Hunters of Justice

by trestwho

Remnant has fallen, its cities captured and its greatest defenders defeated at the hands of the alien conqueror, Brainiac. In the aftermath of his victory, the people of Remnant's last hope lies in the hands of two teams of students, whisked away to another world. A world where Gods walk among them.

60. Strength in Numbers

Hunters of Justice (RWBY/DC)

Chapter 44: Strength in Numbers

Ruby and the others sprinted as fast as they could after Billy and the man who had suddenly attacked him. Everything was now flipped on its head, and she didn't know what to make of it. Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna had already fled the scene, nowhere to be found, but she would worry about that later. Right now, she had to save her friend.

Eventually, they came across a shattered wooden door, the doorframe still standing. Through it, they saw a short yet heavily damaged room alongside a big gaping hole in the wall opposite the door. Knowing that Billy had come through here, Ruby didn't break her stride and ran through, the others hot on her heels. The doorway to the Rock of Eternity disappeared into mist as soon as they were all through, and once they jumped through the hole in the wall, she took stock of where they were. Almost immediately she noticed the smooth, concrete walls, posters and advertisements hanging on the walls and the entire room illuminated through embedded fluorescent lights. Most importantly, they noticed panicked people running all around them while others huddled together in groups, the fear easily conveyed.

"We're back in Fawcett City," Freddy pointed out, recognizing the room they were in as a subway station.

Looking around some more, the heroes immediately noticed the hole blasted through the street above. Rain was coming down, and sparks from a shattered light illuminated the dark subway, revealing the chunks of concrete that had battered a parked subway train that was unfortunately caught underneath. Through that hole, they heard another sonic boom, one that had enough force to send a rumble through the subway and dislodge loose dust.

"Billy…" Mary muttered, staring out of the hole.

Realizing what was going on, Ruby burst through the hole in a cloud of petals. Alongside her were Freddy and Darla, soon followed by the rest of their family, team RWBY, and team JNPR. Swiveling her head around and feeling the torrential downpour coming down from the storm above, Ruby saw scores of terrified civilians running for their lives, being ushered away by uniformed police officers, firemen, and other emergency personnel. Several buildings around them were damaged, their glass windows shattered and the remains lying on the sidewalk. Steel and concrete had crushed several cars and lampposts, and many of the skyscrapers above had holes blasted through them.

"Holy cow…" Darla muttered, taking in all the destruction.

They then felt another shockwave, and Ruby and the others immediately turned their attention towards the source. Zooming in with her cowl's optics, Ruby saw Billy, still in his superhero form, battling the man Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna had released from the Rock of Eternity. They were trading blows with one another, but it wasn't hard to see that Billy was taking far more punishment than he was giving.

"Help him!" Ruby shouted, unfurling Crescent Rose and chambering it in 20mm. Normally she wouldn't even think about using such a round on a person, but it was clear that this guy was powerful. She doubted anything less would even phase him. Aiming at his back as he threw punch after punch at Billy, who was shielding himself with his arms, Ruby fired a single bullet. When it struck, the man reared back in pain and reflexively reached towards the spot where it struck, but otherwise was unharmed. It did distract him long enough for Billy to land a few electrified punches into his face, followed by a powerful drop kick to the chest that sent him flying back.

"Pomegrenade!" Jaune called out at the opening, prompting Nora to hop onto Pyrrha's shield to be launched up to the enemy tumbling by. The pink powerhouse already had her hammer wound up and intercepted the man's flight path with an explosive-assisted swing, blasting him even further away down the street as his surprised shout faded into the downpour. Using the breathing room gained, Billy flew back towards the others and landed with a stumble.

"Billy!" Yang shouted, rushing over to help. Before she could, however, Billy raised his hand and stopped her. Turning back towards where his opponent had been launched, watching for when he inevitably recovered and started making his way back towards them, the others readied for battle.

"What's this guy's deal?!" Freddy asked, floating off the ground slightly.

"That guy's Black Adam," Billy revealed, causing Blake and the others to briefly look at him in shock.

"Wait, you mean the Black Adam? As in Shazam's first champion?" Blake asked, and Billy nodded.

"He's still alive? It's been five-thousand years," Nora pointed out, clutching Magnhild tightly.

"Yeah. Turns out he hates everything involving the Wizard, which includes me," Billy said. He then added, "He also has the same powers as me, but knows how to use them. So I've been getting my butt kicked for the past five minutes."

"Oh…" Jaune muttered, gulping loudly as a dark streak sped through the saturated air. "That sounds great."

Before anyone could say anything else, Black Adam slammed into the street in front of them with enough force to leave a small crater underneath him. Yellow electricity sparked around him as he stood straight up, glaring at all of the heroes as they spread out and surrounded him. His gaze first locked onto the members of Billy's family, and his scowl deepened.

"Not only did the Wizard replace me with a child," Black Adam growled, "he made these poor imitations as well?"

"Hey, I'm not an imitation!" Darla protested, but Black Adam ignored her as he shifted his attention to the Remnantians. He studied them deeply, looking them up and down for several tense moments.

"I see you have allies," Black Adam observed, settling his gaze on Ruby. "More children, yet with trained stances and postures. You clearly know what you're doing."

He then glanced at Jaune, then added, "Some more than others."

The White Knight slightly deflated at that, but kept his guard up regardless. Being confronted by a completely unfamiliar group seemed to break Teth-Adam out of his tunnel vision for a bit, and he looked about to really take in the city around him for the first time as he floated off the ground.

"Where am I…?" the man out of time muttered to himself, before dismissing the thought and refocusing on them, his eyes glowing yellow as electricity danced off of him. His black cape billowed in the wind as he stared everyone down, and a tense pause ensued as both parties waited for the other to move first.

Rather than let the supervillain strike first, Yang let out a bellow and unleashed a barrage of micro-rockets at Black Adam, who was consumed in a series of fiery explosions and black smoke. Black Adam immediately flew out of the cloud and slammed into Yang, dragging her through the concrete and into a parked car. Pinning her with his foot to her chest, Black Adam reared back a fist and prepared to strike, only for Ruby to zoom by and hook his leg with her scythe, flipping him upside down and unpinning her sister long enough to grab her in a cloud of petals. At the same time, Nora fired several grenades from Magnhild at Black Adam, but as with Yang's rockets he shrugged them off. Still floating upside down, he fired a bolt of lightning at her from his hands, and Nora was sent flying back with a yelp.

Gunfire from Blake and Ren caught his attention as bullets struck his face and chest. Growling, he immediately flew towards Blake at top speed, only for him to slam his fist through nothing more than a shadow clone while the real Blake jumped away to safety. Landing on top of a car, Blake wrapped Gambol Shroud's ribbon around his right arm while Ren used the grappling hooks built into Stormflower to hold down his left. Black Adam immediately pulled his arm, lifting Ren off the ground as the Kahndaqian swung him towards Blake like a flail, who didn't have enough time to react. The two Remnantians were slammed into each other and both were sent flying, their weapons torn from their hands.

"Hey, asshole!" Yang shouted, causing Black Adam to turn to face her just as Yang threw a haymaker right into his face. The blow was powerful enough to push him back slightly, and Yang kept up her barrage of punches.

Just as Black Adam recovered and sent her flying back with a single kick, Pedro and Billy attacked him from both sides. Pedro managed to get the first blow, batting him away with an empty car right towards Billy who punched him right back into the ground with enough force to carve a trench in the pavement. As soon as the supervillain stopped, however, he flew back up and slammed into Billy, delivering a powerful punch to his gut and causing him to double over, clutching his stomach as spittle came out of his mouth. Black Adam then grabbed Billy by the cape and began to twirl him around, building up momentum and picking up the air like a tornado. Once he built up enough speed, Black Adam hurled Billy right into Pedro, and the two boys were flung back through a building and into the street behind it.

Ruby, meanwhile, continuing firing Crescent Rose at Black Adam. Only a few shots managed to hit, as he was expecting it now and was simply too fast to get an accurate bead. But when she did manage to hit him, however, the 20mm round clearly hurt him long enough for her friends to momentarily regain the advantage. Nora suddenly rejoined the fight, her power up from Black Adam's lightning letting her blindside him in the blink of an eye and send him plowing into the asphalt with a single hammer blow. Billy, Pedro, Jaune and Yang took the opening to jump in and pummel him up close and personal, while Pyrrha, Blake, Ren, Eugene and Mary were with Ruby taking potshots through gaps in the melee at a distance.

It was obvious to everyone, however, that their attacks were only slowing Black Adam down, especially as he grappled with all four of their strongest fighters and flung them back at once. Dodging another shot from Ruby, Black Adam abruptly zoomed in on her in a black-and-gold blur. Ruby could only let out a yelp as Black Adam grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up, followed by a powerful punch that sent her flying into the air. Her senses blurred as she tried to recover, but Black Adam refused to give her that chance as he flew up and punched her higher and higher. Each blow felt as though she was getting hit by a truck, and by the third her Aura was flickering dangerously.

Then Black Adam stopped, and Ruby hung in the air for a bit before he flew above her. He gathered electricity in his hands, then fired it point blank into Ruby's back. She screamed in pain as she was violently pushed downward, slamming into the pavement. A large crater formed around her and dust shot out everywhere. Ruby's body twitched from the aftershocks of the electricity, and her body flashed red. As she tried pushing herself back up, though, her Aura finally broke. Her eyes rolled to the back of her head, and she fell back down.

As she slipped into unconsciousness, she could vaguely hear her friends calling out to her while they continued fighting Black Adam. Further away, she thought she heard the sound of maniacal laughter from spectators echoing down at them. Then everything went black.

---

Watching the battle from atop an apartment building, shielded from the rain by a telekinetic umbrella, Dr. Sivanna and Mr. Mind cackled as the Red Reaper fell. She was merely the first of many, they knew, especially as Black Adam immediately continued his offensive and moved on to his next target.

"See, Doctor?" Mr. Mind asked, briefly breaking away from his laughter. His eyes never left the battle, however, and he remained perched on Dr. Sivanna's shoulder. "All your worries were for naught. Everything is going exactly as planned."

Dr. Sivanna let out a small smile, which shifted to a frown as Pink Lightning and Golden Dragon sent the fallen champion flying into the ground with twin blows.

"So it seems," Dr. Sivanna admitted.

"You doubt our plan even now? On the verge of triumph?"

"Not at all," Dr. Sivanna clarified while shaking his head, then smiled once again as Black Adam took back the momentum of the fight. "I'm certain, now more than ever, that our victory is at hand. Black Adam will kill our enemies for us."

"Then why do I sense trepidation from you?"

He didn't reply at first, instead watching as Black Adam shot twin bolts of golden lightning into the White Knight, sending him crashing back into a parked car. Dr. Sivanna then answered, "My worry isn't whether or not our plan will succeed. It's what happens after it does."

Sivanna glanced at his shoulder towards Mr. Mind, then added, "How can we guarantee Black Adam won't attack us after he's done? I think it's obvious he'd kill us if we came to blows."

"That he would," Mr. Mind admitted, then laughed and shook his head. "But there's no need to worry your primitive monkey brain. I've already taken that into account."

"Enlighten me," Dr. Sivanna requested, scowling slightly.

"It's quite obvious, really, although I shouldn't be too surprised you didn't realize it earlier," Mr. Mind declared with a huff. "While Billy Batson is inexperienced, he has all the same powers as Teth-Adam. The only difference between them is the level of mastery. For all intents and purposes, that child is a god among men, with the rest of his family serving as powerful demi-gods. Combined with the unexpected, yet not unwelcome addition, of the Remnantian interlopers, this greatly evens the odds between both parties."

His eyes widened in realization, and Dr. Sivanna muttered, "Of course. It doesn't matter if Black Adam wins or not. You just need the victor to be exhausted."

"Precisely, and thereby that much easier to take out ourselves. Assuming, of course, they don't kill each other," Mr. Mind finished, then cackled once more.

If he could smile, Dr. Sivanna knew the Venusian would be doing so. Sivanna smiled enough for the both of them, then he turned his attention back towards the battle below.

---

"Move, move, move!" Luke shouted over the chaos as he led his men and Violet towards the nearest helicopter.

Bullets and explosions whizzed by, carving a path of relative safety. Roars and screams echoed across the base, and it was taking everything Violet had to keep herself from panicking. She may not have remembered much of anything about her old life, but she honestly felt this was probably the most terrified she ever was or would be. Seeing all the death and destruction around her, it made her feel so small and helpless.

