17585/Just Another Day At Work

Just Another Day At Work
Date of Scene:	07 April 2024
Location:	Atlantic Ocean Coastline
Synopsis:	A New Challenger Appears! Black Adam places a quarter on the arcade cabinet and enters the fray to test his combo skills against Cain!
Cast of Characters:	Black Adam, Cain Marko

---

Black Adam has posed:
"Are you Cain Marko? The, uh..." The young woman in the tailored black suit, a matching three-piece ensemble with matte black leather punctuating the look at her hands and feet leans in closer; slowly, body language coached and unthreatening. She whispers low. "The Juggernaut?"

They were polite enough to wait for him to finish his dinner, but Cain might immediately realize the black SUV parked at the curb, from where his finely dressed inquisitor emerged, shadowed him to this establishment; perhaps before. "My benefactor, who prefers to remain anonymous in this context for your security as well a his own, wishes to offer you profit for a measure of your time." The olive-skinned, dark haired agent speaks English well, almost without accent. It's not her first language, but plenty for whom it is that speak it far less good.

An envelope containing a noteworthy, carefully bound stack of US bills seems to have materialized on Cain's table, beside his favorite meal of the last hour, at least. "If we can trust your discretion, we'd like to offer you transport to a meeting this evening. Your safety is, of course, assured." She smiles disarmingly, charmingly; expertly. "Not that you need such assurances from -me-."

Cain Marko has posed:
It's a brave thing to disturb a man that size at dinner time. This is especially true if he's alone with a table strewn with the best Italian food one can find in this part of town. It's even more especially true if the one being disturbed is a certain Cain Marko - never mind the fact that eating for him is a force of habit and a desire to find some pleasure in simple things since....really he doesn't have to eat anymore.

So when so approached he just gives her a baleful stare only to relax a bit and squint his eyes as she addresses him by name. His identity isn't -exactly- known but there are agencies that do know it and, more importantly, individuals who might have special need of his particular blrand of services...so he listens carefully...weighing the options of dismissing the woman and returning to his meal or seriously considering what she has to say.

The envelop full of cash makes his decison that much more simple for him.

"No foolin'?" he finally rumble after taking a moment to wipe away a bit of sauce from around his scruffy jaw and broad mouth. He offers her a tight lipped smile at that point and then finaly shrugs. "Alright....you got my attention lady. Let's go.."

A moment later and he's stood, his gigantic torso cast in the deep shadows of dimly lit resturant as he towers overhead even in this more compressed form. A solid fifty is pulled from his pocket and dropped onto the table to cover his unfinished meal and he turns, ready to follow her out towards the SUV and sweeping his hand down to claim the envelop as he does so.

Black Adam has posed:
"None." The well-dressed woman affirms, smile steady as she precedes Marko's substantial wake to said transport. Within is just a driver, and the contact climbs into the back with Cain. Of course, on his passenger side, the front seat is entirely removed, with custom upholstery installed to accommodate the Juggernaut more comfortably than perhaps anything else on the consumer market.

Or perhaps more accurately-- someones -like- the Juggernaut. This team may have performed this dance before. "If you care for an after-dinner drink, or something more, you'll find an ample selection on your connecting trip." It's intentionally enigmatic, not quite teasingly so-- who would dare? It's a mystery that unfolds before Cain's very eyes in short order: they travel towards the oceanfront, up narrowing streets and through a security gate to an array of private docks, with an array of pleasure craft anchored or berthed there.

Cain is shown to a classic, wood-trimmed sailing yacht with a posh lounge within and ample seating and shade without-- retracted now for view of the stars. A skeleton crew is just as cordial as his initial escort, setting out on Marko's say-so. The vessel indeed boasts an ample and expensive liquor cabinet, along with an array of exotic snacks and fruits. Should he choose to chat up the helmsman or crew, the Juggernaut could easily find out who was footing this tab as the ship cuts straight on, directly away from land-- into the growing gloam as the sun sets behind them.

On a forsaken oil rig, a behemoth towering over either man, creaking in the surf and the sweeping winds, the King of Kahndaq awaits Cain's presence. Teth-Adam. The Black Lion of the Delta. A one-man military coup. In dark clouds gathering along the expansive, oceanic horizon, thunder rumbles deeply.

Cain Marko has posed:
"You guys got a habit of chauffering around many really big guys lady?"

This is...interesting ot say the least. "If you're trying to recruit me for some sort of dance revue, I gotta say that my fee just went up."

His dismissive quips and banter only marginally hide his intense curiosity at all of this but he manages to hold back any questions and simply allows himself to be taken for a ride and then yet another ride upon the yacht itself. Such clandestine jobs are not completey out of the question in his line of work. The hired help may simply be lacking in the specifics of whatever they were told to go collect him for and his general sense of...well...being him...means that he lacks any fear or concern for his well being.

