The paradise of Themyscira was burning.
Ancient Grecian columns lay toppled in the sand. The lush jungles were trampled flat. The sky was choked with smoke.
Elias arrived not with a sonic boom, but with a crash landing. He had tracked the Red Chaos Emerald here—the Emerald of Power and Rage. It made sense. If there was anywhere on Earth that resonated with warrior spirit, it was the home of the Amazons.
But someone else had found it first.
In the center of the arena, surrounded by fallen Amazonian warriors, stood the ultimate killing machine.
Doomsday.
The grey-skinned behemoth roared, a sound that shook the island's foundations. Bony protrusions jutted from his body like jagged knives. In his massive hand, he crushed a golden shield as if it were tin foil.
And embedded in his chest—jammed crudely into the bony plating—was the Red Chaos Emerald.
It pulsed with a violent, bloody light. The Emerald wasn't just powering Doomsday; it was evolving him. His spikes were glowing red. His eyes burned with chaotic fury.
Wonder Woman was the only one left standing. She was battered, her tiara crooked, bleeding from a cut on her forehead. She held her lasso, but she looked exhausted.
"You cannot hold it!" Diana shouted at the beast. "That power will destroy you!"
"DOOM!" the monster bellowed.
He charged.
Elias stood on the ridge of the arena. He checked his status.
Solar Cycle: Night.
Target: Biological Tank.
Strategy: Heavy Impact.
Elias knew he couldn't speed-blitz Doomsday. The monster was fast enough to catch Superman. If Elias hit him at Mach 10, he might just break his own bones against Doomsday's invulnerable hide.
He needed mass. He needed grapple strength.
"Sorry, Diana," Elias muttered. "This is going to get ugly."
He reached for the Dark Gaia energy.
Transformation.
The sound of bones cracking echoed across the battlefield. Elias screamed as his body expanded. Blue fur grew shaggy and thick. Muscles swelled, tearing his shirt. His sneakers burst at the seams, revealing clawed feet.
He dropped into the arena on all fours. The ground cracked under his weight.
Elias the Werehog rose to his full height. He wasn't as tall as Doomsday, but he was wide, dense, and feral.
Wonder Woman looked at him, eyes widening. "The thief? You act as a beast now?"
"Get back," Elias growled, his voice a deep, gravelly rumble. "He's mine."
Doomsday turned. He saw the new challenger. He smelled the Chaos energy in Elias's blood.
"HRAAAGH!"
Doomsday lunged.
Elias didn't dodge. He roared back.
They collided in the center of the arena. The shockwave flattened the surrounding trees.
It was a brawl of titans. Doomsday threw a punch that could level a mountain. Elias caught it. His stretchy arms acted like shock absorbers, his muscles coiling.
"Unleashed Mode!" Elias shouted.
He stretched his other arm back forty feet, winding up like a cartoon spring, but with the kinetic force of a railgun.
COMET PUNCH.
He snapped the arm forward. His massive fist slammed into Doomsday's jaw.
CRACK.
Doomsday stumbled back, spitting a tooth. The monster looked surprised.
"You like that?" Elias snarled. "I got more."
Elias leaped. He extended his arms, grabbing two broken pillars from the edge of the arena. He wielded them like baseball bats.
He unleashed a flurry of blows. BAM. BAM. BAM. He broke the marble columns over Doomsday's head, driving the beast into the dirt.
But Doomsday adapted. The Red Emerald flared.
Doomsday caught the next swing. He ripped the pillar from Elias's grip and backhanded him.
Elias flew across the arena, crashing through a stone wall. He shook his head, spitting blue blood.
"He's getting stronger," Elias noted. "The Emerald is feeding his evolution."
Wonder Woman leaped in, lassoing Doomsday's arm. "We must remove the stone!"
"Pull him!" Elias yelled.
Diana braced herself, digging her heels into the earth. She pulled with the strength of a goddess. Doomsday roared, struggling against the magical rope.
Elias saw the opening.
He focused his energy. In the games, the Werehog had a mode called Unleashed. It turned his fur pink and increased his speed and damage.
Elias roared, and a crimson aura exploded around him.
He charged on all fours, running like a wolf.
He leaped onto Doomsday's back.
Doomsday thrashed, trying to reach behind him, but Diana held his arm taut.
"Get it out!" Diana commanded.
Elias dug his claws into Doomsday's bony hide. He grabbed the Red Chaos Emerald embedded in the monster's chest.
It burned. The Red Emerald was pure Rage. It tried to infect Elias, tried to make him lose control like the Dark form.
But the Werehog wasn't about rage. It was about will. It was about staying yourself even when you looked like a monster.
"This..." Elias grunted, pulling with all his might. His arms stretched, his biceps bulging.
Doomsday howled, the connection severing.
"DOESN'T... BELONG... TO YOU!"
RIP.
With a wet, sickening tear, Elias ripped the Chaos Emerald free from Doomsday's chest.
The monster shrank instantly. Without the external power source, Doomsday slumped, the evolution reversing. He fell to his knees, dazed.
Elias jumped off, landing heavily. He held the Red Emerald. It pulsed, hot and angry, but contained in his massive clawed hand.
He looked at Wonder Woman.
She stared at him. A beast. A monster.
"You saved us," she said, surprised.
Elias panted heavily. The sun was beginning to rise over the horizon.
Solar Cycle: Daybreak.
"Oh no," Elias groaned.
The transformation reversed. The muscle mass vanished. The fur smoothed. The claws retracted.
Elias shrank back down to his normal, sleek blue form. He fell to his knees, clutching the Red Emerald, shivering from the sudden loss of mass.
Wonder Woman walked over. She towered over him now.
"You are the one who broke into my home before," she said sternly.
"Yeah," Elias looked up, managing a weak grin. "Sorry about the cup. I'll bring it back."
Diana looked at the defeated Doomsday, then at the Red Emerald in Elias's hand.
"You fought a monster to save us from a worse fate," she said. "Perhaps... you are not just a thief."
"I'm just a guy running errands," Elias stood up, his legs wobbly. "Three down."
He looked at the horizon.
"I should go before your mother wakes up and tries to execute me."
Diana almost smiled. "A wise decision. Go. But know this, Elias... you have an ally in Themyscira now."
Elias nodded.
He tapped into the Red Emerald's power—just a little.
Chaos Control.
He vanished in a flash of red light, leaving the Amazons to clean up the mess, and leaving Doomsday to be thrown back into the Phantom Zone.