Yet, as she took in the violet halo encasing her and the soldiers who had found her, she was able to keep herself focused. Things were outright horrible now, but at least they had a chance to turn things around. So she kept running, never once faltering for she knew that if she did, everyone around her would die.

Their numbers had increased slightly during their sprint, as the beeline path they took towards the helicopters intercepted a few soldiers. Some were wounded, and others were still standing. Either way, Violet was able to heal and protect them just as she did to the others, and almost immediately the recovered soldiers were drafted into Luke's plan, whom everyone was following without question.

"Kim, start the engine! Smith, Brixson, hop on the miniguns!" Luke ordered once they finally reached the first Black Hawk helicopter.

The three soldiers followed Luke's orders immediately as the others surrounded the helicopter while continuing to fire at the Grimm. A few stray shots came their way from fear gas affected soldiers, but they were ignored in favor of the Grimm. Violet stayed in the Black Hawk's troop bay, covering her ears in an effort to block out as much of the noise as possible. Her hands weren't doing much, but luckily her powers were healing any hearing damage she otherwise would've gotten. This allowed her to focus on what, exactly, was going on around the base.

From what she could see, close to half of Bagram Airfield was taken over by the Grimm, with more pouring in from the east side every minute. Any unfortunate soldier caught in their path was devoured or swept up into the air by one of the huge bat Grimm. The Nevermore, as Luke called it, was raining down massive feathers like spears into various buildings around the base or into people. She could hear wet squelches from those who were closest to the helicopter, which nearly made her sick to her stomach.

Then the Nevermore was struck by a hail of gunfire from one of the miniguns, causing it to screech out in pain and briefly stop its assault. Turning her attention back towards the men and women around her, Violet watched as they coordinated their fire against the monsters attacking them. While the soldiers' rifles weren't individually effective against the bat Grimm or the camel Grimm, requiring either grenades or coordinated fire from multiple soldiers just to bring down, the small silverfish Grimm were able to be taken out by a single soldier. The problem was that there were just too many, forcing the soldiers to cover each other lest they be consumed.

Their larger weapons, though, including the mounted miniguns, the grenade launchers, and the machine guns wielded by Matthews, Ramirez, and a few of the other soldiers they had rescued were proving to be vastly more effective. She knew they fired a larger round than the rifles the other soldiers were carrying, but she didn't know the specifics. Either way, that was good news to her.

As she watched the carnage unfold, Violet began to notice a change in the environment. The yellow haze that had been surrounding them was being pushed back by the accelerating helicopter blades, allowing the natural colors, illuminated through flickering orange fire, white gun flashes, and the moon overhead, to shine through.

"It's working!" Violet shouted at Luke as he reloaded his rifle. She couldn't see his face as he immediately continued to fire, but she felt that he was smiling.

Once enough of the gas was dispersed, Luke turned his head towards Violet and shouted, "Go, get others! We'll cover you!"

Nodding quickly, Violet scrambled out of the helicopter and through the ring of soldiers protecting them. A few others were sprinting towards nearby helicopters that were now free of the gas, where they began to warm up the vehicles while using the additional mounted miniguns against their adversaries. As she moved further away, the violet shield protecting the soldiers dissipated, but they were out of the gas now so they were able to fight on regardless. More of the Grimm had taken notice of the threat they posed and had begun to rush towards them, including her. But any that got too close were cut down by either gunfire or explosives. A few times she flinched in pain as a piece of shrapnel or a ricocheting bullet shot into her body, making her stumble, but her wounds immediately reverted, allowing her to keep going.

Arriving at the first fallen soldier, she knelt over his body and immediately gagged. His stomach had been ripped open by the silverfish Grimm, with bite marks all over him. His eyes were cold and lifeless, and his limbs were rigid. Something told her that the man had only been dead for a few minutes at most, causing Violet to curse herself for not getting to him sooner. She was about to move on, then she stopped and looked at her glowing hands.

She still didn't understand her powers, but this violet halo which had become her namesake had the ability to heal people. Violet had overheard nurses and medics talking about bringing people back from the dead with defibrillators and other similar technologies, assuming they were able to get to them fast enough. Would it be possible for her to do the same? Coming to a decision and swallowing the bile building up in her throat, Violet closed her eyes and begged for her powers to save the poor man then gently touched his shoulder. The purple glow encasing her body spread onto the wounded man, and his grievous wounds rapidly healed. Violet stared at him, hoping that this would work, then life returned to the soldier's eyes as he gasped for breath. He frantically looked around, clutching his rifle tightly across his chest while Violet quickly tried to soothe him.

"It's okay, it's okay!" she told him, drawing the soldier's attention. He was looking at her with wide, confused eyes, but before he could ask anything Violet pointed behind her right towards Luke and his gathered men. More of the helicopters were running now, pushing the fear gas back.

"Go help Luke!" Violet ordered.

The soldier looked behind her as the men continued to fire, then he steeled himself and nodded. Standing back up, he sprinted towards the Black Hawks, not even caring about the shredded state of his uniform. Smiling in relief, Violet rushed towards the next soldier, one who was still trapped in the fear gas yet standing upright. Healing him as well, she led the man out of the gas back towards Luke, where she immediately turned back around to grab as many men and women as she could.

---

Carrying Ruby in his arms, Jaune ran as fast as he could. The others were fighting Black Adam behind him, the sounds of gunfire, explosions, and thunder ripping through the torrential downpour. Much of the city block was now a warzone, with destroyed cars, shattered pavement, and downed light poles strewn all over the place. Cut electrical lines were sparking, threatening anyone who came too close whose name wasn't Nora Valkyrie, who was fixating on those lines like a starved animal in order to boost her Semblance. Thankfully, there weren't many people left in harm's way, as Darla had spent the entire time grabbing anyone she could to get them out of there. She was still doing it, appearing as nothing more than a gold and purple blur as she rushed in and out of buildings around him.

He heard Ruby groan and mumble incoherently, which prompted Jaune to frown and pick up the pace. Before he could go back to help his friends, he had to ensure that his fellow leader was safe and secure. A tall order, given what was happening. Jaune honestly doubted anywhere was safe at the moment in the entire city. Choosing a nearby pharmacy with the windows completely shattered, Jaune carried her behind the counter and gently laid her on the ground. He then did another check to make sure she was fine, patching his helmet into her suit's diagnostics to get a readout.

As he expected, Ruby's Aura was completely drained. Her suit detected and was already treating several bruises and minor electrical burns, but other than a concussion her injuries weren't all that serious. She would be fine after a few days' rest, but even if her Aura started to come back there was no way she was getting back into this fight. Part of him wanted to stay here and guard her, or perhaps even find some way to help her more, but as he heard another clap of thunder and crackle of lightning coming from behind him, he knew that wasn't an option. Still, as he looked down on Ruby's unconscious form, he couldn't help but feel useless.

"Don't worry, Ruby. I'll be back," Jaune gently told her, then pulled Crocea Mors out of its sheath and expanded his shield.

Turning around, he sprinted back towards the fight. Jumping through the shattered window, Jaune was immediately pelted by the intense rain and heavy winds. He didn't let it stop him, however, and continued running as fast as he could. As he drew closer, the gunfire, explosions, and thunder grew louder while the lightning overhead seemed to intensify. The wind and rain picked up the closer he got to Black Adam, with bolts of lightning striking the ground, buildings and poles around him every few seconds. Jaune honestly felt that this was the most intense storm he'd seen in his life, normally one he would take cover from instead of trying to fight in it.

The rain made it hard to see, but after passing an upturned truck resting on its side he was able to spot the others. Blake and Ren were currently trying to hold Black Adam down with the assistance of Yang and Pedro, respectively, their lines attached to his arms and pulling in opposite directions. Coming at Black Adam from the front was Billy, yelling at the top of his lungs with his fist reared back, ready to strike. Nora was alongside him, screaming as her body crackled with pink electricity and with Magnhild raised high above her head. Eugene, Freddy, and Mary were firing intense bolts of lightning into his back, Freddy from above while the other two were on the ground. Only Eugene wasn't visibly straining. Weiss, meanwhile, was pelting him with a hail of icicles the size of spears, which merely shattered against his skin with little to no effect.

Black Adam was roaring defiantly at them, pulling against the lines in an attempt to break free. To Jaune's alarm, he saw that the fallen champion's feet were digging into the pavement, and the others' feet were slipping the more he pulled. Realizing that he was about to break free once again, Jaune hastily decided what to do and rushed towards Black Adam. He then wrapped his arms around his opponent's waist and clenched as tightly as he could. Black Adam briefly looked behind his shoulder in surprise, and a moment later both Nora and Billy struck.

The force of the twin blows tore Jaune's grip away from Black Adam while sending both flying through the air. Luckily, Freddy was able to fly down and grab Jaune before he could hit something, but Black Adam wasn't so lucky. He slammed into an already damaged car, carving through it like tissue paper, then continued into a concrete wall. The wall shattered into countless pieces, and Black Adam's form was briefly obscured by a cloud of dust.

Any hopes that might've been enough to put him down were dashed almost instantly, however, as another flash of lightning overhead revealed his silhouette floating above the ground, his eyes glowing bright yellow through the darkness.

"Ah, crap," Jaune muttered, then felt the air leave his lungs as Black Adam flew right into him.

He was carried through the building behind him, emerging onto another street where Black Adam immediately drove him into the pavement with enough force to leave a large crater. As Jaune gasped for breath, Black Adam began to hurl powerful punches into his head. Each blow drove him further and further into the ground, and his helmet began to dent and crack. One particularly strong punch nearly broke it in half, exposing his right eye to the elements while Black Adam reared back his fist. Jaune's Aura flickered, and as Black Adam threw another punch the White Knight instinctively flinched.

Then, right before the fist made contact, a red and gold blur zoomed past, carrying Black Adam away. Breathing heavily while still laying on his back, Jaune looked up to see Billy had arrived and flung Black Adam into a nearby semi-truck that had been refueling a gas station prior to the battle. The line was ripped from its socket, spewing fuel all over the ground.

"Move, Jaune!" Pyrrha shouted as she ran over then helped her leader to his feet. Nora was beside her, Magnhild configured into a grenade launcher which she aimed right at the two dueling champions. Black Adam didn't seem to notice the gasoline continuing to spread, but Billy did and was actively working to get their fight as far away as possible. Realizing what they were planning, Jaune forced himself to move back just as Billy was rocketed away by a powerful punch.

With friendlies clear, and Black Adam comfortably far enough from the flammable gas station, Nora fired a grenade at Black Adam. Just before it hit, however, he deflected it away with the back of his hand where it flew to the side and struck the gasoline truck. The heroes' eyes widened and they immediately dove back, prompting Black Adam to raise his eyebrow and turn towards the truck just as the grenade exploded. The ensuing explosion sent the area ablaze and ignited the gasoline tanks. A moment later, a massive fireball erupted, consuming Black Adam and creating a large shockwave that sent the Remnantians flying back. Jaune landed on his back and rolled across the ground, only coming to a stop against a brick wall that nearly buckled under the pressure.

Shaking his head, Jaune pushed himself up and looked over at the carnage. Despite the torrential downpour, the fire was raging, sending a thick pillar of black smoke into the night sky. Luckily, the rain was preventing it from spreading, but without more direct attention given to it there was no telling how long that would last.

"I got it," Weiss said as she focused her remaining cryogenic gas into a massive glyph hanging over the raging inferno. A column of icy gas came down, smothering the flames completely. When her stores were finally exhausted, the entire gas station and all the cars and trucks parked there were covered in a thick layer of ice. Weiss breathed heavily from the strain, and Yang quickly placed her hand on her back to lend support.

"Think that was enough stop him?" Pyrrha dryly asked as she handed her leader back his weapons, but Jaune shook his head.

"No," he declared. True enough, a moment later he saw Black Adam slam back down onto the street, kicking up dust and pavement in all directions. He raised his shield to protect himself, and the chunks of rubble bounced off of it.

"Just how strong is this guy?" Freddy asked, his eyes wide. Luckily for them, Black Adam wasn't immediately attacking them. It appeared as though he was trying to catch his breath, but Jaune couldn't be too sure. Either way, he'd gladly take the respite.

"We've been wailing on him for the past ten minutes," Yang replied, loading fresh shells and rockets into Ember Celica, "and we haven't so much as left a scratch. It feels like we're fighting Superman."