But it's still getting a little off putting and recent events have him closely watching matters on the boat ride less a convienent sinking of the ship happen that' force him to take a long walk on the ocean floor. Not exactly his idea of a good end to an evening that had started with a nice meal.

When the question is asked and the name of 'Teth-Adam' is given to him, Cain simply goes, "Who?" and then doesn't ask again.

"Well at least it aint AIM..."

Either way, their destination is incoming. and as the oil rig begins looming into view, Cain raises an eyebrow as he takes it in and then waits to be shown to the mysterious benefactor who has so demanded his presence.

Black Adam has posed:
It's not surprising that his reputation is, perhaps, not quite the same magnitude as the Juggernaut's. The MAINSTREAM MEDIA doesn't want you to know just what's going on in Kahndaq; much less how large a problem it could be if the self-appointed once and current King weren't at least as honorable as he's proven to be.

"All the way up!" It's the final direction Cain is given, and the ship doesn't wait long before he disembarks to set off itself-- cruising towards a safe distance, or perhaps out of the way of that more literal storm, one imagines. There's signs of battle on the ascending walkways, at perhaps every platform and catwalk interlinking the massive metal pillars that vanish into the black depths below. Superhuman impacts, bullet and explosive impacts. Destruction, and repair-- the derelict is still in better shape than at any time other than, perhaps, when it was actually in service. At the top of the platform, watching the thunderstorm grow in the East, Black Adam awaits the Juggernaut with little pomp or circumstance.

His black and gold ensemble matches the stormy night, a flowing cloak tracing his movement-- and fluttering in the wind-- as he turns to face Cain. With a steady, even consideration, the man some call a mass-murdering tyrant studies the man some call a brutal mercenary. Lightning strikes the water, miles away.

"Are you as strong as they say?" Black Adam inquires simply, right out of the gate. "So few -are-. How do you keep your instincts sharp?" The queries have -weight-. The man has priorities, /concerns/ behind them. He paid a premium for a reason.

Cain Marko has posed:
So...Cain doesn' t have a good poker face. When you catch him with something surprising, it is clearly readable and it shows across his expressive features as clear as the clearest afternoon sky. It's even more readable to the sharp gaze of a man wit the mein and power of personality as Black Adam as no doubt he's well capable of reading the visual language revealed by posture and subtle movements of a persons facial features.

In Cain's case it's writ clear across his face as he stares Black Adam down with slightly wider eyes and focuses his attention on that golden lightning bolt emblazoned across the kings torso as he turns to face him. He's seen that before. Fought that before. But it wasn't this individual by any stretch of the imagination.

"Wha.." he manages to get out after a pause and then he answers with steadfast confidence, though still marred by him attempting to make sense of this all. "Stronger."

That declared, Cain finally seems to regain his footing and he gestures with both of his massive arms to indicate the entire rig and the signs of the hastey repairs, reinforcements and battles that have taken place here. "Th'hell is going on here. This some sort of a trick? A joke? I thought your costumes was red....."

He slowly begins moving, in a slow wide circle in an almost lumbering prowl as he studies the other figure. "...Instincts? Depends.. Many things can hone a mans instincts. Experience. Memory. Risk..."

At the end he finally pauses and then asks bluntly, "You wanna get to the point? You paid a lot of money just to ask me questions and try and strand me on this rig. That won't work...."

Black Adam has posed:
Stronger. The King of Kahndaq's initial reaction is to laugh, soundlessly, a moment's animation to granite. Disbelief; anticipation, an odd cocktail. At the further observation, Black Adam's sternly analytical expression scarcely falters, shifting ever so slightly more towards the 'frown' side of the stoic scale. "You would do well not to equate -me-... to /them/." He doesn't have to raise his voice to express the distaste. Not more than one decibel.

Cain makes a request of his own, and Black Adam graciously indulges the inquiry with immediacy. "You will do battle as if your life depends on it, and receive the payment on the left." A scant handful of long strides, gliding as much as walking, brings Black Adam to a waterproof, reinforced case set upon a simple, metal framed table bound to a railing.

As he opens it, two jewelery casks are revealed. On the left, a smaller one, and as it is unlidded Cain would see an assortment of fine gemstones and small bars of silver and gold, purity stamped and emblazoned with the sigil of the lion. On the right, of course, is a notably larger case. "Triumph, and you will have the payment on the right."

A flourish, a step back, and the Juggernaut is left to peruse a moment as the terms are further clarified. "You will not be killed, unless you seek to kill me. Nor need you fear stranding, this is not a test of my wrath." The matter of fact cool with which Black Adam approaches the topic suggests he may not know who he is dealing with; or may simply match Marko in well-earned confidence.

