by Stan Lee
Jasmine floated in midair, her legs crossed, in the exact center of the sphere. The walls were lined with screens, more than a hundred of them, stretching 360 degrees around the inside of the chamber. Some of the screens showed images of the headquarters complex and the snowy landscape outside. Others displayed reference shots of the Chinese Zodiac and the various Zodiac-powered people, both Jasmine’s team and Maxwell’s agents. Steven’s own face stared out of one screen, in a snapshot taken about a year before.
But Jasmine was staring at a particular row of screens. One of them showed a long aerial shot of a series of giant white balls, laid out across a barren desert landscape. It took Steven a moment to recognize it as Maxwell’s Australian headquarters. He’d never been there, but he’d seen the satellite photos.
Steven cast his eyes across the other screens. They showed various angles of Maxwell’s sanctum—a close-up on a single white sphere, a half-hidden access road leading to the property—and a short video clip of Maxwell himself, glaring and dark, from before the time of the Zodiac Convergence. Even without powers, Maxwell was a formidable presence.
Jasmine hadn’t turned around. Cautiously, feeling his way, Steven drifted closer to her.
“I thought zero gravity was impossible,” he said.
“He cracked it,” she said.
She pointed at one of the screens, which showed an image of Carlos. Jasmine and Carlos had founded the Zodiac team together; he was a very serious man who usually wore a studious frown. But in that photo, he was smiling broadly. His eyes sparkled at the camera, as if he wanted to share some wonderful secret.
“It’s how I think of him,” Jasmine said, as if reading Steven’s mind.
“Still no word?” Steven asked.
She shook her head.
Steven stared at the photo. It winked off and reappeared elsewhere on the wall, next to the big surveillance shot of Maxwell’s headquarters.
“It only works within a five- or six-meter radius,” Jasmine continued. “The zero G, I mean. And it requires an incredible amount of power. We’re a long way from having a gravity-defying plane.”
“For some reason, that’s a relief,” he replied.
The image of Carlos vanished again, only to reappear in yet another spot—still within Jasmine’s field of vision. She’s using it, Steven realized. Carlos’s photo…it’s anchoring her, focusing her attention.
“He called this the Infosphere,” Jasmine said. Then she shook her head, as if angry with herself. “I mean calls. He calls it that.”
Steven frowned. Jasmine seemed even more distant, more obsessed than she had on the Dubai mission.
“Liam, uh, he thinks Ox is for real,” he said. “We’re letting him stay. For now, anyway.”
She didn’t reply.
Steven pointed at one of the close-up shots of Maxwell’s complex. “Is that from the flash drive Ox brought?”
“Yeah,” she said.
“Is it…does it seem accurate?”
“As far as I can tell.” She made a gesture in the air, and the image zoomed in to show the outline of a small door on the side of the otherwise featureless white building. “There’s a few interesting details here. The main air defense seems to be these guard towers flanking the access road.”
He nodded, watching her.
“But the intel is out of date,” she continued. “All these shots are more than a year old.”
“Ox was fired from Vanguard right after Dragon’s Gate,” Steven said. “He probably hasn’t been in touch with Maxwell since then.” He thought for a moment. “At least I hope he hasn’t.”
“There’s not much new here.” Jasmine swept her hand across the screens. “But we’re committed.”
Steven blinked. “Committed to what now?”
“Maxwell.” She gestured, and the video clip of Maxwell expanded to fill six screens. “He’s still at large, and we know exactly where he is. I’ve been drawing up plans for an assault on his headquarters.”
“Jasmine, I’m not sure that’s a good idea.” Steven fidgeted in midair and started drifting to one side. “For one thing, I think Roxanne is about to quit.”
“Then convince her not to.”
“I’m not sure if I can.”
She turned toward him for the first time, giving him a harsh look. “You wanted to be the leader.”
“I didn’t, actually,” he said. “Also, we can’t find Kim right now.”
“Can’t find…what? What do you mean?”