"Yeah, a Superman who doesn't care about holding back," Nora added as she ejected the spent grenades from Magnhild.

Jaune scrunched his face as he thought it over, then glanced at the specially marked Nth powder grenades strapped to his belt. An idea popped into his head, then he prompted, "Ivory, how effective would you say Nth metal is at fighting magic?"

Weiss glanced at him for a moment. Although her domino mask obscured her eyes, he could tell they were narrowed. A moment later, she rotated her chamber to Nth metal powder and answered, "Very."

Realizing what he was getting at, Nora promptly loaded a single Nth metal grenade into Magnhild while Yang unfurled her punch daggers made out of the anti-magical metal. Blake and Ren didn't have any specially made bullets nor were their weapons coated with the material, but Jaune handed them a grenade each while he sheathed Crocea Mors and activated its claymore function. They didn't pack very many Nth metal weapons with them, but they would have to make do with what they had.

"You think that'll work?" Mary tentatively asked, and Jaune shrugged.

"Maybe. If not, it'll at least weaken him," he answered as truthfully as he could.

A moment later, he and his fellow heroes yelled and charged towards Black Adam, their fists and weapons raised high. He roared back and met the challenge, flying towards the nearest one to him which happened to be Yang. Just before he could strike, however, Nora fired a grenade into his chest. The air around him was filled with silvery powder, and he began to cough and sputter. A moment later, Yang reached out with a right jab, which Black Adam barely managed to shift his body away from. Yet the Nth metal blade managed to scrape across his chest, drawing a thin line that began to faintly bleed bright red.

"Aagh!" Black Adam screamed in pain as he jumped back, clutching his wound. Lifting his bloodied hand up to his face, he narrowed his eyes then looked back up at Yang, specifically towards her weapons. He then muttered, "Nth metal, of course. Damn Thanagarians."

Clenching his fist, he scowled at Yang then attempted to fire a bolt of lightning at her. The magic, however, sputtered almost as soon as it left the palm of his hand. He was surprised at first, then glanced at the metal dust still covering him. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to effectively use his powers for the time being, Yang pressed ahead while the others joined her. Ren and Blake were firing their weapons, but even in his weakened state their bullets crumpled harmlessly against his body.

Yang threw another punch, but Black Adam managed to dodge it more cleanly this time and grabbed her wrist tightly. He then hurled her over his shoulder and onto the ground hard, cracking the pavement and forcing the air out of Yang's lungs. He then kicked her away into Ren as he was rushing past, turning around just in time to grab a punch from Billy. Black Adam punched him in the gut then drove his face into a rising knee. Billy stumbled back, clutching his nose as Black Adam jumped up and delivered a superman punch that sent him flying back.

Pedro was on him soon after, backed up by Eugene and Freddy firing bolts of lightning at the fallen champion. But the very powder that sapped away the strength of their opponent did the same to their attacks, allowing the former slave to face Pedro head on. Grunting under the strain, Pedro headbutted Black Adam who recoiled from the blow. Black Adam retaliated with a headbutt of his own, this one much more powerful, which sent him flying back into the ground. The air around his fingers began to spark with yellow electricity, telling Jaune and the others that the nullifying effect of the Nth metal was dying down as the rain washed it away.

Not wanting to let that happen, Jaune primed a grenade and hurled it at Black Adam. But, to his shock, the fallen champion deftly caught the thrown weapon then hurled it straight towards Billy, who was rushing towards him and didn't have enough time to dodge. As the powder enveloped him, Billy lost his footing and tripped, rolling across the ground and out of the way.

"Dammit!" Jaune cursed, then gripped his sword tightly after wiping the rain out of his eyes.

His blond hair was completely drenched, but he didn't care as he charged Black Adam. Each of his swings, though, were easily dodged. On the third swing, Black Adam caught Jaune by the wrist then twisted and pulled Crocea Mors out of his grip. Unwilling to back down, Jaune threw a punch that connected, but Black Adam moved with the blow to mitigate the damage.

"You have spirit, I'll give you that," Black Adam admitted, only to wrap Jaune's arm in his own. He then socked the White Knight in the nose before picking him up and slamming him back down onto the hood of a parked car, shattering the windshield.

Groaning, Jaune laid there as Black Adam moved on to his next target. Ren and Blake were firing at him, with the Faunus unfurling a grenade to throw at him, making sure to cook it this time. Before she could, however, Black Adam fired a bolt of lightning at it, causing the grenade to explode. She used a shadow clone to take the blow for her, only for Black Adam to immediately rush in at the same time to catch her in the act. He grabbed her by the throat and flew up into the air before spinning around as fast as he could to build up momentum, ignoring her defiant kicks and stabs. At least until she braced herself against his arm, and thrust the barrel of her gun into the hollow of his throat before emptying the magazine. The overpowering man actually let out a pained gagging sound at that, and at the top of his swing he released her, hurling Blake into the trailer of a truck, punching a hole in it that left her legs dangling out. Her Aura flickered for a moment before breaking as he paused to gingerly clutch his throat, and Blake didn't move.

"Blake!" Yang shouted, rushing towards her partner to give aid.

Ren and Nora immediately moved to cover her as Pedro rushed over to pull the metal away, allowing Yang to pick her partner up and carry her to safety. Billy, meanwhile, flew up to fight Black Adam overhead, trading mutual blows that sent shockwaves across the partially destroyed street.

---

Violet led yet another group of rescued and healed soldiers to safety, keeping her head low as bullets and explosions went off all around her. All of the helicopters were running now, at least the ones that weren't destroyed by the Grimm. The Nevermore alone had managed to take out three before finally being cut down by several mounted miniguns which reduced it to nothing more than chunks of meat. Chunks that disappeared into dust, which only highlighted just how unnatural the Grimm were.

Looking around her, Violet saw around three-hundred American soldiers fighting for their lives against the Grimm, concentrating themselves near the helicopters and their heavy ordinance. A few enterprising individuals had commandeered nearby Humvees and drove them over so that their top-mounted machine guns could be added to their defense. Whatever bullet they used tore through the Grimm effortlessly, even more so than the miniguns although the latter had a much faster rate of fire.

"They're the last ones!" she announced as she rejoined Luke and his men.

"Good job!" Luke replied, slapping a fresh magazine into his rifle before joining a few more soldiers in cutting down another camel Grimm. It stood against the volume of fire for a few moments, barreling through the silverfish Grimm that blanketed much of the base, but it stumbled and fell just before it could reach the soldiers. They didn't let up until its body began to turn into smoke, telling them it was safe to shift targets.

Luke Fox then looked over his shoulder and ordered, "Johnson, Kim, get into that tower now! Everyone else, carve a line!"

The soldiers around him immediately responded by shifting their fire towards the Grimm between them and the central operations tower that looked over the entirety of Bagram Airfield. From what Violet could see from the ground, it wasn't in very good shape. The windows were shattered both from Grimm and bullet holes, and every so often it looked as though something was sparking from the inside. More worrisome, there wasn't any sign of human activity despite the fear gas having been pushed away by the helicopter blades.

Violet already knew the reason why, and part of her wondered if she could go up and heal them back to life, just as she had done a few times before. But she had quickly learned there were limits to her abilities. If a person was dead for more than a few minutes, or their body was too heavily damaged, there was nothing she could do. Her halo wouldn't even cover their bodies in those cases. The few times she did, however, it felt as though she wasn't just mending their wounds. She felt like she was pulling something back into their bodies, something ethereal rather than physical. Violet didn't quite know how to explain it, but she figured she'd have time to find out how once this was all over.

Once enough of the way was cleared, Johnson and Kim sprinted out of the firing line towards the ops tower. Several Grimm rushed to intercept, mostly the silverfish, but they were also joined by a few camels and some bats swooping in from above, but they were quickly cut down. Soon the two soldiers disappeared into the structure, allowing most of the others to return their attention back to the Grimm. A few remained focused on the doorway, making sure none attempted to make their way up. More concentrated on clearing the air of the remaining bat Grimm, but it was proving difficult as the Grimm were too small and too fast to get an accurate bead on them. Every so often, though, a Grimm would disappear into a puff of smoke as a round tore through their bodies.

"Lieutenant, we're at the ops station!" Violet heard Kim declare through Luke's radio.

"Good, what do you see? Is there anyone left up there?" Luke asked as he fired an underslung grenade into a mass of silverfish. There was a pause at first, followed by a quick burst of gunfire that illuminated the inside of the ops tower for Violet to see.

"Clearing out some stragglers. Let me… Jesus…they're all dead, Fox! The colonel, the techs, everyone!" Kim reported, audibly forcing back a gag. "Shit, it looks like they shot each other! Any that were left got picked off by the Grimm."

"Dammit!" Luke cursed, unpinning a grenade and tossing it into the swarm. He then shook his head and yelled into the radio, "How's the equipment? Does any of it still work?"

"Most of it's shot to Hell," Johnson answered, the sounds of him rummaging through electrical equipment echoing in the background. "Might take a bit to find one that's still operational."

"Well then, find one!" Luke ordered as he ducked under a swooping bat then neatly swiveled his rifle up to fire into its unprotected belly. "Patch me in as soon as you get someone on the line!"

"Yes, sir!" Johnson replied, then the line cut out as the two soldiers concentrated on their task.

Violet glanced between Luke and the tower a few times. Then she started to move towards it while saying, "I'll go help—"

"No, you stay here!" Luke immediately cut her off as he continued to fire his rifle in short, controlled bursts at the Grimm.

"But I can help them!" Violet protested, only for Luke to shoot her a hard stare.

"You need to stay here!" he countered. Almost as soon as the words left his mouth, a glob of acid spit landed on a man's shoulder. He fell to the ground and began screaming in pain as the acid melted its way through his clothes and into his flesh, but his fellow soldiers immediately pulled him to safety before the Grimm could finish him off.

Knowing what she had to do, Violet rushed over and touched the man as he thrashed on the ground in pain. The purple gleam covering her body spread onto his, and a moment later the wound was nothing more than a faint patch of reddened flesh. He looked at her and quickly offered thanks before going to rejoin his comrades, but soon enough more soldiers fell to the Grimm's onslaught. Some were stricken by acid spit, others were attacked by the silverfish or the bats. She healed them all the same, allowing them to pick up exactly where they left off.

Still, Violet couldn't help but feel like she could be doing more. On an intellectual level, she knew her healing abilities were quite literally the only thing keeping them alive, but that could only go so far. The soldiers only had so much ammunition, and once that was out they would be done for. Part of her thought that perhaps she should pick up a gun and help, but she discarded the idea quickly. She was much more likely to shoot nothing, or worse someone, rather than the Grimm.

As much as she hated it, Violet knew that the best way for her to help was to keep doing what she was doing. So she kept running around, healing any wounded soldiers to keep them in the fight. Everything was moving so quickly that she lost track of time, her focus entirely on keeping the soldiers standing. At first, she worried that her powers would run out, but it appeared that her reserves, for lack of a better word, were infinite.

The same, however, could not be said for the soldier's weaponry. More and more of them were beginning to run dry, forcing them to carefully place their shots lest they waste a precious round. Even the mounted machine guns were becoming more and more sporadic, telling her that they were suffering from the same condition. Time was running out for all of them.

Seemingly sensing this, the remaining Grimm, mostly the silverfish by now with a handful of the camel Grimm dotting the white sea like black islands, pressed ahead, threatening to swallow them whole. Her suppressed feelings of hopelessness returned to Violet, which only increased as their defensive perimeter began to shrink more and more.

"Goddammit, Johnson! Where's that backup?!" Luke shouted into his radio, having swapped out his rifle for his sidearm.

"Working on it!" Johnson hastily replied.

"Work faster!" Luke ordered, firing his pistol into the Grimm. It was far less effective than his rifle, with it impacting harmlessly against the white bone armor of even the smaller silverfish, but it was better than nothing.

Then, as the soldiers continued to fight, Violet heard a massive rustling coming from behind her. She barely had time to turn around and see what was making it before a wave of silverfish crested over the line of soldiers making up their rear. Their writhing bodies and screams were quickly consumed, and the Grimm, acting as one, began to move against the others. Men and women nearby turned their weapons onto the new arrivals, but most didn't have time to get off more than a few shots before they were devoured as well.