"Do we have an accord?"

Cain Marko has posed:
"Trouble in the family, eh?"

That disdain....that distaste...reveals quite abit to Juggernaut and that confused look on his face drifts away towards a vaguelly bemused and slightly smarmy smile. The more information the better and the acknowledgement that there is a connection to a past foe Juggernaut's might has been tested against is something worth filing away for future use.

As the reasons for him being here and the terms of the challenge are set, he turns his attention to the indicated payment and surveys it with an appraising eye. While certainly a pile of cold currency would be easier to grasp and quantify in one glance, it's clear to him that there is indeed great value in what's being offered to him and, beyond that, his curiousity has been piqued.

"Tth. Can't be a coincidence. Hercules and now you... If I didn't know any better I'd say somebody out there was trying to tel lme something... Alright.. You keep your word about making sure I get back to solid ground...I won't try and kill ya. But I gotta warn you.." he makes a casual idle gesture to the rig, "Where I come from, the type of folk I deal with .. this oil rig aint gonna last very long unless you got some vibranium or something up here. .."

There's a pause and he grins, "Is so...I guess it might last slightly longer.."

There's a flash of red light and a bonfire of ruby red energy as the crimson cosmos reaches forth at Cain's command and envelops his body. His form swells, bulks up, enlarges and within the blink of a mortals eye, The Juggernaut is there in full regalia and full physical immensity.

Cyttorak's avatar reaches up and laces his fingers together, stretching his now bridge support cable thick arms and cracking knuckles with a sound like boulders breaking and squioas snapping. "Alright then.." he says almost boredly, "Lemme see what you got... ."

Black Adam has posed:
"Family is not at issue."

Black Adam clarifies flatly; and in the loosest sense of the word. Though Cain certainly gets another reverberating undertone of disdain-- the same clue, stoic in its repetition. For those with a sense for magic, like Adam himself, the following instants are quite the spectacle. Cain channels his own tremendous power as the avatar of a deity, and Black Adam, well-- he's already transformed, but the powers of six surge within him.

Current burns white and gold behind his eyes, colors the trim of his costume in luminescent, crackling hues as his muscles flex, and his frame stretches, readies. "Good." It's the single syllable the Juggernaut's well-earned hubris illicits. Black Adam cares little for this arena!! ... not that the Guardian of Kahndaq intends to keep the fight contained -here-. Not once he realizes what Cain is capable of. And perhaps -because- of the Juggernaut's wild arrogance, that moment comes quickly.

The Flash Family of Heroes might be alarmed at how quickly Black Adam closes the distance with his 'sparring' partner, but at least the initial hit is restrained. After a fashion. It's a blow that would vaporize a human's torso, kill or maim a lesser metahuman even, but in this context? Restraint. Just as quickly, the resilience is felt.

Just as quickly, Black Adam brings his weight, his ability to build velocity in flight even at this altitude to bear in a resounding missile impact uppercut. In theory, Juggernaut could reach escape velocity like this, in actuality, the first -real- clash of a profoundly terrifying bout is likely to unfold many meters above the platform, amid surging clouds and framed by bolts of lightning, as Teth-Adam rockets recklessly into a wild ascent led by both braced, irresistable fists.

Cain Marko has posed:
Indeed, he wouldn't be much of 'A Juggernaut' if that's all it took to get him off of his feet. He wouldnt' be much of a mega-brick at all, for that mater.

But something else has played a part here and that is experience. His tussles with a certain Shazam, his clashes with a Last Son of Krypton... He's not without some understanding of the potential force here and despite his casual attitude and borderline dismissive boredom to his gait... He'd been ready and steeling himself from the moment he caught sight of that icon and began verbally pressing The King in Black for confirmation of the connection.

Thus, though not -literally- immovable in the same sense that he is unstoppable....when readied, against most blows, he practically is.

The first blow, restrained as it is for Black Adam, barely quakes his body though a visible shockwave rips and rings out from around the two titans. Juggernaut merely grins, expression shadowed by his helm save for his bright teeth.

"Heeeeey...you--"

He begins.. and then the second blow lands.

This one drowns his words out with a thunderous impact that no doubt can be heard from miles away as the shockwave blasts upwards and Juggernaut's titanic body leans backwards, gigantic form bracing against the force of the blow and the entire oil rig already quaking and groaning as the force is distributed through it, warping the platform they stand on..

"Wow...nice punch!"

Black Adam is already out of range from the giant as he climbs upwards into the air and Juggernaut rights himself fully, shaking his head from the ringing within the dome of his helmet before starting to step forward fro the sinkhole formed from the impact.

"Stay down here, twinkle toes! If you want a real match you can't be dancin' around like some fly buzzin' in my ears.!" he shouts, complimenting Black Adam's power and then immediately swerving into a dismissive taunt in the same moment.

