"To avenge my family!" Black Adam snarled in response. "Starting with Gotham City!"
He hurled himself into the air, intent on wreaking more havoc elsewhere. Moving with the speed of Mercury, Captain Marvel intercepted him high above the city. The two men crashed together like opposing missiles. They grappled furiously in midair as their superhuman speed and momentum carried them far away from Sydney and the entire continent of Australia. They rocketed across the Pacific toward Asia.
America was less than an hour away.
Not even the Flash could keep up with the conflicting news reports coming in from all around the globe. Egypt. India. Australia. Black Adam's genocidal rampage appeared to be spawning turmoil and damage everywhere at once. The press was already calling it "World War III."
The Justice Society arrived in Sydney only to find that they were too late once more. "Damn/' Green Lantern muttered under his breath. Ever since Adam had somehow eluded them at Oolong Island, he had managed to keep one step ahead of them. A platform of glowing green flames supported his teammates as they gazed down at the devastation below. "My God. It's like the city has been through Armageddon."
"It's not the only one," Wildcat pointed out. "Wars are breakin' out between Black Adam's allies and enemies. Gonna be more fightin' soon over what's left of Bialya and Kahndaq."
Mister Terrific monitored the news reports coming in from his orbiting T-Spheres. The computerized orbs projected text and images before his eyes. "Why else do you think they're enforcing a global curfew until Black Adam is apprehended?"
"If he's caught/' Power Girl said impatiently She flew alongside the emerald platform, her scarlet cape flapping in the breeze. "So far he's been kicking the butts of everyone that's been able to catch up with him. The Global Guardians, the Doom Patrol, the Marvel Family .,
Wildcat raised his dukes. "Just give the JSA one round with that nutcase and that'll be a whole different story."
Let's hope so, Green Lantern thought. As much as he admired his friend's feisty attitude, he knew that they had one hell of a challenge before them— and that the outcome was by no means certain. Of all times for Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman to be AWOL ... ! Still, the Justice Society had been defending the world long before the Big Three came along. If we have to, we can do it again.
"You may get your wish, Wildcat," Mister Terrific said. He scanned the holographic display floating in front of him. "Black Adam's just been spotted over Hong Kong."
Green Lantern nodded at the information. Concentrating his willpower, he sent the emerald platform soaring north at supersonic speed. A translucent green bubble protected his passengers from the physical stresses of the flight. "Contact the Chinese government, Michael," he instructed Mister Terrific. "Request permission to cross their borders in pursuit of Black Adam." With the world situation already deteriorating, he didn't want to provoke Beijing any more than they had to. "And notify our allies of Adam's current whereabouts. Tell them to meet us there!"
It was time to stop Black Adam, before he could do any more damage.
CHINA.
Over four thousand miles long, the Great Wall of China stretched across the hilly landscape of northern China, winding its way atop lush green mountain ridges. The huge stone ramparts had been constructed to defend the Middle Kingdom from foreign invaders, but its ancient builders had never anticipated a menace like Black Adam.
Thisisn't working, Captain Marvel realized. Undulating hills and valleys rushed by beneath them as he and Black Adam hurled through the sky, locked in combat. The wisdom of Solomon informed him that continuing their duel could only result in yet more random destruction to any city or country that got in their way. We're too evenly matched. I need to find another way to defeat him.
A squadron of Chinese J-10 fighter planes joined the battle. Air-to-air missiles exploded against the two men, blasting them away from each other. Black Adam angrily grabbed onto the wing of one of the fighters and sent it spinning out of control into the other planes. Pilots frantically ejected from their aircraft, but a few were not able to escape in time. An enormous fireball consumed them before Captain Marvel even had a chance to go to their rescue. Smoking metal fragments spiraled toward crash landings ten thousand feet below. The Chinese casualties served as more proof that Black Adam's quest for vengeance was turning the entire world into a disaster area. Captain Marvel could only imagine the carnage in store.
Unless I stop him once and for all.
An idea occurred to him, but unfortunately it meant having to abandon the fight. How can I do that? he wondered anxiously. Black Adam started to fly away, only to find Captain Marvel blocking his path once more. A roundhouse punch, fueled by the strength of Hercules, sent Black Adam tumbling back the way they had come. The minute I leave Adam to his own devices, he'll zoom straight to America. Gotham City will he doomed. ...