"No!" Violet shouted as she rushed towards them, hoping to help. One man, running towards her, tripped and fell, causing his rifle to fall out of his hands and skitter across the ground before landing at her feet. She briefly saw a look of sheer panic on his face before the Grimm were on him, and his screams were loud yet brief.

As more and more victims were added, Violet could only watch in utter horror. It didn't matter now if Johnson and Kim managed to actually get help; everything was falling apart now. For a brief moment, she felt despair fill her heart, and her knees began to shake. Then she glanced down at the rifle resting against her feet. Slowly, her despair gave way for rage. Rage at the monsters causing this, not just the Grimm but the people who struck first with fear gas. Snarling and baring her teeth, completely unwilling to let this injustice continue any further, Violet picked up the rifle and shouldered it. It was nearly too big for her, and she found the weight awkward. The rifle swayed in her hands, making it hard to get a good shot, but luckily there weren't any soldiers directly in her line of fire. There was only Grimm, which was good enough for her.

Letting out an animalistic scream, Violet fired the rifle at the Grimm. She didn't release the trigger until the magazine clicked empty, but by this point the Grimm had taken notice of her. Rather than concentrate on her, only one Grimm broke off and rushed towards Violet. Clearly they didn't see her as a major threat, preferring to focus on the men and women in uniform. Undeterred, Violet gripped the barrel of the rifle and began swinging it at the insect Grimm like a club. But she wasn't strong enough, and only after a few blows was the rifle tightly gripped by the glowing tendrils coming out of the silverfish's back, the material of the stock immediately hissing and melting under the glowing appendages. It violently ripped the weapon away, then pounced onto her chest.

"Aagh! Aaagh!" Violet screamed as she attempted to push the Grimm off, but it didn't care as it sunk its teeth and barbed tails into her body.

"Violet!" she heard Luke shout, but he was unable to come to her aid.

Warm, red blood splattered everywhere as the Grimm tore into her, and she felt an intense pain as large chunks of flesh were ripped out of her body. Any wounds that formed were almost immediately healed by her purple halo, but that did nothing to stop the pain or the Grimm. It only served to prolong her suffering, which the Grimm clearly relished in. Though even worse were its tails sunk deep into her guts, glowing like red hot pokers while she could feel and smell her flesh and organs cooking around them, as her power struggled against the cauterization.

Violet refused to just give in, though, as she continued trying to fight the creature off. She attempted to punch, push, and kick the silverfish away, but her blows bounced effortlessly off its armored carapace. It felt like she was punching solid stone, and her fists reacted accordingly as they broke then healed each time they made contact. Still, she fought on, shifting her screams of pain into ones of rage and defiance, her refusal to give in shining through.

Then, just as the Grimm attempted to bite into her throat, the color encasing her body began to shift. Starting from her core where the monster's stingers were still embedded and spreading out into the rest of her body, the color changed and glowed brighter, shifting from a dark purple to a vibrant, fiery red. As soon as the Grimm's fangs clamped down on her throat, it recoiled back as though it struck something solid. Seizing her opportunity, Violet pushed against the Grimm as hard as she could, the palms of her hands completely flat. When she did, however, twin beams of intense energy, colored the same red, shot forward, blasting into and out of the Grimm. Two smoldering holes were burned through its head and middle, allowing her to see out the other side before it slumped over and turned into dust.

Breathing heavily, Violet slowly stood up and raised her arms as the carnage continued around her. No longer was she covered in purple. Instead, her halo had shifted hues to red, covering her body from head to toe.

"What is this?" Violet asked herself, then realized that she couldn't feel any pressure on the bottom of her feet.

Looking down, she saw to her surprise that she was floating a few inches above the ground. Amazed, she swung her legs back and forth before attempting to lower herself. It was easier than expected, then she tried rising up into the air once more. That was a bit more difficult, especially as the lack of leverage made it hard to keep herself upright, so she quickly went back down.

As she looked over her arms once more, Violet noticed the wave of Grimm still assaulting the soldiers, who were doing their best to hold it off. She snarled in rage once more then began to rush over, but she stopped herself. She then glanced at her palms and remembered how she killed the first Grimm. Somehow, she had shot heat beams from her hands into the Grimm, after it had attempted to bite into her and failed. That had only happened once her body changed from violet to red, changing her powers along with it from healing to a force field, levitation, and heat beams.

Realizing that now she actually had a chance to directly contribute, Violet extended her arms and aimed at the Grimm. At first, nothing happened, and the air in front of her remained inert as more soldiers died. Undeterred, Violet concentrated as hard as she could, trying to force her powers into compliance. A moment later, the palms of her hands glowed brightly before firing intense beams of red-colored energy that slammed into the Grimm just as they were about to consume more soldiers.

"What the Hell?!" some of the soldiers shouted as clusters of Grimm were incinerated out of the mass, scattering the survivors. They quickly followed the source and stared incredulously at Violet, who remained standing with her arms outstretched and her hands smoking. She looked at them once again, then began to laugh.

With a toothy grin on her face, Violet turned around and began to fire more and more heat beams into the Grimm, careful to avoid any soldiers that were nearby. By now, the combatants were far more clustered, so she rushed past them to fight the Grimm directly. Each blast incinerated anything caught in it, with only the last of the camel Grimm managing to stand up for more than a few seconds.

"Holy shit!" a soldier that Violet didn't recognize exclaimed, but she ignored her in favor of keeping up the fight.

"Has she always been able to do that?"

"Who the Hell cares?! Whatever she's doing, it's killing those fucking things!"

"Kick their asses, girl!" another yelled, which was followed by a chorus of rejuvenated shouting. Their morale restored, the men and women of Bagram Airfield continued to fight, refusing to let themselves die without saying something about it.

More and more of the Grimm fell, but by now the majority were beginning to shift their attention away from the soldiers and onto Violet herself. Now they recognized her as the bigger threat, and their ravenous eyes promised nothing but pain and suffering for her and everyone else. She didn't care beyond incinerating them, placing herself in front of the soldiers who had rescued her. It seemed only fitting that she do the same for them.

Everything became a blur as Violet continued blasting and incinerating any Grimm she saw. Some managed to get close and strike her directly, but her forcefield protected her from harm. Both from the Grimm and the soldiers who had taken notice and were now firing around her, no longer worried about catching her in friendly fire. Soon, only the silverfish were left, and Violet couldn't help but let out a victorious grin.

Then something seemed to ripple through the silverfish, and they all began to retreat away from the soldiers. For a brief moment, Violet wondered if they had somehow managed to scare them away, only for her to notice the silverfish were coalescing into four distinct mounds.

"What the hell are they doing?" she heard Jenkins ask.

A moment later, the Grimm gave him an answer as the mounds began to shift upwards. Vaguely bipedal bodies took shape, with hands, feet, torso and head made up of the black and white bodies of the Grimm themselves while the limbs were made of their red tails woven together into muscular fibers, lined with the spikes of their claws and mandibles. Standing up at full height, the gestalt giants towered over the soldiers and stared hungrily down at them with the united focus of their hundreds of eyes.

"God dammit," Luke muttered as the combined Grimm let out monstrous roars into the heavens.

---

As Yang carried her partner to safety, Jaune attempted to keep Black Adam at bay. He pinned himself to the fallen champion with his shield, pressing down with all his strength and weight while Billy, Pedro, and Nora assisted him. Weiss was attempting to hold him down with a glyph underneath his feet, while Ren had looped Stormflower around his shoulders, pulling back as hard as he could while screaming at the top of his lungs. Pyrrha was helping him, alongside Mary, Eugene, and Freddy. Their friends were too close to the enemy in order to safely attack him, and right now making sure Blake got to safety was more important.

But it wasn't enough. With a snarl, Black Adam twisted himself, briefly becoming a blur as he threw the heroes off of him. Jaune was sent flying into a parked car with enough force to send it skidding back while crumpling its side and shattering the windows. Billy, Pedro, and Nora were sent flying as well. Weiss was shot by powerful blasts of lightning that sent her flying through a window and crashing into a wall on the inside, shattering her Aura and knocking her unconscious. Black Adam then gripped the cables attached to him and pulled.

Ren was forced off the ground towards Black Adam, who immediately turned and clotheslined him. Ren let out a gasp of pain as he slammed against the pavement, only to crumple as Black Adam violently stomped on him, pinning the Verdant Lotus in place. Eugene and Mary attempted to blast him with lightning while Pyrrha fired on him with her rifle, but Black Adam ignored the bullets while matching their lightning with his own. As with Billy, his output quickly exceeded theirs, overtaking and forcing them back before sending the newly minted heroes flying. He followed up with Pyrrha, and she yelped before throwing out a black-shrouded hand.

The bald man blinked in confusion as his arcs of lightning seemed to haphazardly flow around the girl before harmlessly grounding around her, as if there was some invisible bubble diverting the electricity off his intended course. He didn't waste time on bafflement, and tapped into his gift of Wisdom to explain this phenomenon: an electromagnetic interaction. With the answer provided, the ancient man dismissed the scientific knowledge to be pondered over later, and thrust his free foot through the road.

He then kicked a crumbling slab of asphalt at her, and the Crimson Guardian barely had time to raise her metal shield before it smashed her back into the storm. Only then did Black Adam turn his attention back down to Ren, who was attempting to stab his leg with his father's knife. It was a futile effort as the steel blade bounced harmlessly off the champion, but Black Adam kicked it away regardless.

"Shazam!" Black Adam then yelled, reaching up into the sky. Just before the lightning hit, however, he zoomed away, allowing Ren to take the blow in his stead. Ren screamed in pain as the magical lightning coursed through his body for a split second, and once it was over his Aura flickered. Then it broke, and Ren's head slumped over as he fell into unconsciousness.

"Ren!" Nora yelled in anguish as she picked herself back up. Black Adam stared down at Ren for a moment, then turned and walked away just as Nora leaped towards him, her hammer already swinging downward. He caught the shaft with his hand, then met Nora's eyes as she glared hatefully into his.

Black Adam glanced down at the Verdant Lotus before looking back at the Pink Lightning. A look of understanding about their relationship seemed to cross his face, but it quickly disappeared as he drove his fist into her gut. Nora immediately crumpled, letting go of Magnhild and falling to her knees. As she clutched her middle tightly, visibly trying to keep down the contents of her stomach, Black Adam held Magnhild up for a closer inspection.

"Remarkable weapon," he appraised as he looked it over, shifting it from its hammer configuration into a grenade launcher then back again.

He then looked back at Nora and frowned before raising the hammer up. Swinging Magnhild like a golf club, he struck Nora in the side, sending her up and over into a third story window. Black Adam stared at the broken glass for a moment, then gripped both halves of Magnhild's shaft and brought it down onto a raised knee, breaking it in two. He tossed both halves to the side just as Pyrrha threw Akoúo̱ at his face. The shield bounced off, but he didn't so much as flinch as Pyrrha pulled it back towards her with her Semblance.

"By now you should've realized that wasn't going to work," he pointed out as he began to walk towards her.

"I know," she admitted, shifting Miló into a spear and bracing her shield in front of her while Freddy flew down and carried Ren to safety. "That was just to get your attention."

Black Adam couldn't help but let out a chuckle, then he dodged another blast of lightning from Billy and Eugene floating at his flank. He then ripped a large chunk of concrete out of the ground and hurled it at the two heroes. While Billy was able to get away in time, Eugene wasn't so lucky. It shattered against him, and the young hero was sent hurtling towards the ground like a rock.

"Eugene!" Mary yelled as she rushed over while Billy flew down to strike Black Adam in the head. He was able to land a few blows, but Black Adam quickly retaliated with his own that made Billy's head spin.

It was then that Pyrrha, now joined by Jaune, rushed in, swinging and stabbing with their blades in an effort to cut him down. Now wary of the Nth metal blades, Black Adam grabbed Billy and hurled him into Jaune, sending both crashing onto the ground. Pyrrha, however, was able to keep going, and she quickly thrust her spear towards his heart. He swiveled out of the way then threw a punch towards her head, but Pyrrha dodged while kicking upward. Although the kick didn't do much, it was enough for her to maneuver away while swiping at him with Miló. Black Adam leaned back, just barely missing the tip of Miló as it grazed right over his nose. He then flew back, blasting at Pyrrha with golden lightning that forced her to run to the side. As she did, she fired Miló at her opponent, all the while passing close to the cars, light posts, and other metal objects in her way to divert the bolts.