Black Adam has posed:
"Impressive."

Black Adam soars skyward even though Cain is not sent reeling into the ascent, but not so far-- if just as swiftly. He glides in a statuesque pose in a full three-hundred sixty degree survey of the adversary below. The oil rig creaks, metal sheeting falls below, crashing through levels and into the surf, its chop increasing in amplitude moment to moment.

Then, he indulges the Juggernaut's demand. Not once, not twice. It's hard to count the sudden fists, knees, and elbows that fall from the sky, as if from all angles, nearly all at once-- it might seem incessant, but in truth, it lasts the blink of an eye.

Perhaps -just- long enough for Cain to get the tactic's measure, before Teth-Adam is coming in low. Crouched to Cain's knee level, the Champion of Kahndaq slams bodily in at the behemoth, an impossibly strong shoulder aligned in a slamming tackle.

The creaking metal, dented then shorn by the force of his simultaneous land and lunge, seems to catch up to the motion a moment later, deforming in afterimage of the deific warrior's passage. The intensity only builds as the ancient combatant draws upon his instincts, unleashes his fury; this one can take it.

Cain Marko has posed:
The sound of each impact is like a machine gun rapid fire eruption of missile impacts and explosions. All in rapid succession as Juggernaut lets out a grunting, "Hn!" from the rising force of the blows that whirl in from all angles in a blur of movement that the untrained eye can't possibly keep up with.

But inexorable durability is his call to fame and while a lesser behemoth would have been pulped to barely conscious awareness by the blitz of Black Adam, Juggernaut's armor and flesh repel the impacts with thudding roars and metallic echoes as the fists land home throughout his body. The battering forces pull out a grimace from him, a squinting of his eyes and a gritting of his teeth but he weathers it.

Defensive turtling will only get one so far however but at the height of his power, The Juggernaut can afford to wait until an opening of the onslaught presents itself ...and when it does he's ready, turning his body -into- the incoming shoulder charge and pressing forward with his inexorable momentum. The trick here being that he's no less unstoppable if he were traking a slight stroll then if he were charging across a landscape at hundreds of miles an hour. A dirty trick, some might say, but...what is Juggernaut if not a cheat code for bricks?

Thus the shoulder charge slams right into the giants outstretched palm, bringing Black Adam to a stop in mid flight as Juggernaut pushes back against him and leans forward and takes a slow heavy step. Then another. The oil rig groans and tilts, leaning from the pressure of the goliaths weight as his free hand clenches into a fist, knuckles poopping again and massive arms swelling and distorting his arm bands from the bulking up.

"Thanks for that, chum! I hate having to chase down my food! So lets see how you handle my Sunday Punch!" he quips before bringing his massive arm around and up in a thunderous swing visibly warping and distortting air and ground alike as it bears in with strength to rock The Hulk.

Juggernaut lacks the super speed, machine gun like tactics of Shazam, Adam, Superman and others. He's often just got his 'one' swing to rely on which means if they're going for it with the dial at the eleven, he pushes his punches to come in at the twelve.

Black Adam has posed:
Caught. Overpowered. Or is he? For most, it would be a deadly situation. The Juggernaut's grip clenches into Black Adam's shoulder, and the behemoth's free fist winds up. The Champion of Kahndaq's opposite hand comes around even faster, however, his own vise-like grasp ripping one digit free, enough to wrench and twist his body back into near-ground flight even as the Sunday Punch fires outwards.

The Juggernaut's fist glances off Teth-Adam's braced, crossed arms at the armored, golden bracers as he soars backwards-- partly of his own volition. 'Glances' is a severe understatement: The rig rumbles, and the wind produced by the contacts supercedes the gathering storm. A howling rush fills both titans' ears. Agony seethes in Black Adam's limbs, but the ancient warrior does not miss a beat.

Even before the stroke is completed, Black Adam seeks to control Cain's outstretched limb-- his gravity-defying force adds additional wrench to the tensile strength of corded musculature as he seeks to 'encourage' Marko's Sunday Punch into a spinning finisher: one which could see Cain leveraged by his own limb, spun perhaps seven-hundred and twenty degrees, and thrown clean -through- one of the platform's largest reinforcing struts where it protrudes into their battleground.

Cain Marko has posed:
That a mere glancing blow sent agony through Black Adom is telling. Six deities he may have to Juggernaut's one...but his one is not merely a 'deity' but more of an inefffable magical principality. Only one, perhaps, but the one to match the six. Pehaps his has bigger biceps.