Tnen a bolt of emerald fire blasted up from below, striking Black Adam in the back. He howled loudly, more in anger than in pain, and glared down at the source of the flames. "Who dares?"
Hope flared in Captain Marvel's heart as his own eyes widened at the sight below. •
Led by Green Lantern and the rest of Justice Society, a small army of costumed super heroes had gathered on top of and above the Great Wall. Besides the JSA, Marvel spotted Green Arrow, Black Canary, the Teen Titans, Plastic Man, Meta-morpho, Black Lightning, Steel, Vixen, and at least a dozen other heroes forming a defensive line along the length of the Wall. Their determined faces made it clear that every one of them intended to stop Black Adam or die trying.
"It's over, Adam," Green Lantern said. A fiery green megaphone amplified his voice. "This is as far as you go."
But could the assembled champions actually succeed in halting Black Adam's bloody crusade? Captain Marvel wished them luck, but feared that even the JSA and their allies would not be enough. Still, these reinforcements might slow Adam down long enough for Marvel to put his newly formed plan into effect. This is my chance, he realized. I have to take it.
He threw a feint at Black Adam, deliberately giving his adversary an opening. Adam took the bait and delivered a brutal undercut that sent Captain Marvel rocketing up toward the heavens—just where he wanted to go. Once he was safely out of sight, he accelerated under his own power and sped beyond the bounds of mortal reality straight toward the realm of the gods.
If he was lucky, maybe he could cut off Black Adam's powers at the source.
Adam sneered at the force assembled against him. Let them come, he thought defiantly My wrath cannot be denied. Gotham City will be nothing more than a smoking crater when I am done with it, as will any other city, hamlet, or nation that dares to harbor Intergang and its minions. Sivana too will pay, even if I have tear apart the entire world to find him.
The flying heroes came at him first. Green Lantern led the charge, followed by Power Girl, Firestorm, Bulleteer, Stargirl, Beast Boy, and others. A giant emerald fist grabbed onto Adam, holding him in place while the other heroes assailed him. Bulleteer, her sturdy body encased in living metal, ricocheted off his skull. Firestorm seared him with atomic fire. Stargirl, riding her Cosmic Rod like a teenage witch upon a broom, jolted him with a blast of stellar energy. Power Girl slammed into him with all her Kryptonian strength. Beast Boy attacked him in the form of a large chartreuse pterodactyl. Hawkgirl swung her mace against his nose.
"Get him on the ground!" Green Lantern shouted. "Then the others can pitch in."
"Yeah, let's bury his ass!" Firestorm chimed in enthusiastically. A halo of nuclear flames crackled atop his scalp. His voice betrayed him as naught but a callow youth.
Against his will, the airborne heroes succeeded in driving Black Adam into the fortified earthworks at the base of the Wall. Bricks and mortar erupted upon impact. He fought to break free of the emerald fist, but the glowing fingers squeezed him more tightly than a mummy's wrappings. Hourman, Liberty Belle, the Flash, Black Lightning, Obsidian, Vixen, and others piled onto him. Fists, electri
city, claws, and living shadows besieged him. An explosive arrow detonated against his brow. Black Canary's sonic cry7 battered his eardrums.
Another gigantic fist, this one composed of flesh and blood, hammered him into a paved parking lot at the base of the wall. A twenty-foot-tall giant, his face hidden behind a blue hood, towered among his other attackers.
"Is this your new 'Suicide Squad,' Albert?" Adam spat defiantly.
"That was a mistake," Atom-Smasher admitted. His booming voice could be heard even over the tumult of battle. "Just like the mistake you're making now. Why are you doing this? You told me you just wanted to go home!"
Black Adam didn't care what Atom-Smasher, or any other so-called hero, had to say. His vengeance was all that mattered. Exerting his strength to the utmost, he broke free from Green Lantern's flaming fist and flew straight at Atom-Smasher. His outstretched fists collided with the giant's chest, knocking him off his feet. The falling colossus crashed into an oncoming wave of heroes, including Aquagirl, Doctor Mid-Nite, Plastic Man, and others. Black Canary, Wildcat, and Green Arrow dived out of the way. Metamorpho transmuted into vapor an instant before being crushed. Raven vanished in a puff of black smoke.
