by Stan Lee
Zodiac energy.
He reached out and took hold of the first cord, which belonged to Liam. Liam knew what Steven was doing; they’d practiced this power-sharing technique in training sessions. The Ram’s power washed over and through Steven, strengthening both of them.
Then Steven reached out and made contact with Dog.
“Hey!” Dog said, almost breaking Steven’s concentration. “What’re you doin’?”
“Yeah—oh!” That was Horse’s voice. “I know. I know what this is. This is how they beat us last time.”
When Steven opened his eyes, she was staring at him.
“The Tiger,” Horse continued. “It can link the Zodiac powers. Bring them together.”
“Yeah,” Steven replied. “And when it does…”
He pressed his shoulder against the truck. Horse saw what he was doing and strained her muscles. Dog grunted, frowned, and pushed, even harder than before.
With a heavy scraping noise, the truck began to move.
“Liam?” Steven called.
Glowing like a comet, Liam sailed through the air again. When he struck the truck this time, it lurched and wobbled, its outer wall scraping against the pavement.
Steven frowned. The truck had barely moved a few inches—not far enough to clear the traffic lane.
Then Roxanne was at Steven’s shoulder. “Let me in on this jam,” she said.
He smiled.
Roxanne stepped back and let out a massive, wide-angled sonic cry. The whole back half of the truck began to vibrate like an enormous tuning fork. Steven could feel the vibrations in his fingers, lifting the truck slightly off the pavement.
The more we work together, he thought, the stronger we are.
Five minutes later, the back half of the truck lay at a right angle to its front half, freeing up two lanes. The cars honked and roared past, frantic to escape the wild, pelting storm.
Dog leaped up onto the truck, yelling down at the cars, “You’re welcome, losers!”
Steven let go of the truck. His arms were sore, his fingers bleeding. But the job wasn’t finished yet.
“Thank you,” he said to Horse.
Slowly, she turned away from the truck to face him. Steven tried to read her expression. Horse had fought against them in the past, had taken Roxanne hostage and helped Maxwell in his dangerous plans. But Steven had always thought there was something decent about her. He’d even wondered if, out of all Maxwell’s agents, Horse might join his team someday.
She lunged forward and kicked him in the face.
Steven fell back, stunned. He struck a puddle on the ground, and water splashed into his nose. He coughed, whirled, and looked up.
Horse looked furious.
“You humiliated us,” she said. “You think we need you to come in and clean up our mess?”
“It—” He coughed up water. “It kind of looked like it.”
She kicked him again, in the stomach.
Then Dog was next to her, looking down and laughing.
“Big scary Tiger,” Dog said.
“Shut up,” Horse snapped, turning to her partner. “I’m not too happy with you, either.”
Steven scrambled to his feet. By that time, Liam, Duane, and Roxanne had gathered behind him. Liam stepped forward, smiling a dangerous smile. He balled up his fist and stared straight at Dog.
“Care to see how tough I am, mate?”
Dog growled.
Horse cast her eyes from Dog over to the Zodiac team. She seemed disgusted with all of them, as if the entire world had disappointed her.
“Come on,” she said.
She grabbed hold of Dog’s hand and leaped toward the two lanes of cars rushing down the reopened highway. They sailed through the air together, arcing over the truck to land on the roof of a moving car.
The car lurched as its driver struggled to keep control. But by that time, Horse and Dog had separated, each of them surfing on top of a different car. As Steven watched, they leaped from car to car, hopping down the highway until they were lost in the storm.
Steven gathered his team together. They retreated against the truck, watching through the thick sandstorm as the cars streamed by.
“Did we—” Duane paused, coughing. “Did we do it?”
“We cleared the road,” Steven replied. “But it’s too late. The storm’s about to reach full force, and there’s gonna be massive damage.” He gestured at the cars. “A lot of these people will be caught out in it.”
Roxanne flinched from a high gust of wind. “I’m not crazy about being caught out in it.”
“Is there anything else we can do?” Liam asked.
“No,” Steven said. “There’s only one hope now.”