Also, telling, is Black Adam's recovery. The very fact that he was able to turn it into a glancing blow. The very fact that hew as able to recover quickly enough to throw Cain's momentum back against him. This is not an easy feat nor one that is yielded to many foes but in this instance Black Adam's technical skill reveals itself. It's not merely brute strength that will solve these riddles and Juggernaut lets out a loud, "Whoulfgh!" as he's pulled forward, overhead and then slung around like a slign shot into the target in question.

His body shreds through it like so much wet tissue, distorting and ripping apart the strut and sending a massive towers of metal reeling and lurching and tumbling apart as Juggernaut snatches an arm out at the very last second to grab hold of the side of the rig to avoid being sent hurtling off into the ocean itself.

"You wanna rigged fight by stagin' out in the middle of the ocean on this flimsy piece of paper, eh?!" he shouts, furious as the tonnage of his body slowly pulls apart the side of the platform he dangles from as more debris rains and falls down about him.

After a second, more passes, he releases his hold there and drops down violently to towards the next level down from the top of the platform to land in a crouched pose not far from where the ships first docked to the masive rig.

"Now yer makin' me mad..."

Black Adam has posed:
Pain is transitory. Life is pain. Teth-Adam yields nothing to it, even if the deflection itself would have shorn the arms from lesser beings. It's likely that Black Adam could have capitalized, thrust Juggernaut into the deep if that were his intention, but once more he surveys the opponent from just beyond easy lunging reach, gliding through the air as Cain rights himself.

"I shall speak plainly..."

The Guardian of Kahndaq's rich voice projects in forthright call from beyond the incomplete metal roof over Cain's head-- instants before that roof collapses, quite willfully, as a panel of it is ripped clean off its moorings and /slammed/ down in an arc aligned with the Juggernaut's field of view. This is what at this level of conflict could be classified as a classic feint; in some bizarre wonderland, at least.

Nearly the same moment, the blurring black and gold of Teth-Adam's form bolts to the Juggernaut's rear arc, a super-powered one-inch punch driving in for the Avatar's lower spine, nothing withheld. "There is a desert island a quarter mile that way." He's helpfully punching to indicate this, polite man that he is. "And I did not expect you to be so difficult to launch there."

Cain Marko has posed:
A feint indeed - and an ironic one as Juggernaut's next consideration was ripping half of thep platform apart and balling it up into a makesihft weapon .

"Mm?" he grunts, turning away and so utterly vulnerable to the sudden strike right into the depths of his back.

INdeed, not immovable though few are those who an exert enough force to move him, even when he's caught off guard like this. Teth-Adam qualifies for that list and the explosive impact roars into the giants ears and ripples through his body - sending ihim flying from the collapsing rig and hurtling into the air with an astonished and furious roar..

The sea blurs udner him, the air roars around him, and then he explodes violently into the rocky shores of the emptied isle with the force of a small meteor. A canyon rips as his body cleaves through stone, soil and barren trees ...eventually coming to a stop as stone and dirt rain violently around him and crash in chaotic formations upon the island and back into the sea.

His eyes are squinted shut and then fly open, flashing red with building rage as he slowly sits up to look across the churning waters towards the distant siolhuette of the collapsing oil rig. .

".....This guy is reaallllllly pushin' it..."

Black Adam has posed:
A single plume of smoke rises on the horizon, drifting into the clouds half-obscuring moon and star, but Black Adam has already arrived on the island as Cain plucks himself off, hovering a few feet off the ground-- just more than eye level with the mountainous avatar.

"Am I?" There is no derision to the inquiry; neither is their compassionate sympathy. It's a dispassionate assessment, bereft of the simmering emotion beneath the Juggernaut's helm and within his heart. "Does that mean you wish to concede?" Shifting sidelong without taking his eyes from Marko, Teth-Adam crosses his arms and waits.

The crash of metal dislodged by their warpath is lost now amid the churning surf, the rolling thunder. From the cooling summer night, rain begins to pour; Black Adam pays it absolutely no mind. "You will find me difficult to destroy, Champion of Cyttorak-- but much about this world deserves to quake at its very foundations, would you not agree?"

Cain Marko has posed:
His answer is sudden.

A loud *KATHOOOOOOM* ripples through the area as Juggernaut brings both of his hands around to clap them together with a thunderous explosion of force that kicks off a seismic event upon the earth and distorts the air into a tremendous shockwave that roars and ripples out from him widening the canyon caused by his impact and kicking up an ever expanding force wave that shreds land and air as it rockets towards Black Adam. Said shockwaves have broken valleys and toppled buildings before so the speed and force of its power is unquestionable though for all its madcap energy and furious force...Juggernaut is simply grinning.

"Who said anything about trying to 'destroy' you? I'm tryin' to get paid here!"