Then Black Adam zoomed down, cutting her off and forcing Pyrrha to skid to a stop. When she tried stabbing him once again, he parried it to the side with his forearm then kicked her back. Pyrrha rolled along the ground, losing her grip on her weapons even as she came up to a stop on her feet. Panting heavily as her crimson aura flickered, Pyrrha glared at the fallen champion as he ran towards her. But rather than run away, she threw out her arms and concentrated.

"What are you-?" Black Adam asked, suspicious of the Crimson Guardian's actions. He came to a stop, then quickly noticed all the metal objects around them were covered by a black shimmer. He looked at Pyrrha, who was visibly straining as she lifted the cars, trucks, and more into the air, then violently converged them onto Black Adam with a movement of her arms.

He tried to get away, batting aside a few of the objects before being crushed by a large truck. Pinned to the ground, he was caught as yet more arrived, burying him under a mountain of steel and aluminum. Breathing heavily, Pyrrha released her Semblance and slumped forward, staring at the mound and silently daring Black Adam to emerge from it.

At first, nothing happened, and Pyrrha allowed herself a moment to believe that perhaps Black Adam might've had enough. But a moment later, a massive yellow lightning bolt came down from the heavens, causing the mound of debris to explode outward. She was sent flying back, tumbling along the ground as the cars, trucks, and more flew out in all directions. Some hit the buildings, embedding themselves into walls and through windows, while others were driven into the street with enough force to become half-buried. In the center was Black Adam himself, roaring at the top of his lungs as golden light danced around him.

From her position on the ground, Pyrrha pushed her head up to look at him. All she saw was a fist hurtling into her face, a blow which shattered the remains of her Aura and knocked her straight into unconsciousness.

"No!" Jaune yelled, picking himself up off the ground. Black Adam turned to face him, and was about to charge the White Knight before a voice called out.

"Black Adam! Why don't you have a taste of your own medicine!" Yang shouted, drawing Black Adam's attention to her. She was glaring hatefully at the man, her eyes crimson red behind her mask. Then she slammed her fists against each other, activating her Semblance and sending her hair alight. With a yell, she leapt towards him, her fist reared back.

Black Adam moved to get out of the way, only for Freddy to intercept him with a blast of lightning, allowing Yang's attack to strike his jaw. With a pained yell, Black Adam was sent flying off like a meteor, disappearing from sight as he plowed through a nearby building even as Yang's Aura shattered from the recoil. The others stared at the hole, hearing the crashes his body made as it continued its traversal.

"Think…that'll…be enough?" Freddy asked, completely winded and gasping for breath.

"No, probably not," Yang admitted as her hair snuffed out, then gasped in pain when she unclenched her fist. She fell to her knees and clutched her right arm tightly. "Gagh, my arm!"

"What's wrong?!" Jaune asked, cradling Pyrrha in his arms as Nora rejoined them, only pausing to pick up the top half of her weapon.

Yang tried moving her limb, only to gasp out in pain at the slightest twitch. Mary was on her immediately, gingerly touching it with her fingers. Once she reached the wrist, Yang yelped in pain again, and Mary quickly noticed the swelling.

"I think you broke your wrist punching Black Adam," Mary revealed, looking up at Yang despondently.

"Oh, that's just perfect!" Yang groaned, biting back tears. In the distance, they heard more crashing as Black Adam recovered and already started making his way back towards them.

"He's not going to stop," Eugene noted, his voice trembling.

"No," Jaune grimly replied, clenching Crocea Mors' hilt hard enough to make his knuckles white.

Hearing more crashes and explosions as Black Adam drew closer, Billy growled while clenching his fist, "So much for Kahndaq's hero. First he releases the Sins, and now this? All these innocent people…they're only in danger because of him. I don't care how he justifies it to himself, Black Adam needs to be stopped."

"He's justifying this to himself?" Freddy asked, looking at Billy with wide eyes. When Billy nodded, Freddy muttered, "Oh, great. A supervillain who thinks he's the hero. The most dangerous kind there is."

Mary looked at her younger foster brothers and her allies. She wanted to agree, but she stopped herself. Her power of Wisdom allowed her to focus her mind, and she thought back to everything she had learned so far about Black Adam. His origins, his motivations, his tactics, his methods. Everything about him screamed violence, yet at the same time there was a grace and purposefulness behind them. He may have been lashing out at them now, but even that apparently sprang from feelings of deep-seated betrayal that had been festering for over five-thousand years.

Mary then gasped in realization as she remembered the reason why Black Adam was imprisoned in the first place. He didn't release the Seven Deadly Sins for personal power; he did it to kill his country's oppressors.

"Kahndaq, of course," Mary muttered, drawing everyone's attention towards her. Seeing this, Mary quickly explained, "As hard as it is to believe, Black Adam may still view himself as Kahndaq's hero. Since we're not from or in Kahndaq—"

"He doesn't care," Billy finished in a low whisper, his powers allowing him to come to the same realization as Mary.

Mary nodded, then she added, "Kahndaq's a failed country right now, ruled by the same type of people he tried to overthrow. If we can show him that, we might be able to convince him to see reason."

Or, at the very least, get him off their backs, but Mary didn't want to give voice to those thoughts. Even if they were obvious to everyone.

The others looked at Mary then each other. It was clear that they weren't entirely certain of her idea, but as Black Adam's approach grew louder, they realized they didn't have much of a choice. Using her good arm, Yang pulled out her scroll and attempted to access the internet, then bit back a curse as she only got an error screen.

"Internet's still out," she revealed, pocketing the device. "I'm going to take a wild guess and say phone and TV is, too."

"Great," Nora groaned while scowling. "We could always try telling him, but I doubt he'll listen."

Mary immediately started looking around for anything that could help them. It was then that she noticed a large cell tower, one which had its lights turned off.

"The tower," she muttered, drawing everyone's attention towards her. Realizing they were staring at her, Mary cleared her throat and said, "We need to repair that cell tower. Whatever Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna did to it, they've completely cut us off. If we fix it, we can show Black Adam the situation Kahndaq is in or call for help."

The others looked up at the tower in question, then nodded. Eugene then said, "Okay, I'll go and—"

"No, I will," Mary interrupted. "You need to find Darla and get out of here. Take the others with you."

"If you honestly think I'm leaving, you have another thing coming," Billy retorted. "I'm the only one who can actually hold him off. Besides, I think his beef is mostly with me. Certainly feels like it…"

Billy rubbed his sore jaw in emphasis, but the argument between his foster siblings continued regardless.

"But, Mary-!" Eugene began to protest, only for Mary to once again cut him off.

"It's too dangerous! You go out there on your own, Black Adam will pick you off and I won't be able to protect you!" she declared, looking at her brother fearfully. "I will handle it."

"Do you even know how to work that thing?" Eugene asked, pointing at the tower in question.

Mary shook her head, then pointed out, "No, but I can—"

"No, I can. Or at least I can figure it out," Eugene declared.

"What makes you say that?" Freddy asked, nervously glancing between his brother and the approaching Black Adam.

"I don't know! It's just…when I charged Ivory Mage's scroll earlier, I felt a connection or something. It's hard to describe, but I just knew the exact amount I needed to put in without frying it."

Freddy looked at Eugene for a moment, then asked, "What, so you're a technopath?"

"Maybe, I don't know!" Eugene hastily admitted. "But if I am, I might be able to bring it back up! I hacked into a government database, remember?"

The others looked at Eugene for a moment, shifting between him, the cell tower, and Mary. The eldest sister looked ready to protest again, but before she could Yang used her good arm to gently grab her shoulder.

"Mary, trust me when I say that I know exactly what you're thinking right now," Yang began, prompting Mary to look down at her. "Red Reaper is my younger sister, and I would do everything to keep her safe. But sometimes you have to put your faith in them. I know it's scary, but let Eugene do his thing. It might be the only chance we got."

Eugene was silently begging at his older sister, and Mary looked at him. Her face scrunched up, and she clearly didn't want to let him go. Then she felt Billy gently grab her other shoulder, silently telling her the same thing. After a moment, she hung her head and sighed.

"Okay, I trust you," she softly said, and Eugene smiled and nodded.

"Freddy, take Eugene over there," Billy ordered. His two brothers immediately complied, and Eugene grabbed hold of Freddy by the shoulder before the two flew off.

"Pedro, grab Ivory Mage and Crimson Guardian then get them to safety. Stay there and watch over them," Billy added.

The muscular boy-turned-man nodded, then carefully took Pyrrha from Jaune's arms before he rushed over and gently grabbed the fallen Ivory Mage. Cradling both in his arms, he ran off with Yang right behind him, the White Knight watching them go before turning back towards their opponent. A few moments later, they heard a crash as Black Adam returned, his body steaming as he glared at them. Every so often, a heavy breath would escape his lips, and Billy could even see the beginnings of a bruise on his face. He felt satisfaction at that, even if he wasn't the one to do it.

Black Adam glanced around for a moment, then remarked, "Evacuating the fallen. Honorable."

"Oh, so now you're going to talk about honor?" Billy shot back. "High marks coming from the guy fighting children."

"Do not lecture me, boy," Black Adam retorted, narrowing his eyes. He then mockingly added, "I am merely treating you as the warriors you claim to be, Captain Marvel."

Jaune glanced at Billy then quietly mouthed, "Oh, that's a good superhero name."

"Thanks," Billy quickly replied, his eyes never leaving Black Adam's.

If Black Adam heard them, he made no indication as he continued, "I must admit, you've put up a better fight than I imagined. With the proper training, one day you might become my equal. But I refuse to let that happen."

With that, Black Adam charged once more, with Captain Marvel meeting him head on. The two champions clashed, momentarily scattering the rain once more and shattering the glass around them. The others were buffeted by the shockwave, but remained standing. Mary scowled as her brother continued his fight against Black Adam and prepared to run over, but before she could Nora stopped her.

"Mary, wait," Nora began, prompting Mary and Jaune to look at her. With a determined look on her face, she said, "I need you to Shazam me."

"What?" Jaune began, his eyes wide.

"I'm serious," Nora added. "You saw how strong I got when we tested it yesterday. Sent Captain Marvel flying. I guarantee we can do the exact same thing to Black Adam."

"Are you sure?" Jaune asked, looking at her Aura through the spare domino mask he previously wore underneath his helmet. "Your Aura's almost completely gone."

"I'm sure," Nora insisted.

"What if it doesn't work and it wears off?" Mary pointed out, then Nora glanced at her.

"Then hit me again," she replied. "And again, and again, until we put this guy in the ground."

Jaune wanted to protest, but as he felt another shockwave from Black Adam's and Captain Marvel's fight, he knew they didn't have much of a choice. Reluctantly, he nodded in acceptance. Nora nodded back, then stood in front of Mary who crouched behind her.

"Shazam!" she shouted, and a bolt of white lightning came down from the storm above and struck Nora in the chest.

As before, her body's muscles swelled and she grew a foot in height. Vibrant and intense pink electricity danced across her body, and she hefted the top half of Magnhild and released a roar before blurring towards the two champions. Their attention briefly turned towards her, Black Adam completely surprised while Billy immediately understood what was going on. Kicking himself away from Black Adam to give a clear shot, Nora was free to strike Black Adam in the head. A crack as loud as another thunderbolt split the air, nearly drowning out her shout of, "Pass!" as the powerful blow sent him flying, right to where Billy had backed up to. Of course Nora's powerful form then immediately subsided and she returned to normal as she dropped to the ground.

Captain Marvel braced himself just in time to catch the incoming foe-turned-projectile on his clenched together fists to smash him up like a volleyball. Then as he watched the black figure tumbling up directly above him, he recognized an opportunity to win this now by using the same trick Black Adam had used on him, and let out a triumphant cry of "Shazam!"

But, although he was clearly dazed, Black Adam managed to recognize the coming danger, and drunkenly juked out of the path of the lightning bolt before it could strike and reduce him back to a mortal to be caught and subdued. Billy cursed at the failure as the magic bolt roared down past his target on its way to its caller, even as Nora leapfrogged him to catch the transformative energy.

Once more, Nora was granted a vast increase in strength, which she immediately used to great effect on Black Adam. She jumped up from Billy's shoulders and was on him even as he reoriented himself, hitting him in the side with enough force to create a shockwave. He was propelled through a nearby building and into the street behind, which was still being cleared of people by Darla.

"Oh no," Darla muttered, placing herself between the ancient warrior and a family she was trying to get to safety.