"I do what I need to do," Adam said.
THE ROCK OF ETERNITY.
The Phantom Stranger, Madame Xanadu, and Zatanna were three of the most powerful mystics on Earth. Now they convened within the cavernous throne room of their deceased colleague, the wizard Shazam, as they waited upon the will of the gods.
They did not have to wait long.
The Rock of Eternity shuddered as Captain Marvel came smashing through the ceiling into the throne room. A burning brazier toppled over, spilling glowing coals across the rough stone floor. A stalactite fell from the ceiling, threatening to impale Madame Xanadu, but the dark-haired fortune teller deftly stepped aside so that the rocky spike missed her by inches. The Seven Deadly Sins of Man trembled inside their petrified shells.
Captain Marvel slammed into the floor, cracking the foundations of the hidden chamber. Steam rose from his head and shoulders. The Phantom Stranger and Zatanna stepped forward to help the hero to his feet. The force of his landing left a deep impression in the floor. Madame Xanadu, her blind eyes covered by a silk bandanna, stood to one side. A green satin dress, slit high on one side, sheathed her slender figure. She restlessly shuffled a deck of Tarot cards.
"I take it they said 'no/" she surmised.
"Emphatically," Captain Marvel confirmed. He took a moment to catch his breath. "I petitioned the gods of ancient Egypt to sever their ties to Black Adam before it was too late ... and they just laughed at me." The faces of the arrogant deities, some of whom sported the heads of beasts, were seared into his memory. Horus had been particularly obnoxious. "Apparently, he still has their blessing. They refused to make Adam mortal again. They won't send the lightning."
"Well, that sucks," Zatanna said. A reserve member of the Justice League, the celebrated show-biz magician wore a costume better suited to a Vegas stage show than the Rock of Eternity. Her trademark top hat, tuxedo top, and fishnet tights were a big hit with her fans, few of who realized that her sorcerous powers were for real. "I never did like that pantheon."
The Phantom Stranger nodded grimly. The brim of his black fedora shrouded his inscrutable face in shadows. He wore an indigo cloak over a conservative black suit and white turtleneck. A golden pendant, engraved with arcane cabalistic symbols, rested upon his chest. Not even the wisdom of Solomon held the secret of the Stranger's true nature and origins. "Is there no way to force the transformation?" he asked.
The three mystics looked expectantly at Captain Marvel. With Shazam dead, he was now the inheritor of the wizard's legacy—which, for better or for worse, included Black Adam. The renegade immortal was his responsibility.
"Let me think," Captain Marvel said.
CHINA.
John Henry Irons, better known as Steel, crouched upon the rooftop of a Ming Dynasty watchtower as he made a few last-minute adjustments to a large homemade missile. His niece, Natasha, tapped upon the keyboard of a nearby laptop. Matching sets of burnished steel armor granted the two inventors extraordinary strength and protection. An atomic-powered sledgehammer rested at John Henry's feet. A second hammer belonged to Natasha. Bright red indicator lights flashed upon the surface of the gold-plated missile.
"C.O.M.P.U.T.O. is online, Uncle John," Natasha reported. She tapped a final command into the missile via a wireless connection. The teenage prodigy took after her brilliant uncle.
"Thanks," Steel said. An S-emblem was riveted to his breastplate. A red cape paid tribute to his inspiration: Superman. "Without your help, it would've taken me months to build this weapon." Together, they hoisted the missile and aimed it at the mountainous battleground below, where Black Adam continued to hold his own against wave after wave of super heroes. Wonder Girl, of the Teen Titans, was trying to choke the villain with her enchanted lasso, while Doctor Mid-Nite hurled Blackout Bombs at Black Adam's eyes. Cyborg targeted their foe with the sonic cannon built into his arm. The Flash delivered rapid-fire punches to Adam's gut.
Steel hoped that he could end the conflict before anyone else got hurt. "Once this missile hits Black Adam, he'll inhale the AI nanites inside. They'll work their way to his brain, fuse onto his neurons, and short-circuit his motor functions." He glanced at his niece. "Ready?"
"Ready," she said bravely.
Steel had never been more proud of her. "Launch in three, two ..."
Before he could complete the countdown, however, the air shimmered between the missile and its target. Automatic sensors in his armor alerted him to a sudden distortion in the fabric of space-time. A wormhole opened up before him.