Black Adam has posed:
*KATHOOOOOOM*
*KRAKA-BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM*

The sounds come in quick succession. The Juggernaut claps, and Black Adam claps. Both men are entirely and emphatically enthused by one another's performance thus far. One shockwave roars upwards and fore, the other rages downward and aft, if we pretend nautical terms apply to islands, and don't want to reason out the compass points just now.

Displaced air, concussive force meet, surge into and around every roiling edge of the convergent waves, and then -erupt- omnidirectionally. The island's lone tree is not torn out by its roots, but shorn from them-- thrown in a direction not totally in line with its stump. The roots, after all, come out a moment later as sand and rock, driftwood and shell all return to the sea.

From the center of the small, isolated acreage the land itself sunders. Rather than a small island with rolling dunes, sparse grasses, and a solitary tree--- Cain now stands in a tidal plain, the sea rushing in around his ankles, as Teth-Adam hovers above him, his crimson-and-gold touched midnight cloak still fluttering wildly in the winds.

"Excellent." The sound may reach Cain after Black Adam does as he nigh-on-translocates, descending into a titanic haymaker. Clearly, he's intent on enlarging the crater further.

Cain Marko has posed:
Arms comparable to the steel girders used to support skyscrapers come rocketing upwards, crossing over head to let the haymaker come crashing down upon them with force that could only be described as beyond landscape altering. Indeed, the crater about the two does widen as the force exerted by the ancient warrior ripples down into the earth and roars outwards in every direction to crash downward into the depths of what remains of the island landscape. No doubt earthquake warning systems have long ago been registering the blows of these fighters and this latest impact is no different.

Juggernaut doesn't bow, nor bend to the force though his body strains and quakes before beginning to push back against Black Adam. Another taunt quips into the air, showing Cain's in no degree tiring yet and there's more the Exemplar of Physical Power has yet to tap into.

"You been nailin' me good with these love taps, chum! Anybody else would be pulp on the ground, I wager! Now lemme try a turn again myself!"

There is a final surge of force as he pushes his arms up and splays them out towards his side in a vast sweeping gesture to repel and push the ancient king back.

Faster then something his size should be, he's following up on that and on him again.....lunging in and then pivoting as he twists at the waist like some enormous baseball player coming inf or the swing.. .following up on his shove with both of his own hands clasped together and hurtling around in a haymaker of his own. That distortion of the air and warping of the ground once more occurring from the force of his movements as his limbs swing in, filling up Black Adam's field of vision like a semi truck being hurtled at him with ever Richter scale measurable force.

Black Adam has posed:
"It is not restrained." Then again, the endorsement is. Like Cain, Black Adam has not pushed his limits, and like the Juggernaut-- he seems to be quite enjoying this tussle. If with an icy sheen to his own enthusiasm.

Once more, their exchange becomes a strangely contrasted mirror of strength and motion; the chaotic and practiced threat of each move the hulking giant makes... and the nigh-perfection of the smaller, more tactical warrior's own form.

"Few can keep such a pace." It's high praise; and boastful, at the same time. The reversal would throw most to their backs, or into the sea-- it prompts Teth-Adam to float with the force, back into the air. He scarcely leaves the ground, and perhaps despite the rush, he might have evaded upwards or away-- but that choice is not made.

The locomotives collide, and the sea again retreats from the island. Outwards from the deified men a miniaturized tsunami rages into the surf, Black Adam driven to one knee beneath his own bracing, impervious arm. Like a triphammer, the hand bracing that block releases, and the Guardian of Kahndaq coils even lower, unleashing a flurry of blows on the Avatar of Cyttorak's invulnerable kidneys.

"You are... /worthy/ of my art." Black Adam sounds at once surprised-- and simply satisfied. As Cain might have gathered, to one-man military coup did his research before extending this eccentric invitation.

Cain Marko has posed:
The repeat blows war against the giants legendary invulnerability... but though seemingly impervious to harm The Juggernaut is not impervious to being forced to acknowledge the thunderous force being applied against him and while his biology is seemingly sustained and shielded by the enchantment that protects him... biology it yet is and repeated shots to his kidneys is far from his list of 'fun' experiences, especially when coming in from such a source.

It forces him to pull back and away from the king, reaching a huge arm down to shield his sides from the blows and then to stagger backwards to regather his wits about him before bringing a massive arm up once again as he re-engages on the offense.

"I'll take that as a compliment!" he rumbles before swinging once more, this time aiming to grasp hold of Black Adam's head and palm it into his immense grip and squeeze tightly should he lay hold of him.

"But you should know, -nothing- stops The Juggernaut!" catchphrase. One of them at least.

And for all his brutish nature, Teth-Adam should also pick up on this..the giant knows -how- to fight. It's not just wild swinging going on here. There's a degree of training here coupled with the experience at using this vast strength.