Picking himself back up, Black Adam shook his head to clear it and looked around. He quickly noticed Darla and the people she was protecting. An angry scowl formed on his face while Darla, clearly terrified, raised her fists. Before they could come to blows, however, they heard an ominous crack coming from across the street. They looked up and, to their surprise, found one of the cars Black Adam had launched away previously had embedded itself into one of the upper floors, having gone through the entire building and was now hanging front first over the sidewalk. It was wobbling dangerously, each movement causing more of its perch to degrade.

Then, with one final screech, the car fully tipped over and careened to the ground below, right in the path of a pair of teenage boys running for their lives. They looked up just as it fell then curled up in a futile effort to protect themselves.

"No!" Darla shouted, prepared to rush over and save them. Before she could, though, a black and gold blur beat her to the punch, slamming into the falling car and sending it back into the building it had just fallen out of. Surprised, Darla and the boys stared up at Black Adam, who was glaring down at them angrily as his cape billowed in the storm.

Then his eyes glowed brightly and golden electricity danced off his body as he screamed, "LEAVE!"

The two boys screamed at the top of their lungs, then hastily scrambled to their feet and sprinted away as fast as they could. Black Adam watched them go, then turned back towards Darla who was staring at him incredulously.

"Why?" she faintly asked, not understanding why the supervillain would go out of his way to save those people.

"My fight's with you, not them," Black Adam declared as he dropped to the ground, his eyes still golden.

He began stomping towards her, and Darla couldn't help but back away as she replied, "But fighting us is only putting them in danger!"

"If they refuse to leave, despite knowing the danger of staying, then it is their fault for getting hurt," he declared.

He then rushed over, delivering a powerful punch that Darla was only barely able to dodge. The wall behind her imploded, shattering nearby car windows and making others blare out their alarms. He was glaring hatefully at Darla, who attempted to retaliate with a punch of her own. He effortlessly dodged the telegraphed attack, using her momentum to hurl her away. Darla rolled across the ground before stopping against the wall of an electronics store. TVs were proudly displayed, though they were only showing static instead of anything substantial.

Black Adam stomped over to her as Darla scrambled up to her feet, then he grabbed her by the throat and lifted her up. He reared back a fist, but Nora, once again boosted by Shazam's power, arrived before he could strike. She struck him with Magnhild, plowing him through the walls of storefronts like a cleaver.

"Shazam me then go!" Nora yelled. Darla looked up at her in surprise. Realizing what she was asking for, Darla prepared to comply, but stopped herself as she noticed how heavy Nora was breathing.

"You're hurt!" she said, but Nora simply shot her a look.

"I don't care, just do it!" she retorted. Darla wanted to protest more, but then she saw Black Adam stand back up from the corner of her eye.

Knowing she didn't have much of a choice, Darla yelled "Shazam!"

Nora quickly intercepted the lightning, once again being filled with power she wasn't meant to bear. Her pink Aura flickered dangerously, but without a care she yelled and bounded towards Black Adam. This time, he managed to catch the blow with his hands, but he was still forced back, his feet digging into the street. He retaliated with a blow to her gut, but Nora was able to remain standing long enough to throw a punch of her own that sent Black Adam stumbling back. A moment later, Billy arrived and plowed into Black Adam, digging him through the street as he continued to throw punch after punch into the man's face.

As Mary and Jaune rushed over, Nora turned towards them and yelled, "Again!"

"Lightning, no!" Mary protested. "You barely look like you can stand on your feet!"

"I can take it!" Nora protested, but Jaune quickly shook his head.

"No you can't! You have hardly any Aura left! If you let yourself be powered up one more time, I don't know what's going to happen!" Jaune shot back.

"Well, I know what's going to happen if we don't!" Nora declared, pointing to Black Adam and Captain Marvel who were now trading blows. "We don't have a choice!"

"Yes, we do!"

"No, we don't! Black Adam is stronger than all of us combined! The only thing letting me pull my weight is my Semblance! So let me do the only thing I'm good at: be strong and hit stuff!" Nora shouted, hot tears streaming down her face.

Jaune and Mary were stunned into silence, not sure of how to respond to that. Behind them, they continued to hear the sounds of battle, accompanied by cracks of thunder that illuminated everything around them. Slowly, the young heroes turned to face both champions, who were wailing on each other with everything they had. Red blood was now beginning to spurt out from split lips and broken noses, and it was clear that both were on their last legs. Yet, as Captain Marvel threw his next punch, Black Adam proved he still had more in him as he ducked underneath and threw a fist into his opponent's stomach. Captain Marvel's eyes bulged, then Black Adam grabbed his head and drew it down into a rising knee with enough force to create a shockwave around the center of impact.

Captain Marvel stumbled back, trying his best to stay on two feet. Black Adam, meanwhile, was breathing heavily, his lip bleeding profusely. Then, when Captain Marvel shuffled towards him and threw a haphazard punch, Black Adam sidestepped him then threw a haymaker into his face. That proved to be the last straw, and Billy fell onto his back, unable to move his exhausted body. Black Adam stood over him, then raised his foot to stomp on his face. Before he could however, Darla suddenly returned and tackled him, driving him back.

"Stay away from my brother!" Darla yelled, throwing a flurry of punches into Black Adam's side like bullets. Black Adam was gasping in pain, but he was able to tear Darla away from him and deliver a powerful punch that sent her twirling back through the air, landing on top of a car and shattering the windshield. She tried to push herself back up, but found herself unable to.

Black Adam then turned his attention towards the heroes, who were already rushing towards him. Not wanting any more distractions, he shot Jaune and Mary with lightning, purposefully avoiding Nora. Instead of blasting her at range, Black Adam rushed over and grabbed her by the neck, ripping Magnhild away from her grip and throwing it to the side.

"You are powerful," he declared, breathing heavily. "But a fighter who destroys herself to damage her enemies does not last."

To prove his point, he reared back another punch, fully intending to throw it through her face. Nora's eyes widened, and she desperately kicked at her captor in an attempt to free herself, but to no avail, then her hand scrabbled at the collection of grenades on her belt. Just before she could do something incredibly dangerous with them, or Black Adam's punch could connect, however, Jaune suddenly rushed in and dove into the short space between them, his shield raised to take the blow. The young boy was sent back as the superhuman fist struck the reinforced surface at an awkward angle, slamming into Nora's body and sending both flying back into a parked car. Crocea Mors was ripped from Jaune's hands, the shield having a massive dent in its center, while Black Adam clutched his now bruised hand.

"Gagh!" Black Adam winced, then snarled towards Jaune who shakily placed himself in front of his teammate.

His white Aura flickered dangerously, and his breaths were heavy. Jaune's body desperately wanted to just lay down and rest, but he refused to let himself do that as Nora looked up at him in surprise. Glancing down at her, Jaune once again reminded himself of who actually mattered on his team. Nora's eyes widened as she realized what he was thinking, then Jaune turned back towards Black Adam.

The fallen champion's eyes were glowing yellow, lightning cascading off his body while his muscles bulged. More and more energy was gathered, then with a mighty roar Black Adam fired it towards Jaune. The White Knight crossed his arms in front of him and braced himself for the blow to come and consume him. But, just before it could make contact, he was violently shoved aside by Nora, who began screaming in agony as the magical lightning struck her.

"AAAGH!" Nora screamed into the heavens, her hair spiking up as golden and pink sparks danced across her body.

"NORA!" Jaune yelled, pushing himself up to run towards her alongside Mary who attempted to fire a blast of lightning at the occupied Black Adam to get him to stop. Unfortunately, her output was severely diminished, and a stray bolt of lighting from Adam's attack blocked hers. When Jaune got close, he attempted to hurl a punch into his face, only for another bolt to send him flying back.

Mary quickly realized what was going on. Black Adam had gathered so much magical electricity that the excess had formed a force field. One strong enough to completely negate her own output as well as send a slightly smoking White Knight flying back. Yet, despite the pain he was in, White Knight pushed himself back up and began sprinting back towards Black Adam with a yell. He didn't get very far this time, though, as Mary quickly grabbed tightly by the arms and held him back.

"No, don't! You'll only get hurt!" Mary yelled, yet Jaune continued to try and break free. Mary's grip merely tightened however, and Jaune could only watch helplessly as his teammate continued to thrash while standing up. His despair increased as wild, branching electrical burns began to appear on Nora's body, traveling up from her torso and into her shoulders and neck.

Then, to Jaune, Mary, and Black Adam's surprise, Nora stopped screaming and forced her head back down. She glared defiantly at Black Adam and began stomping her way towards him. Each step sent ripples through the asphalt, and even as Black Adam increased his output she refused to stop. Continuing her advance, Nora effortlessly ripped a light pole out of the ground and held it as she would Magnhild. She then planted her feet onto the ground, digging into the concrete as though it was only sand. Rearing the light pole back, Nora screamed at the top of her lungs then swung.

Black Adam stopped the stream of electricity to shield himself with his forearms. Even then, the blow sent him flying through several buildings, shattering the glass across the entire street. The light pole, not built to handle such stress, practically disintegrated, leaving Nora all alone as she wavered in place.

"That was…pretty awesome…" Nora mumbled to herself. Then her pink Aura shattered completely, and her eyes rolled to the back of her head as she fell down. Only then did Mary's grip loosen, allowing Jaune to rip himself free and sprint over to Nora.

"Oh gods…" Jaune muttered as he kneeled over her, his hands raised as he desperately looked her over. He tried to tap into his suit's diagnostics again, but the damage was so severe that they were now offline. Going into overdrive, Jaune angled his ear over her mouth while checking for a pulse by ripping off his glove and holding his fingers to her neck.

"She's not breathing," Jaune declared as he immediately shifted into performing CPR on her. Her suit was in the way, so he violently ripped the chest piece off so that he could press down onto her chest. After a few presses, he breathed into her mouth and repeated the process.

"Come on. Come on. Breathe, dammit!" Jaune ordered his teammate as he continued to perform CPR on her. Mary and now Darla were standing over him, tearfully watching as Darla held her hands to her mouth.

Seeing as how his efforts weren't working, Jaune began pounding on her chest, trying anything he could think of to save his friend. Nothing was working, and tears began to flow from him. Once again, as he looked down on his dying friend, he felt an overwhelming sense of helplessness, one that was only fueled by the knowledge that Nora's injuries were only due to his inability to defend himself. She took the blow, one that most assuredly would've killed him, in his stead.

"Goddammit!" Jaune cursed, slamming one final fist onto Nora's chest as he began to sob. Mary, crying as well, kneeled next to him and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder, which Jaune barely even acknowledged. He didn't want comfort. All he wanted was to be in his friend's place.

Listlessly, Jaune placed both of his hands on Nora, refusing to remove them as he wept. With his eyes clenched tightly shut, he barely even noticed a slight tingling sensation on his hands and forearms. But he did hear Mary and Darla gasp, and only then did Jaune open his teary eyes. The tears ceased when he saw that both of his hands were encased in shimmering Aura. Aura which traveled down into and covered Nora's entire body.

"What the…?" Jaune muttered, not knowing what was going on. He felt something pull against his Aura, or rather the other way around. A moment later, pink began to spread out from Nora's core, and Jaune's eyes widened as he realized what was happening.

"You're healing her…" Darla breathed out in amazement as Nora's angry red burns started to fade, along with the return of a steady breath.

"No," Jaune replied, shaking his head as he concentrated on making sure whatever he was doing didn't stop. "It doesn't feel like I'm healing her. Our Aura heals our bodies. It feels…it feels like I'm using my Aura to amplify hers…"

Darla and Mary looked at Jaune with wide eyes, who momentarily glanced back up at them before returning his attention back towards Nora. She let out a groan and moved her head slightly. Slowly, she opened her eyes and looked up at Jaune, who began to smile in relief.

"…Hey," Nora groaned out. She glanced at Jaune's glowing arms, then she added, "Whatever you're doing, Fearless Leader…don't stop…"

Jaune couldn't help but chuckle, and he shook his head and replied, "Don't worry, I won't."

Nora's head fell back and she closed her eyes once more. Jaune continued to work, and seeing that he had it handled Mary and Darla began to move towards Billy in order to help their brother. After a few steps, however, a black form slammed into the street, kicking up dust and debris that nearly sent the three heroes to the ground. They forced themselves to remain standing, however, and Jaune never once broke his newfound Semblance as he stared wide-eyed at the returning foe.

