, sending the red and gold vortex clean through Adam's right hand.
"DAMN YOU!" Adam roared as he placed his feet onto Bubbles' chest and kicked him through the ceiling of the room, giving Adam a moment to grit his teeth as he began to heal his wound. 'This power...not only is it beyond anything I thought possible of a Big Daddy, it also...feels like one of the Elements,' he mused before hearing a roar and looking up to see eight red eyes come crashing down head first onto Adam, shattering the floor beneath him and hurling both of the combatants into an empty hallway.
"What makes you so powerful?" Adam asked Mr. Bubbles as he created a shield of lightning to defend against the onslaught of icicles with which Bubbles bombarded Adam. "It is not just the item that you have upon your shoulder, it is something else. You did not use this power when your own life was on the line, it was only when I threatened to kill..." For a brief moment, Adam seemed stunned at his own words, as if he were realizing for the first time what he had almost done. Bubbles took that moment and hurled himself towards Adam with a speed that even Adam couldn't register, until he felt the drill go through his right shoulder while Bubbles tackled Adam into a wall.
Adam howled with pain as the drill, spinning at full speed, tore apart his shoulder, Bubbles driving the drill forward until it had embedded itself in the wall behind Adam. The moment Adam was pinned by both the drill and Bubbles' own power, Bubbles began to throw left hooks right into the center of Adam's face, bouncing his head against the wall as the Big Daddy's magic-infused fist shattered Adam's nose. Bubbles then slammed his palm onto Adam's broken nose before pulling back with all of his might to tear the drill out of Adam's shoulder, spraying both combatants in blood as Adam roared in pain once again.
With eyes as red as the blood on his suit, Bubbles let his drill spin up to full speed again before he aimed it right between Black Adam's eyes, letting out one last roar before he prepared to strike. In the face of what might have been impending death, Adam did what he always did when faced with such a situation. He called down the word.
"SHAZAM!"
The most powerful of lightning's came cascading down from above and struck both Mr. Bubbles and Black Adam, Bubbles crying out in pain while Adam changed from his white clad form to his regular black attire. But for a brief moment when the lightning ended, Bubbles saw that Black Adam's wounds were gone, meaning that the punch to the helmet he took a moment later struck him at full force. Bubbles felt himself once again get hurled through multiple walls, until he came skidding to a stop in a room that had a near-dead golden dragon laying on the floor, informing Bubbles into which room he had returned.
Yet, that hardly mattered to him as he pushed himself back to a vertical position, just as the screaming pain that tore through his body didn't matter to him. He roared when Adam floated back into the room, yet to Bubbles' surprise, he found that Adam was still in his black outfit.
"This battle...is over," Adam said with some hesitation, only to move quickly to the side to avoid the blast of ice that Bubbles shot at him. With narrowed, and also very confused, eyes, Adam shot upwards through the top of Atlantis and surfaced a moment later, rocketing off towards Canterlot with thoughts racing faster than he was flying.
Bubbles waited a moment to see if Adam would return, before he let out a soft moan and the divine light vanished from his form, returning him to the white and golden armored Daddy that he had been before, except he was in exceptional pain. Yet, just as he had done so many times before he ignored he pain and walked over to where Batmare lay, channeling the last bits of the power he had just used into his hand, which he then placed on her chest.
"rrrrrr..." he moaned softly while he watched her bones begin to repair themselves, just as his own broke in the very same places that hers had been broken. Yet, despite the inferno of pain that wracked his body, there was only happiness in his moan when he saw the mare open her eyes and look at him with confusion, her eyes reflecting the green light that came from his own eyes.
"Bubbles?" she asked weakly as she pushed herself up into a sitting position, looking around at the water pouring in along with the destruction that had not been there when she had passed out. "What happened? Where's Black Adam?" To Batmare's surprise, Mr. Bubbles held up his drill that was now soaked in blood while letting out a victorious moan that made Batmare's eyes widen as far as they could go. "There's no way. There's no way you beat him."
She never got an answer out of Bubbles, for when both of them stood up, Bubbles let out a weak moan before his eyes went dark, and he fell forward onto his face without another sound. "BUBBLES! Are you alright?" she asked while desperately shaking the metal titan, but he remained silent, just as his eyes never lit up, no matter what she tried. "MARE! Are you there?!" Batmare screamed in fear.
'Yes, what do you...I see. Hold on, I'll get you both out of there.'
Batmare looked down at Bubbles with worry filling up her heart as the silver energy began to surround them, yet despite Bubbles' dire situation, Batmare could not quell her curiosity. She knew that Adam had to have been defeated--or at least he had quickly fought off Marvel and Trixie to get to them, which meant that their strongest gun against Adam had fallen. She wanted to believe that the Hulk or maybe Marvel had defeated Black Adam, but if they had done so they would have been with her. So, against everything she had learned about him, Batmare had to accept the only possible answer.
Bubbles had fought off Black Adam.
S=H=A=Z=A=M
"It does not make sense!" Adam roared as he stalked back and forth across his room in Canterlot, having tended to his wounds for only a moment before consulting the wisdom of Zehutti in trying to work out an answer as to how a Big Daddy could access that kind of power. "In their world, Big Daddies were only physically enhanced humans that were only somewhat stronger than a regular one. None of them were even remotely close to my level, and yet..."
Adam's words died off as he gazed out the window, seeing for the first time in nearly four years what Canterlot looked like without the shield that have covered it for so long. He sighed slightly as he walked to his balcony and placed his hands upon the rails, knowing what was to come next.
'They will be making their move soon,' Adam thought, not needing the wisdom of Zehutti to know that. 'And with that power that Bubbles has...do all of them have such power? And if so, why did they not use it against me? And if Bubbles held that power within him all along, then why did he not use it against me sooner? He only used it when I tried to kill his ally. Could it be that his power only activates when others are in danger? No, then he would have used it when Hulk was running rampant. What am I missing here?'
'Perhaps he is one of the champions.' Adam scowled at the thought that the more treacherous part of his mind suggested, but the thought was like poison and slowly it began to consume his mind, until Adam could not longer ignore the idea.
'Was the silver mare telling the truth when she said that she was gathering six champions to defeat a darkness? Could their true enemy be the cloaked ones who would rather destroy themselves than answer to me?' Adam asked himself as the sun on the horizon began to set. 'And if so...then what is their reason for lowering the shield?...Turning these thoughts over in my mind will not give me answers. Soon the champions will be here and when they do, then I will get my answers.' Adam turned and walked towards his door, planning to tell Celestia of the events that had occurred. Yet once again he looked back towards the window, off into the distance where he knew, somewhere, Banner, Billy and the others were preparing themselves.
'But now...I am not sure if I can trust myself. I nearly gave into the anger again...if not for Bubbles, I would have taken another life. But the way he stopped me means that he...is a champion, for no one less than a champion...would be able to unleash an Element of Harmony.'