He looked up, shielding his eyes from the fury of the storm. The cloud was directly overhead, a thick mass of water and sand. It blocked out the sun, blanketing the whole area in a gray-black shroud.
Then, as they watched, a light shone down. The cloud began to part.
“Jasmine,” Steven said.
JASMINE HOVERED in the sky. She spread her arms, glowing brightly, and the storm receded from her touch.
Then she surged with power. The Dragon whipped its spectral head through the air, scattering the storm cloud with a sweep of its tail. It hissed, breathing fire; then it coiled up again, winding itself tight around its human host.
On the ground, Steven felt a nudge. He looked over to see Liam frowning at him.
“Should we help her, aye?” Liam asked.
Steven gestured up at the sky. “I think this is her show now.”
Jasmine blazed white-hot, stronger than before. Then she reached out her arms and clenched her fists. The cloud, the enormous gray-black mass, seemed to reverse course, pouring into her arms and legs, her mouth and eyes. She tensed, taking in all its elemental fury.
Steven closed his eyes and concentrated. Once again, he reached out with his consciousness—and touched Jasmine’s mind.
It’s her show, he thought. But maybe I can see if she’s okay.
Steven’s power, the Tiger, reached out for its big sister. The Dragon’s touch was like electricity, like the empty void of space, like freezing and being boiled alive at once. Its power was so great, so inconceivable that the sensations it evoked were beyond human description.
Steven gritted his teeth and pushed forward. He could feel the Dragon, its ancient strength, the dozens of people who’d hosted it before. He felt the enormous power of the storm, too—kilometers wide, fiercer than any human creation. The Dragon drew it in, slowly, and killed it dead. smothered it.
He could feel the storm; he could feel the Dragon. But he couldn’t feel Jasmine. For a moment he feared that she would be absorbed by the power and lose her humanity—that she would become the Dragon.
And then he was there, in Jasmine’s mind. She gave him a condescending smile, as if he were still a little kid. Like when they’d first met.
Leave me alone, Lee, she said. I’m working!
Then she tossed him out of her head.
Steven stumbled to the ground. The others ran to help him: Liam and Duane and Roxanne. Even Kim, who’d poofed back in during Jasmine’s light show.
Seeing them, Steven felt another shiver of fear run through him. He’d grown very close to all his teammates over the previous year. Jasmine had taught him to use his power; Liam was like the big brother he’d never had. Roxanne was the coolest person he’d ever met, while Duane had showed him how to solve complicated problems, step by step.
And Steven was starting to really like Kim, in a way he couldn’t quite explain yet.
The Zodiac felt like his family—more than his real family ever had, except for his grandfather. But deep down, some instinct was telling Steven that everything was about to go wrong.
Could it be the Tiger—his own power—warning him of some unknown danger?
“Hey,” Kim said. “Look.”
Steven looked up. The rain had stopped; the storm cloud was alm
ost gone. The dust was clearing, and for the first time since the Zodiacs’ arrival, the sun shone down on the spires of Dubai.
Jasmine hovered, wobbling a little. The Dragon hissed one last time and then faded from view. Jasmine’s glow softened and she started moving through the air toward the hovering plane.
“She did it,” Steven said. “She beat the storm.”
He slumped to the pavement, relieved. One by one the others joined him. Kim held up a muffin, soggy and covered with grit, and made a face.
Steven laughed.
They’d won. But despite everything, he was disturbed by what he’d seen in Jasmine’s mind. She’d taken every step to reassure him, to let him know she was in control. But there’d been a point, early on, when she’d almost lost control of the Dragon power.
Could that happen again? And if so, what would it mean?
Roxanne shook her head, scattering sand from her thick hair. “Anybody else need a shower? Like, very badly?”
Steven nodded, stood up, and dusted himself off.
“Let’s go home,” he said.
BY THE TIME THE ZODIAC plane reached Greenland, everyone was exhausted. Liam sat sprawled out in the pilot’s seat, issuing the occasional lazy voice command to the plane’s autopilot. Kim slumped next to him in the copilot’s chair, dozing.
