Natural Disaster.
Once Hal heard the footsteps of the Tretch King, he covered Marla in a protective Dome made purely of Cosmic Energy.
Marla did not protest.
She was well aware that she was only there to observe and to see how Hal dealt with an opponent against whom he would have to go all out.
Till date, she had never witnessed such. Every opponent Hal faced in her presence was usually defeated in a relatively easy fashion.
She had of course heard that he had received a beatdown from the possessed Melinda, however, having never witnessed the fight, she was not convinced.
Hal had told her many times that while he was resourceful, he was far from being the invincible expert she had taken to see him as.
It was not that he was being modest. He was confident that, given time, he would surpass them all, but in there lay the real issue,
Time.
Marla, however, insisted that the images she had of him, while great, was well within his capabilities.