Said skill attempts to exert itself here as, if his grip lands hold and Teth-Adam fails to invoke that speed to evade him, the giant will attempt to swing him into the air and then leap with violently with him to try and slam him skull first back to the ground with force to shake the island to its bedrock.

Black Adam has posed:
"Indeed." Quite complimentary. Unwilling to break off the fray, Black Adam simply punches Juggernaut back with unbidden fervour until the armored meathook clasps around his face. Blinded, bound quite taut, and then hurtling skyward, there is no panic.

Adrenaline surges with the endorphins of satisfaction; this, truly, is a bout to hone an art long since polished to a sheen beyond mortal bounds. Cain leaps, Black Adam tenses, and the two men do not descend-- for a moment, they hang in midair. Unstoppable opposes indomitable. Magic surges, lightning crackles, Teth-Adam's eyes burn beneath Cain's grip.

Abruptly, with a *KRAAAAAAAAAAAAK* the sound barrier breaks and both combatants shoot -through- the cloud cover, Black Adam writhing in the Juggernaut's grip, ignoring the pain and blindness, to meet that upwards momentum by swinging around into a downward-arcing axe of an aerial roundhouse. One, or both of them will -then- be hurting groundward at an even greater velocity, and even if Cain is dislodged, the King of Kahndaq's features would be distorted by angry, bruising red channels from that vise. It is -far- from nothing, one must admit.

Cain Marko has posed:
Well -that- didn't work. Fliers. Figures.

Had he simply charged at him and lunged in a leaping charge then that manuever wouldn't have worked but by getting fancy and underestimating Black Adam's reaction time he now finds himself being dragged upward without the footing to be able to pull Black Adam back down or prevent the take off whatsoever.

See what you get for being creative? Sometimes simple is best.

Simple like squeezing more and more. His strength surges without seeming end to it in sight. While Hulk's claim to fame is, of course, his seeming limitless strength increase the natuer of Juggernaut's powers are not to far form being adjacent to that in its own way. You don't want to egg him on to try and invoke more and more power or force. Determination and Cyttorak's will, will continue to fuel his avatar.

But Black Adam is on a tier all his own and while Juggernaut would have long crushed a lesser opponent, Black Adam yet resists and an instant later there is a defeaning crack and a roll of thunder that parts the clouds and rips apart the surface of the seas as Black Adam's strike crashes home into the giant.

He releases, deliberately at that, versus attempting to hold tight from the blow and the force seperates them both and sends them hurtling like javelins towards the island below. Thankfully. He could have easily been sent tumbling into the sea so that was a gamble.

What is unquestioned is the force of his impact. It sunders and caves in the other half of the island and kicks off yet another earthquake that sends the waves soaring high into the sky as the shockwave ripples outward. There is a flash of red as well as either by the force of the blow, impact, the interaction of magic, or all of the above, the seals binding his helmet to his armor are shorn free and the domed helm goess pinning off wildly to lodge itself into a distant boulder. Cain's scruffy red haired, unshaven, brutish features are revealed now. His eyes are wide and then squinted from the stunning force of the impact...but then they pop open and he rolls over and begins pushing up towards his knees.

Black Adam has posed:
A gamble... or an intentional application of angle. Blinded or no, Black Adam's muscle memory feeds him near perfect information on his orientation, on their vector of travel. He Just Knows(tm). In kicking the Juggernaut back to Earth, Teth-Adam fully anticipated being gripped, part and parcel to that decimating landing.

That he's released does, indeed, not alter his ultimate return trip: Fists in front of him, inverted, the King of Kahndaq rockets towards ground zero; towards Cain Marko. Blood trickles from one of Black Adam's ears, from the opposite eye, an angry welt announcing Juggernaut's grasp like the aftermath of a toontown slapfight.

The Champion of Kahndaq lands in a punch, somehow reorienting to a supervillain landing in a three-point, shockwave inducing rush of ocean spray and sand in the moments before he lashes out for the knelt Juggernaut's jaw and hits the ground himself.
"Yield." A tap out, and the King of Kahndaq stops hitting. Any other response, and it's a recurring triphammer of driving rights, seeking to punch them both towards the planet's core. Relatively speaking, mind you.

Cain Marko has posed:
He was -almost- about to suggest calling it a draw. It's not fear of losing. No he's too arrogant and sure of his power to admit that is possible in a purely physical confrontation. Rather...it's the potential of others getting wind of this and wanting to get involved. With blows that are triggering seismometers back on land, it's only a matter of time before the right or wrong combo of people show up to see what's going on and Juggernaut didn't begin this evening with the intention of trying to take on The Avengers or League. Teth-Adam may not care or be newly arrived to matters so not have the same grasp on the situation with metahumans as Juggernaut does but it's in the back of his mind.