Steven sat at the table behind the cockpit, changing the bandages on his fingers. Next to him, Duane and Roxanne were playing a lopsided trivia game on tablet computers.
“Black Flag, the band,” Roxanne said. “Name the founder and main songwriter.”
Duane looked uncomfortable. “Ummm…”
“Greg Ginn. One point for me.” She looked up and gave him a challenging smile. “Your turn.”
Duane tapped his tablet. “Atomic weight of lithium,” he said.
Roxanne grimaced. “Uhhh…”
“I’ll accept an approximation.”
“Uhhh…”
Steven smiled. He got up and crossed over to Jasmine. She sat on the floor against the bulkhead, working furiously on a laptop computer.
“Hey,” Steven said. “That must have really worn you out, back there.”
For a moment, her eyes tracked across the computer screen. Then she seemed to notice him for the first time.
“Not at all,” she said. “Using the Dragon power—it actually energizes me now. I’ve been using some of those meditation techniques I showed you, to control the power. Spirit guides, yoga—it’s complicated.”
The computerized voice of the autopilot filled the room. “Approaching Zodiac headquarters.”
“Establish hover mode,” Liam said.
Steven walked over to the cockpit. Liam’s screens showed the snow-covered mesa of Zodiac headquarters. It was three stories high, filled with living quarters, military hardware, and scientific equipment—but it didn’t look like much from the outside. It wasn’t supposed to.
“Be nice to get home,” Steven said.
“Aye,” Liam replied. “Home.” But something in his tone seemed off.
Steven frowned. He couldn’t shake that sense of dread he’d had back in Dubai. The feeling that everything was about to go wrong.
Liam gestured at Kim. “Should we wake her?”
Steven watched her for a moment. She was snoring softly; she looked more peaceful than he’d ever seen her. He hated to disturb that.
“Ahhh,” Liam continued. “She’d kill me if I didn’t.”
He elbowed Kim softly. She made a sleepy noise, and then her eyes shot open. She looked around for a moment, disoriented. Then she noticed the video image of Zodiac headquarters.
She yawned, stretched her arms, and turned to smile at Steven. “See you on the ground,” she said.
With a poof, she vanished.
Liam smiled, shaking his head. “She loves to do that.”
“I guess I would, too, if I were her,” Steven said.
The plane lurched slightly, then settled into a perfectly still position above the mesa. “Hover mode established,” the autopilot said. “Doors opening.”
Down below, a large hatchway slowly slid open in the roof of the concealed building. On the screen, Steven could see the scattered machinery of the hangar bay inside.
“Begin descent,” Liam said. “Ye bloody circuit board.”
“Last command not recognized,” the autopilot replied. But the plane was already descending.
“You let the autopilot do everything,” Steven said, smiling at Liam. “Do you even know how to fly this plane?”
“Sure.” Liam smiled lazily. “But why raise a finger when ye don’t have to?”
“Guys?” Kim’s voice came over the radio, startling them. “You better get down here.”
Liam and Steven exchanged alarmed glances. Duane and Roxanne moved to join them, watching as the building loomed closer.
Steven thumbed on the radio. “On our way,” he said.
The plane was a tight fit. Its wingspan was only a few centimeters narrower than the hatchway, but the autopilot steered the plane expertly, maneuvering it sideways to enter the building safely. In less than a minute, they were on the ground.
Roxanne and Duane rushed to the jump door, preparing to disembark. “Hold it,” Steven called, stopping them.
He turned to Jasmine. “You and me first,” he said.
Jasmine snapped her computer closed. “Why?”
“Something in Kim’s voice.”
Steven led the way out of the plane, looking around. A slight Tiger glow surrounded him. His senses were heightened, on high alert.
Above, the hatch slid silently closed, shutting out the frigid northern air. Steven shivered—and then he looked toward the main door.