Booster Gold came flying out of the rift. The metallic gold fabric of his costume was singed in places. Behind him, through the wormhole, Steel caught a glimpse of the Invasion of Normandy....
"Booster?" he exclaimed.
Natasha did a double take. "I thought he was dead!"
"Not yet," Booster said. Zipping toward them, he reached out and yanked the missile from their grasp.
"Hey, we need that!" Natasha protested.
"Sorry, kid. I need it more than you." Executing a U-turn in the air above the watchtower, he dove back toward the wormhole. "Besides, it wasn't going to work. Trust me."
A prismatic flash of light momentarily blinded Steel, despite the protective lenses in his helmet. By the time his vision cleared, Booster Gold—and the time warp—were gone.
What in the world?
Natasha looked to him for answers. Despite her steel faceplate, the worry in her voice came through loud and clear. "What are we supposed to do now?"
Steel stared down at the battle raging dozens of feet below. He knew there was no time to construct another missile. He took his hammer in his hands and stepped toward the ledge. Rockets flared from the soles of his iron boots.
"Grab your hammer."
The Flash breathed a sigh of relief as Steel and his niece joined the fray. They pounded on Black Adam with their high-tech hammers, while he took advantage of their arrival to slow down for a second. Even the fastest man alive could get winded sometimes....
The Irons would buy them a little time, but Jay Garrick had few illusions that the armored pair would be able to put Black Adam down for the count, not after so many other heroes had already tried and failed. We're running out of reinforcements, he realized. We need a magic bullet. . . and fast.
"Tcatnoc Hsalf." A backward incantation caused a semi-transparent image of Zatanna to appear before him. The beautiful magician held her fingers to her temples. Her brow was furrowed in concentration. Her voice sounded like it was coming from a million miles away. "Flash, this is Zatanna! If you can hear me, we have one chance to stop Black Adam. Here's what you have to do...."
He listened carefully.
Hell, if that might not work, he thought when she was finished. "Up!" he called urgently to his fellow heroes. "Haul him
up, up, and away!"
Green Lantern, Steel, Natasha Irons, and Power Girl trusted him without question. Ganging up on Black Adam, the four heroes dragged the struggling villain up into the sky. Black Adam fought back mightily. A vicious kick dislodged Natasha and sent the armored teenager plunging back to earth. Flash prayed that the girl's metallic exoskeleton would spare her from any serious injury. Black Adam elbowed Steel hard enough to crack his breastplate. A luminous emerald straitjacket, generated by Green Lantern's power ring, tightened around Black Adam's torso. The strain on Alan Scott's face showed just how much willpower was required to bind the villain even for just a few moments. Power Girl had Adam's skull in a headlock.
"Idiots!" Black Adam ranted. Spittle sprayed from his lips. "You think you can hold me? Mine is the power of the gods!"
Not my God, Flash thought. Wishing he could fly as well, he watched intently as the soaring figures shrank from view. Zatanna's ghostly image took off after the others, ascending into the heavens like an angel in fishnet tights. He crossed his fingers.
"Tcatnoc Nretnal," she said, casting another spell. "Lantern, hold your course! Captain Marvel is moving to intercept!"
A red and gold blur streaked across the sky until Captain Marvel came to a halt high above China. Looking down, he spotted Black Adam and his captors rocketing toward him. All right, he thought. Here goes nothing.
"Shazam!"
As always, the magic word summoned a mystic thunderbolt, but instead of letting the lightning go through him as usual, he reached out and grabbed onto it with his bare hands.
It was like taking hold of a high-voltage cable. He flung back his head and screamed in agony as the raw magical energy jolted his entire body. The thunderbolt jerked and bucked within his hands, trying to break free from his grasp. For the first time ever, he fought against the change ... with only partial success. Traceries of electrical fire raced over his body, transforming random parts of his body back into those of Billy Batson. A leg, a shoulder, the right half of his face ... parts of an ordinary teenage boy were melded grotesquely to the imposing form of the World's Mightiest Mortal. Blue jeans, tennis shoes, and a faded red T-shirt replaced portions of Captain Marvel's colorful uniform. His entire identity was in flux. The distortions shifted and flowed so that pieces of Captain Marvel and Billy were constantly changing places.