So he -almost- begins speaking...only for Black Adam's fist to slam into his jaw as he begins to right himself. His gargantuan strength surges, his invulnerability kicks in and he braces himself and holds his ground, avoiding being driven back to far despite the missile detonation like force and roar of the blow.

But then the other hits come in.

His teeth grits as he tries to pull back to his feet, weathering the blows as they ring against his armor and flesh and drive another ever growing crater into the island towards its very foundation. His eyes flash with growing anger, crackling crimson energy from them as he's battered down and down and down.

Until he suddenly surges inward, finding an opening to a strike and pushes his immense body forward from the crater and into the attack, reaching forth to catch hold of one of Black Adam's incoming fists and push back against it. The clash of their strength rips yet -another- warning quake and tsunami into the area as Juggernaut pushes in on the ancient king and brings anothe fist up for another single strike:

"The JUGGERNAUT DOESN'T YIELD!"

His fist comes hurtling in again, blurring towards Teth-Adam like a falling meteor as the giant again unleashes his so called patened Sunday Punch, fueled by a sudden burst of rage.

Black Adam has posed:
Their thoughts are in a similar place-- both in how to draw their engagement to a close without creating a wasteland to announce the marathon struggle, and in the pride that drives him to further displays of prowess. Juggernaut meets his punch, and as the intense hurricane rushes past his face, Teth-Adam drives an elbow into the behemoth, center mass. Juggernaut winds up with his mighty strike, and Black Adam reciprocates the former gesture once more: he hammers his own punch home into it, dead center.

For a moment, as the King of Kahndaq spirals off and upwards from the sheer force of that blow, the pair are surrounded in a waterspout of their own tremendous making. Righting himself a few meters above-- after correcting by descending to that height-- Black Adam shakes out the arm that took the hit and considers Cain evenly.

"Perhaps a draw, then; with an eye towards a continuing and fruitful relationship, rather than maximizing your profit tonight." An offer, a test, a curiosity; in the end, does it matter? "It may be there is more to accomplish here than combat training worth our time." Wisdom is a superpower, baby.

Cain Marko has posed:
He certainly lacks the 'super power' of wisdom....

But he does have something else: Cunning. To his eyes and ears, he can read between the lines and see the attempt to save face and offer a compromise that lets them both keep their pride and also look to the future. A future that is, ironically, lining up with something that he's been thinking heavily on of late as well.

But he doesn't answer immediately, deliberately allowing some seconds to tick and in part his boiling blood has something to do with that. Cyttorak doesn't want the battle to end. The urge for his avatar to grow more relentless, stronger and endlesly destructive is there and it's strong. But Cain Marko is, in the end, the master and there's something else that governs his way of thinking. Greed.

"Yeah. Yeah.." he finally rumbles. "Yeah...that sounds about right."

The very fact that the two men have unleashed such destruction on each other and the landscape around them and yet have the ability to be civil says volumes as well. Juggernaut gestures absently to indicate the wreckage and ruin of the island, "I told you that oil rig wasn't going to last half a minute. Who else did you take on there? And how'd you know I have anything to do with Cyttorak? You said that name."

His own nature may make him a walking nuclear furnace of magical energies but his ablity to wield it or understand it outside of his own capacity is fairly nil and so Black Adam's own nature eludes him though he does add, "...You're tougher then the guy in red that's for sure. I had him on the ropes pretty fast..."

Black Adam has posed:
Diplomacy is part of the art of war and rule; not that it would ever be highlighted as Black Adam's foremost gift. Still, Cain is a personality the ancient warrior can understand, even relate to. After all... "You are not the only conduit of divine power here." As enlightening answers go, it's not much. It is, however, a tantalizingly enigmatic morsel of simple fact.

Black Adam descends, and offers a hand. To be cordial is the least he can do; Cain Marko did nothing more or less than exactly as he was asked to do. The dramatic combat was not only desired, but actively sought. Even the Black Lion lacks sufficient mad ego to twist that approval.

"There is a great deal we should discuss; somewhere far less hostile." The rain redoubles to a sheeting downpour, the ocean rushes back in to reclaim the diminished island, the vibrato of rolling thunder reverberates ever closer. They are nearly at the center of that growing storm, now. There's something proverbial in that.

Cain Marko has posed:
His helmet is a lost cause at this point gu no matter. He can make another one from basically anything he puts his hands on. A quirk of his nature.

As the hand is strtched forth, Cain accepts it without hesitation and gives it a firm shake. His eyes narrow a touch at the mention of divine power and he then rumbles, "If the other guy is any hint...I wager you got some tricks up your sleeves you didn't call on.."

Being struck by magical lightning was something that lingers in the back of his mind.

"Alright...sure. Yeah we got things to discuss. But first - you gonna give me a ride back to land or do I gotta add an undersea uber cost to invoice I need to give you for all this?"