Kim stood with several members of the Zodiac staff, including Mags, the group’s tough mechanic. Except for Kim, they were all armed. Most of the people who worked there had no enhanced powers, but they were experts in various fields of medicine and science. Right then they were serving guard duty, and their energy guns were all pointed at a single large, muscular figure.
Liam pushed his way past Steven and Jasmine, staring. “Ox?” he asked.
Ox was another one of Maxwell’s former operatives. He stood with the Zodiac staff, bound and manacled. His wrists were chained in front of his stomach; thick straps held his arms tight against his body. A short chain held his ankles together.
Cautiously, Steven led the team over to join Kim and the others. Kim looked wide awake now; she was casting furtive glances at Ox.
“What’s he doing here?” Steven asked.
“He just arrived,” Mags said.
One year before, Jasmine’s team had thwarted Maxwell’s plans to steal the Zodiac power for himself. Since that time, very little had been heard from Maxwell’s remaining Zodiac-powered agents. Monkey had been sighted a couple of times, carrying out minor errands for his boss. Snake and Rat, the Black Ops agents, were keeping a very low profile. Horse and Dog seemed to be operating freelance.
And then there was Ox. Rumor said he’d left Maxwell’s company, but nobody had seen the muscleman for several months.
Steven studied the rogue Zodiac. Ox seemed grim but calm. When he spoke, his voice was deep and imposing.
“I came here alone,” Ox said. “And I agreed to being tied up so I could talk to you.” He held up a small flash drive, waving it slightly in his bound hand. “I also brought some intel you might find interesting. On Maxwell.”
At the sound of Maxwell’s name, Jasmine’s eyes widened. She marched up to Ox and snatched the drive out of his hand.
“I’ll take this,” she said.
“What about him?” Steven asked, pointing at Ox.
“You handle it.”
And then, without looking back, Jasmine shouldered past Mags and Ox. As Steven watched, astonished, she left the hangar bay and disappeared into the building.
Duane frowned. “I like flash drives, too.”
Ox rustled his chains. The guards waved their gu
ns at him.
Steven exhaled sharply. He turned to look at Ox, who towered over him.
“Okay,” Steven said, “so you’re here. Why?”
Ox looked at him, very serious. “You want the long or short answer?”
“Short.”
“I want to join up.”
Mags and the guards stared at Ox. Steven and Kim exchanged astonished looks. Roxanne let out a high whistle.
Liam stepped forward. “Mate,” he said to Ox. “I think we’re gonna need the long answer.”
“I’m a soldier,” Ox said, “but I don’t like Maxwell’s tactics. He’s gone too far.”
“We’re with you,” Steven said.
“So far,” Roxanne added warily.
“I was taught that any mission where you have to fire your gun is a failure,” Ox continued. “Maxwell doesn’t agree. He’s always going to be a ‘shoot-first’ type.”
Steven frowned, narrowing his eyes. “So you’re saying you don’t want to work with Maxwell anymore? Because that’s a little different from what we heard.”
“I know what you heard,” Ox said, returning Steven’s gaze. “He thinks—Maxwell thinks I ran out on him.”
“Did you?”
“No. But it’s true that he believes it.” Ox looked away, as if remembering something unpleasant. “When we fought your team, at Dragon’s Gate, somebody—or something—I hate to admit it, but they coldcocked me. Hit me from behind, knocked me right out. I woke up in a side passage, hours later, after the fight was over. Everybody was gone.”
“And Maxwell thought you’d turned against him.” Steven paused, thinking. “Who would do that to you?”
Ox shrugged. “I figured it was one of you.”
“It wasn’t,” Kim said quietly.
“Wish it was,” Roxanne said.
Steven cast his eyes across his team. Kim still looked exhausted; she’d been running on adrenaline, he realized. Duane seemed really uncomfortable, and Roxanne was nervous. Only Liam was calm, staring intently at Ox’s chained form.
“Okay,” Steven said, turning back to Ox. “First of all, that’s a pretty ridiculous story. Couldn’t you come up with something better? Like, maybe you and Maxwell had a big kickboxing fight on top of a volcano, with ninja stars?”