Black Adam was glaring hatefully at all of them, but it was clear that he was on his last legs. His left arm hung limply by his side, a noticeable limp in his stride as he made his way towards them. Red blood poured out of his lip, and his right eye was swollen shut. He was breathing heavily, swaying slightly, but he refused to yield.

Scowling, Mary began floating towards him, electricity cackling in her hands. Black Adam turned to face the challenger, only to stop as they heard a groan and shifting of rubble. Turning to the side, they saw the current champion had forced himself back up, his fists raised. Despite his bloodied face and swelled over black eye, Captain Marvel refused to back down.

"I can do this…all day," Captain Marvel declared as he swayed on his feet.

Black Adam looked at him for a moment, then scowled and resumed his advance, eager to end this battle once and for all. Just before the two champions could come to blows, however, the televisions around them blared to life. The static previously displayed was replaced by a variety of tv stations and movies.

"What is-?" Black Adam asked, looking around as more and more noise was thrown at him.

Seizing the opportunity, Mary looked at Darla and ordered, "Turn every TV onto the first channel about Kahndaq, now!"

"Kahndaq?" Black Adam asked, shooting his head towards Mary. He then snarled, "What do you mean, Kahndaq?!"

Quickly realizing what Mary was getting at, Darla zoomed into the nearby electronics store while Jaune tossed Mary over his scroll. As the television screens began to rapidly change between channels, going from movie to movie and show to show, Mary began swiping through the phone-like device, trying to find the relevant articles to show Black Adam the state of his homeland. Luckily, a Google search quickly pulled up the country, but the top headline made her nearly drop the scroll.

Both Jaune and Black Adam noticed Mary's shift in demeanor. But, just before Jaune could ask what was going on, the largest screen's channel changed to Daily Planet News, which was delivering a special emergency report. Lois Lane was on screen, standing before a map of the Middle East while a bright red ticket scrolled through the bottom. What he saw on it made his heart go still.

"Thousands of Grimm, the largest attack we've seen to date, have plunged the entire Middle East into complete chaos!" Lois Lane reported, pointing to large sections of the map that were highlighted red. "Syria, Yemen, Afghanistan, Kahndaq, entire countries are being overrun!"

"What?" Black Adam repeated, turning his attention squarely towards Lois's report. His face fell as shakily taken cellphone videos of monstrous Grimm assailed soldiers andcivilians alike. His eyes wide, he turned towards Captain Marvel and demanded, "What are those things?"

Jaune looked at him for a moment, gulped, and answered, "Those are Grimm. Monsters from my homeworld that exist only to kill people."

"Why are they attacking Kahndaq?" Black Adam demanded, stomping over to Jaune with an enraged look on his face. "Tell me!"

"Grimm are attracted to negative emotions. Fear, anger, anything like that. They seek those emotions out and destroy anyone in their way," Jaune quickly answered. "It's how you were freed. Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna used the Grimm to find a way into the Rock of Eternity, and break down whatever was trapping you in there."

"Mr. Mind!" Black Adam growled, clearly recognizing the Venusian's name. He then turned back towards Jaune and angrily added, "That doesn't answer my question. Why Kahndaq? What attracts these Grimm to Kahndaq?!"

Jaune looked at Black Adam, not quite sure how to answer. The Kahndaqian snarled and started stomping over again, only for Mary to speak up.

"Kahndaq never recovered from the devastation the Seven Deadly Sins inflicted on them," she explained, effortlessly going back into her original plan. "They are but a shadow of their former selves, torn apart by violence and poverty. A perfect breeding ground for negativity."

"Then where are the armies? Why aren't they defending the people?!" Black Adam demanded, pointing to the ticket on screen that read how the Royal Army of Kahndaq was staying concentrated around the capital city while the rest of the country was assailed.

"It's because General Asim Muhunnad rules over them with an iron fist," Mary revealed. "He is a brutal dictator who has oppressed the people of Kahndaq for decades, hoarding the wealth for himself while the rest of his people live in squalor. His tyranny sparked a civil war that has torn the country apart for the past three years as the people tried to free themselves."

Black Adam's eyes widened, and he turned back towards the television. Seizing her moment, Mary walked closer and pointed to the highlighted sections.

"See those areas in red?" she asked. Black Adam didn't answer, but Mary continued regardless. "That's where the Grimm are. Those also happen to be rebel-held provinces. I can't claim to know exactly what's going through the General's mind, but if I had to guess—"

"He's thinking the Grimm will kill his enemies for him," Black Adam finished for her, his attention purely on the news. A flash of remorse flowed through his face, and he added, "Without caring about the people killed alongside them."

"If anything, he's probably planning on it," Mary added, glancing up at Black Adam from the corner of her eye.

He stared at the television for a few moments, and the other heroes watched him carefully. Then, to their surprise, his posture slackened. The tunnel-vision which had been consuming him ever since his release went away, allowing him to finally take note of where he was. He looked around the partially destroyed cityscape, taking in the sights of glass buildings that reached up high into the sky and the cars parked on the street. Terrified civilians peeked out at him from behind corners, cars, doors, and windows, looking at him as though he were a horrifying monster. Slowly, he turned his gaze over them, his face softening as regret filled it. He raised his good arm and looked at it, as well as the destruction he had wrought.

Closing his eyes, Teth-Adam sighed, then turned back towards the television. As more information came in about the terrors hurting his country, his face hardened once again.

"My people need me," he declared. Then, without saying another word, he took off into the air, disappearing above the clouds and out of sight. They heard several sonic booms as he flew towards the east, and soon they could no longer hear him.

The heroes looked out in the general direction he had gone, not quite believing what had just happened. Everyone was silent, glancing at each other as they tried to figure out what to do.

Then, out of the blue, Nora mumbled, "Yeah, you better run…"

---

Mr. Mind and Dr. Sivanna stared incredulously eastward, watching as Black Adam left the heroes behind. They couldn't quite understand what had just happened.

"Did…did he just leave?" Dr. Sivanna asked, his eyes wide and his posture slackened.

"…It appears that he did," Mr. Mind replied, his voice uncharacteristically flat.

"…Why would he do that?"

"I may have…underestimated his love for his people. It seems to have eclipsed his hatred of Shazam. That was…unexpected."

Dr. Sivanna glanced at his shoulder where Mr. Mind remained perched. He swallowed deeply, then he asked, "Now…now what do we do?"

"Oh, I'll tell you what you're going to do. You're going to jail," a new voice suddenly cut in. Dr. Sivanna and Mr. Mind shot their heads up, where they saw a battered and bloodied Captain Marvel glaring down at them, his arms crossed over his chest. The rest of his family, alongside White Knight and surprisingly a fully recovered Pink Lightning, were beside him, their weapons drawn.

The two supervillains rapidly glanced between all of the heroes, then Dr. Sivanna reached into his lab coat to pull out a pistol. Mr. Mind, meanwhile, jumped off his shoulder and attempted to make a run for it, but before either of them could make it far, both were zapped straight into unconsciousness by direct lightning blasts from Captain Marvel.

---

If there was one benefit to the fact that a group of four towering collections of Grimm vaguely shaped like humans were attacking Bagram Airfield, it was that it allowed the soldiers ample opportunity to spread out without being swarmed. That was only a small comfort, especially as the Grimm completely shrugged off all of their efforts to put them down and were tossing helicopters and Humvees into the air like they were tennis balls. Violet was reminded of that fact as she dived away from a fiery Black Hawk. The smoldering wreckage crumpled, and as Violet crawled away on her back one of the massive Grimm pushed it aside, sending the chassis skidding across the concrete.

Despite being humanoid in form, the collection of silverfish Grimm didn't truly have a face. It was more of a black spot in the center of its torso, surrounded by a thick ring of bone. Regardless, dozens of angry and hungry red eyes glared out at her from all parts of the Grimm, and the body shuddered as a chorus of chittering rang out.

Scowling, Violet raised her hands and fired a massive beam of red-hot energy into the Grimm, which immediately blocked it with one of its hands clenched into a fist like a shield. The energy was stopped, and after a few moments Violet had to stop to catch her breath. Much of the hand was scorched, and plenty of black smoke rose up into the air, telling her that several of the Grimm making up its body were killed. But Grimm from lower layers immediately took their place, leaving it looking good as new.

The Grimm unclenched its fist, then it roared and threw its other arm, which was open and filled with razor-sharp fingers along the rim, at her. Just before it hit, Violet forced herself to fly back, just barely hovering over the ground. The limb struck the concrete, shattering a crater into existence and sending bits of rubble flying off in all directions. Some of the pieces struck Violet, buy they were immediately repelled by the red halo encasing her body like a force field.

A moment later, the Grimm ripped its limb from the ground, roared, and ran after her once more. It only took a few steps, however, before a series of explosions rang out across its torso. The Grimm roared in pain and stumbled back, and Violet looked up to see Luke and a few other soldiers rushing in. They were no longer carrying their rifles, which were safely stowed across their backs. Instead, they were carrying bulky grenade launchers with six-round chambers they had managed to procure from a nearby armory, now free of the fear gas which had barred their access. Firing in unison, they forced the Grimm further back, then Violet stood up and joined their efforts by firing a heat beam into the heart of the Grimm.

It proved to be too much for the Grimm to take, and the body fell apart. Now no longer able to brace against each other or share the blows, the scattered silverfish Grimm were promptly swept up by the combined fire of the soldiers and the metahuman. Once the last of the Grimm were killed, their black dust billowing up into the sky, they allowed themselves a moment of reprieve to rest and reload their weapons. Luke glanced at Violet, who looked back and gave a soft smile before the sound of more gunfire and explosions drew their attention.

Across the base, the other soldiers fired onto the Grimm, trying to put them down. But, without Violet's intervention, their efforts weren't proving to be nearly as fruitful. Luckily, the soldiers were able to keep back for the most part, preventing further casualties from mounting up, but it was clear they could only do so for so long.

"On me!" Luke yelled as he began sprinting towards the nearest Grimm. Violet and the other soldiers were right behind him, the metahuman taking the opportunity to hover over the ground in an effort to increase her speed. She wasn't quite there yet, and every so often it felt like she was about to trip and fall, but she was able to keep herself steady and upright.

As they got close enough to the Grimm, it lifted a Humvee above its head and tossed it, forcing the group of soldiers currently fighting it off to scatter and dive to cover. Luke immediately raised his grenade launcher and fired, the others right behind him alongside Violet. As the explosions ripped across the Grimm's back, Violet couldn't help but notice that they had far greater effect than when they had attacked from the front. She supposed that was due to the concentration of bone armor along the torso, leaving the back relatively exposed. It wasn't enough to fully fell the beast, and it turned while painfully contorting around its open wound near its spine to hold itself together, and roared angrily at them. This only allowed the other soldiers a chance to regroup and open fire, and the combined arms pierced the black flesh. Some of the bullets flew out through many of the Grimm's eyes, and before long it fell to the ground. Black mist floated upward into the night sky, which only now Violet began to notice sported a twinge of orange on the horizon.

Dawn was approaching, and she couldn't help but feel rejuvenated by that sight. Many of the soldiers around her clearly felt the same, and with added gusto they moved on to the last two collections of Grimm which had been staring at them. But, before they could, the Grimm fell apart on their own at their approach, surprising everyone. The remaining silverfish skittered quickly across the ground and regrouped at the center of the base, forming a massive black, white, and red mound that pulsated like a beating heart.

"Surround it!" Luke ordered, and the remaining soldiers still able to fight immediately complied, training their weapons onto the Grimm while encircling it.

Violet stayed next to Luke, briefly shifting from her red halo to purple in order to rejuvenate the soldiers nearby. Once that was accomplished, she shifted back to red. It took a bit of concentration to do it, far too much to be used in combat, but in a respite such as this it was more than enough. The mound of Grimm, meanwhile, continued to pulsate and grow, especially as more stragglers came homing in from the far corners of the base. They were skittering around and through the soldiers' legs, prompting the men and women to scurry out of the way, though one particularly reckless soul managed to stomp on one with his combat boot, luckily crushing it instead of getting his foot ripped into. Others attempted to fire on them, but they were too close to their comrades to make it advisable.

But for whatever reason, the Grimm ignored the humans in favor of joining the ever growing mound. With each new addition, the pulses increased, and the mass shifted and bulged while growing in size, and anyone with basic pattern recognition could see that it was building up to something truly awful. Luke decided to stop whatever it was doing before it could finish and screw them all over.

