It was only a matter of seconds before Marvel found himself on the other side of the Boom Tube. He had followed the woman in the black and silver in, and immediately knew upon exiting the other side that it was a mistake. A huge mistake. He found himself staring at the inside of a round chamber, easily the size of a football stadium if not greater. The woman he had followed was kneeling down, and she turned as he exited behind her. Beyond her, he saw four other figures, loosely described as humanoid. One was a weasley looking man in a deep purple robe, who turned quickly, his eyes lighting up with sadistic pleasure as Marvel entered. Next to him was another male, at least, that was what he assumed. He was brutish and hairy, with a protruding brow and a nasty-looking stick at his side. Nearby was what looked at first glance like a linebacker, but turned out to be an old woman with white hair and a rather doughy face. Seated behind all of them, leaning back as if engulfed in the giant stone throne, was yet another man- if one could call him that. His eyes glowed red under large brows, his face resembling more a craggy cliff face than a biological face. Immediately, Marvel recognized him: Darkseid the Destroyer.

"Who dares to enter the court of the great and powerful Darkseid?" the weasley one demanded.

"Captain Marvel," he said, glaring down at him. "You will stop your incursions to earth immediately."

"Silence, earthling," the hairy man said, coming forward. "How dare you make demands here?"

"How dare you come to earth to kill our citizens?" Marvel retorted. The woman he had followed disappeared somewhere off to his right, as the other being came forward, squaring off with him. "I will not allow-"

"Enough talk!" The man swung down at him with the stick, but Marvel ducked quickly. He felt a static charge over his head, making his hair stand on end. He pulled back, punching him in the gut. He backed up a few steps, but did little else besides. Again, he swung with the stick, and Marvel grabbed it, attempting to wrest it from his grip. He smiled, and there was a sudden jolt that passed through both of Marvel's arms. He tried to pull away, but his fingers were clutched around it, frozen in place. It wasn't until the electricity coursing through the stick was cut before Marvel could force his fingers open, pulling away from it. The hairy man came forward again, but Marvel was ready; he knelt down, throwing him over his back and turning. He began to beat his face into the ground, until the man managed to roll away, lying on the ground.

At that point, Darkseid finally stood, walking over to the fallen fighter. "You have managed to best my son," he said, his voice reverberating off of every surface in the hall.

"You will leave earth alone."

A slight smile crossed the tyrant's craggy face. "As you wish. Once I have the spark that is growing there."

Marvel frowned. "Spark?"

"There is a vessel that carries the spark, and you shall tell me where it is." By that time, the hairy man had gotten up to his knees.

Marvel set himself, staring at Darkseid. I don't have much other choice, he thought to himself. I don't know what spark he means, but whatever it is, I can't let him find it. He ran forward, crying out, and pulled back, punching Darkseid in the face. The tyrant backed up a step, reaching up to touch the blood that dribbled down his lip.

"You will regret that, earthling." He reached back and punched forward as well, though Marvel just barely managed to get out of the way in time. The next hit, however, connected, and he went flying across the chamber, smashing into the curved wall. Some of the stone broke off under his weight. Getting up quickly, knowing that he wasn't a match for Darkseid, Marvel made a break for the wall, hoping to smash through it and escape. Unfortunately, he wasn't able to change course as a boom tube appeared in front of him. He was deposited a few feet behind him on the other side.

Marvel had just a moment to look up, as Darkseid's eyes glowed a brighter red. He tried to get out of the way, but he was too slow; the beams of energy seared out, burning through his chest. He fell backwards, clutching the burn wound. It was only a moment later that he felt another burn, then nothing.

It seemed like only a moment later that he awoke. His arms and legs were secured to a metal slab, and as his eyes opened, the slab began to rise up to a vertical position. His eyes focused, and he once again saw Darkseid standing nearby, and the weasley little man. "You are finally awake," Darkseid said. "Excellent. Now, you can tell me about the spark."

"I don't know anything about a spark," Marvel said. "Even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

Darkseid smiled somewhat. "Oh, I think you will. You see, Desaad here is very good at what he does, and I think I'll let him loose on you. It won't be long before you talk. Now, the spark. The process has already begun, and is halfway through. I know it is in one of your world's heroes. I want to know who."

Marvel closed his eyes. He had a sinking feeling he knew what the tyrant was asking for, but he was not about to betray a fellow Leaguer. He tested his bonds: they were tight around his arms. "Shazam."

Lightening came from nowhere, as he reverted back into Billy Batson. Much thinner, it was an easy matter of slipping out of the restraints. The weasley man- presumably Desaad- reached out, grabbing him. Billy smiled. "Shazam."

Again, the lightening struck, coursing through Desaad as he cried out. Again, he stood in the chamber as Captain Marvel, and he shrugged off Desaad easily, standing to face Darkseid. He barely had enough time to react, as Darkseid reached forward, grabbing him by the throat and squeezing. Marvel kicked, managing to land a foot squarely into his face, but nothing happened. Again, the eyes lit up, and again there was nothing.

When he awoke the second time, he found that he was unable to move from pain. There was a tube down his throat, forcing air into his lungs, and various syringes in his arms forcing vital fluids into his body.

"Ah, you are awake," Desaad said, stepping into Marvel's field of vision. "You and I are going to spend much time together, oh yes. The great Darkseid has granted me permission to find out where the spark is. And while we are at it," he added, his face twisting into a terrible smile, "I want to know how it is that you did that wonderful pain."