"Open fire!" he yelled. At once, a volley of gunfire and explosions rang out, striking the Grimm pile directly. Violet assisted by firing an intense, concentrated heat beam that scorched anything it touched. Unfortunately, there were too many Grimm to burn away, and any that were killed were immediately replaced.

Then, as the final Grimm entered the mass, the mound went still. The soldiers continued to fire, only to stop in horror as the mound erupted upward like a geyser to form a large, thick, snake-like body. It was pitch black, although hundreds of bright red eyes stared out from across the entire surface. Near the top was a collection of silverfish Grimm that formed both halves of a jaw, which promptly opened to reveal a blazing red maw lined with sharp white teeth, showing where all of their branding tail barbs were concentrated this time. It let out a roar and a surge of flame from the furnace of its combined internals into the heavens, and Violet couldn't help but stare slack jawed at the newly combined creatures.

"Are you shitting me?!" someone yelled, and immediately the soldiers started firing once again. The bullets sunk into the Grimm's flesh, black smoke billowing up into the air which told them that they were killing the creatures inside. But there were too many, and like a school of herring Grimm from lower layers simply rose up to fill the holes.

The Grimm roared angrily, snaking its body around to glare at everyone. Thinking that the mass was immobile, seeing as how its bottom was firmly rooted to the ground, the soldiers remained where they were. But they were quickly proven to be mistaken as the body of the Grimm stretched forward, growing thin in the middle as it reached out and snapped a group of soldiers into its jaws. Their screams were cut short by loud crunches of bone and the sizzling of flesh, and Violet's eyes widened while Luke cursed.

Now recognizing the danger, the soldiers began to move back and spread out, never once ceasing their fire. As before, their rifles weren't all that effective against the monster, with only the grenade launchers, high-caliber machine guns, and Violet's powers having any effect. Those attacks caused the Grimm to writhe and screech in pain, but it wasn't enough to put it down. In fact, the longer it went on, the more it became obvious that they needed something bigger than what they had in order to finally kill the thing. What they had left would take too long and lead to far more deaths. Another small group of soldiers was caught by a wave of deadly heat the Grimm exhaled on them rather than stretching all the way to them, proving Violet's fears were right.

As she struggled to figure out what to do, along with increasing her power's output as much as she could, Luke's radio blared to life.

"Lieutenant, we got the Air Force on the line! Patching you in now!" Kim announced, and Luke immediately broke away from the fire in order to speak into it.

"This is Lieutenant Luke Fox!" he announced, keeping an eye on the Grimm while continuing to relay information. "We are under attack by Grimm at Bagram Airfield! Massive casualties! Need immediate air support now! Danger close!"

"Copy that, Lieutenant. Air support en route," the unnamed radio operator replied. In the distance, Violet could hear the low rumbles of incoming jets, and she let out a big smile alongside the whoops and hollers of the soldiers.

Taking out a smoke grenade, Luke pulled the pin and threw it towards the Grimm. Bright orange smoke began to fill the air, and Luke immediately yelled into the radio, "Target marked! Take those bastards out!"

Knowing what was about to happen, the soldiers turned and ran. A few were unfortunately snatched up by the Grimm, but the rest were able to make it to safety. The low rumble off in the distance turned into a loud roar as a pair of jets approached low on the horizon. Violet recognized them as A-10s, and the fighters unleashed a barrage onto the Grimm from their chin-mounted chainguns. The super-heavy rounds tore through the sparsely armored bulk of the Grimm like tissue paper, causing it to shriek and coil in on itself. Joining the bullets were several rockets which exploded into red fireballs. Both attacks tore the Grimm apart, sending burning and shattered groups of silverfish flying off in all directions that quickly disintegrated into dust.

The soldiers cheered it on, jumping in place and throwing their fists into the air in jubilation. Neither Luke nor Violet, however, allowed themselves to join the celebration just yet, though. As the A-10s flew off after completing their run, they waited for the dust to settle. Once it did, they saw the remains of the Grimm compilation barely standing, large chunks of it completely gone. Its movements, once smooth, were now jittery and sudden. Clearly the Grimm was on its last legs. Scowling, Luke chambered a grenade and fired at the head.

The ensuing explosion sent the Grimm's body rearing back while blowing a large piece of it off. He fired again and again, each explosion killing more of the Grimm that had turned Bagram Airfield into a living hell. Violet was right beside him, blasting the Grimm apart with her heat beams with a ferocious intensity. Then, as Luke emptied the last of his grenades into the creature, it finally fell apart. Far too many of the Grimm making up its body were dead, leaving it unable to support itself. Violet quickly finished off the rest with sweeps of her beams as they pathetically tried to crawl away, and the last of the Grimm turned into dust and floated up into the sky.

Dawn then fully broke, and as the sun rose over the horizon, the survivors let out a victorious yell. Soldiers were hugging each other, crying in relief at having survived. Luke and Violet wanted to join them, but they forced themselves not to as they surveyed their surroundings. The entire airfield was in ruins, with scores of dead, too numerous to count, laying across the pavement. Destroyed vehicles and buildings, many of which were in flames, dotted the landscape, adding to the dreary, almost post-apocalyptic atmosphere.

This wasn't a cause for celebration. They didn't win anything; all they did was survive a night from hell. Luke's breathing grew harsher as he surveyed more and more of the ruined military base, clenching his fist tight enough to make the knuckles turn white.

"Whoever did this," he growled, "is going to pay."

Violet agreed with him as she looked across the base as well. Luke's statement reverberated across the survivors, and their jubilant mood quickly subsided. It was replaced by cold realization, then righteous anger. Slowly, the soldiers began to move out, securing the area while recovering the dead and fallen. Or, rather, what was left of them. Violet joined them, keeping an eye out for any casualties she might be able to revive despite the odds, or signs of the enemy returning. Luckily, everything seemed calm.

She did, however, briefly spot a tall man in the distance, standing on top of a hill overlooking the base. He was too far to make out any details, his entire body shadowed against the rising run, but Violet could see that he was wearing a large horned helmet which completely encased his head. Dull, red eyes glared out, seemingly zeroing in on her. Violet blinked, but as soon as she opened her eyes again, the man was gone.

---

Kahndaq

People were running for their lives as the monsters attacked them from the land and sky. Their black-and-white bodies proved to be nearly impervious to their weapons, and they ate anyone who got too close. Families hid in the ruins of their homes or fled into the streets, fathers keeping their wives and children close in a nearly futile effort to keep them safe. Some even begged for mercy, either from the gods or from the monsters themselves. It was clear, however, that none was coming.

Despite the horrible odds stacked against them, the freedom fighters that had liberated this province from their tyrannical rulers refused to give in. They kept up their defense, firing their AK-47s and RPGs into the massive horde to at least buy time for the people to escape.

"Go, get to the trucks!" a woman yelled, ushering groups of families onto a covered truck with her free hand. Clutched in her other arm was her own AK-47, one covered in dust and scratches that told stories of its extensive use over the course of years.

"Adrianna, we need to fall back!" a fellow soldier yelled, but Adrianna Tomaz immediately shook her head while moving back to the front.

"No, not until everyone in the village is evacuated!" she shot back. Shouldering her rifle, she began firing in short, controlled bursts, aiming for the soft-unprotected portions of the monsters. She had heard vague rumors of monsters from another world called Grimm, and most of her fellows believed that these were the monsters that attacked them now.

While more and more Grimm fell to her and her force's hands, there were far too many of them to hold off forever. Hundreds of Grimm were attacking them, showing no care for the injuries they gained in the pursuit of their prey. The only thing that they cared about was inflicting pain and suffering onto her people, like living embodiments of everything Adrianna stood against. She had been trying to free her people from General Muhunnad for years, and she would be damned before she let some mindless beasts take away everything they had gained.

In the distance, she thought she heard thunder, but she dismissed it as sounds of battle. The morning sky was completely cloudless, and there was no indication that would change anytime soon. Continuing to fight, Adrianna's weapon ran dry, so she unloaded the magazine to slap a new one in. Chambering a round, she prepared to fire again, only to stop as more thunder was heard, closer this time. Everyone paused in confusion, even the Grimm who began looking towards the source of the sound.

Turning her head, Adrianna stared out towards the west. At first, she saw nothing, but as the sound of thunder grew louder, she began to notice large bolts of golden lightning striking the ground. Rather than come from a storm cloud, the lightning was coming from a singular source, a black and gold blur in the distance. The object was flying towards them at several times the speed of sound, kicking up a sandstorm in its wake. Yet, despite its velocity, the incoming phenomenon came to a sudden and complete stop right above them, the kicked up wind nearly enough to knock Adrianna off her feet. Then she squinted up through the dust and saw that the new arrival was a flying man clothed in black and gold, looking down at them like an irate god as his cape billowed around him.

"You will not harm my people," the man growled in perfect Kahndaqian, his eyes glowing gold as lightning danced off of him.

Without saying another word, he crashed down into the Grimm, shooting off the lightning in all directions. They pierced the Grimm like spears while leaving the men and women completely untouched. As the unnatural creatures turned into dust, the man became a black-and-gold blur once more as he started to pummel the Grimm into oblivion. Silence soon filled the air, and the entire desert was now carpeted with the dead bodies of the monsters which had been plaguing them for hours. All that was left were their smashed and scorched remains, and even those were quickly beginning to vanish as if they'd never been.

The man was breathing heavily, occasionally flinching in pain from wounds he was still recovering from. They looked fresh to Adrianna, but she didn't think the Grimm caused him any harm. In any case, the man didn't let his injuries bother him as he rose up into the air, scanning his surroundings for any more of the Grimm. As he turned around, loud gasps rang out as Adrianna, the villagers, and her freedom fighters beheld the golden lightning bolt emblazoned across his chest. It was a symbol they recognized immediately, for it was the same one she and countless other fighters across Kahndaq's long and tumultuous history had taken for their own.

"Black Adam," someone whispered in a reverent tone. "He's…returned…"

Hearing his name, the man turned around to face his people. One by one, the enraptured villagers and freedom righters dropped whatever they were carrying and fell to their knees, bowing in reverence. Only Adrianna remained standing, staring up at the man who had saved them. She lowered her rifle, although she still kept it in her hands.

"Who are you?" Adrianna demanded. Even if the answer was obvious, she wanted to make sure. There had been many pretenders over the years, each claiming to be the return of their savior, and even if this one was the most convincing she had to be certain.

He stared at her, then floated down and landed softly on the ground. He walked up to Adrianna, then declared, "I was but a slave, one who rose against the chains and whips of my masters to save my people. A task that I left unfinished, so I return to do so now."

Part of Adrianna felt more convinced that this was, indeed, Black Adam. But she had to know more. Stringing the strap of her rifle across her shoulder, Adrianna confidently walked up to the man and stared up into his eyes.

"We have heard that claim before," Adrianna declared. "For over five-thousand years, rulers have been selling the same lie to us over and over again. Even if you truly are Teth-Adam, how can I be certain you won't become yet another tyrant?"

"Five-thousand…?" Teth-Adam muttered, his eyes going wide as he visibly recoiled. He quickly recomposed himself, however, and stared back into Adrianna's eyes. His gaze was hard, but not angry. If anything, it was appraising, like it was boring into her soul in order judge her. After a moment, it softened slightly, and Teth-Adam broke eye contact with her to survey the village he had just saved.

A heavy silence fell over the village, and people poked their heads up to stare at them. Teth-Adam's face fell, and it was clear that he was saddened by what he was seeing. After a few moments, his face hardened, and he turned his back to stare in the general direction of the city of Kahndaq, the seat of power in the entire country.

"Five-thousand years ago," he began, his arms lowered and relaxed, "Kahndaq was a melting pot of cultures, wealth, power, and magic. But most of those who lived there, including me, had nothing more than the chains around our necks. Kahndaq needed a hero; instead, they got me. I only did what needed to be done to save my people from slavery and death, and I was imprisoned for it.

"But now I'm free," Teth-Adam declared, turning around to face Adrianna once more, "and I give you all my word: No one will ever stop me again."

[~][~]

And that's a wrap to the Captain Marvel Interlude! Special thanks to Jesse K and NaanContributor for their help in bringing this chapter to life. I wouldn't have been able to do it without them.

A lot of things happened in this chapter, along with some important developments for our characters. Needless to say, things did not go to plan, but they managed to win the day.

Let us know what you guys think, and I hope you enjoy!