“I’m just saying, I’m not sure a full-scale attack is the best idea right now.”
“It’s our only option,” she said, staring at the screens again. “Maxwell must be stopped.”
“I know he’s bad news. But he hasn’t made a move for months. Vanguard hasn’t even taken on any new military contracts—”
“We’ve got to get Carlos back!”
Steven stared at her for a moment. Jasmine seemed wide-eyed, almost obsessed. How long has it been since she slept? he wondered.
“He’s there?” Steven pointed at the long shot of the Vanguard headquarters. “Maxwell has him?”
“Yeah.”
“You’ve, what—tracked him?” Steven frowned. “Has he been in contact? What did he—”
“I just know.”
Keeping her legs crossed, she tipped sideways, turning away from Steven. The images followed her around the sphere, sliding from one screen to the next, mirroring her movements.
“Carlos betrayed Maxwell,” Jasmine continued, “when he and I sabotaged the Convergence. Then, later—when Maxwell and I were linked by the Dragon power—I saw things in his mind. The hatred he holds for Carlos…” She paused, shivering. “Maxwell is capable of anything.”
“Jasmine. Look at me.”
He swam through the air, coming to rest right in front of her. She frowned and tried to look around him at the screens on the wall. But he reached out and took her shoulders in his hands.
A small flare of Dragon energy rose up from her. A warning.
“Remember how all this started?” Steven asked. “When I stumbled into that creepy Convergence chamber under the museum and we both got zapped by the Zodiac power?”
“Of course,” she said.
“I’m grateful to you, for taking me in. And I have never questioned your orders.”
“Sure you have. Hundreds of times.”
“I mean—”
“Thousands, probably.” She looked at him, puzzled. “Has there been a day when you haven’t questioned me?”
“My point is, this team—it’s a very delicate thing.” He gestured at a group portrait. “Roxanne and Duane, they’re mostly here to learn about their powers. Liam doesn’t really need us. And I don’t know what’s going on with Kim.”
She was staring at him—and something in her expression made him feel cold. She’s only looked at me like that once before, he thought, but he couldn’t remember when.
Then it hit him. On the cargo ship, right after the Convergence. When she first explained what the Zodiac powers were, what had happened to us.
“What?” he asked, a quaver creeping into his voice.
“I always thought it was odd,” she whispered.
“Huh?”
“The way you happened to stumble into the Convergence chamber”—her eyes narrowed—“just in time to get charged up with Zodiac power.”
“I…what?” He released her shoulders and floated back toward the wall. “What are you saying?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head, as if banishing a bad dream. “It’s just a weird coincidence, is all.”
“Yeah. Yes, it is. A coincidence!”
She turned away. As her hands danced in the air, menus scrolled down the wall screens. When she stopped, a series of silhouettes filled a row of screens, running all the way around the sphere. A rooster, a rat, a monkey. A tiger. A dragon.
When Jasmine spoke, she seemed almost in a trance.
“There are legends
about the Zodiac power,” she said. “Stories about its former wielders. The records are hazy, incomplete. But a lot of them didn’t end up very well.”
“Jasmine,” he began.
“Sometimes I sit down here and I think, maybe the team is a bad idea.”
She reached out and touched the dragon silhouette. The image zoomed in to show a gaping mouth with sharp fangs.
“Maybe the Zodiac power is meant to be wielded alone.”
This isn’t really a conversation, he realized. She’s not listening to me at all.
She’s not listening to anybody.
Jasmine waved her hand again, and the white spheres of the Vanguard complex reappeared on the screen before her.
“I’m going to do this,” she said. “If I have to, I’ll do it alone.”
Before he could answer, a blinding flare of power rose up from her. The ghostly Dragon appeared, filled with ancient rage and passion. Its long neck whipped around the Infosphere, spitting fire at the screens. Steven tried to duck down, then realized that “down” didn’t really mean anything in there.
When he looked up, the Dragon had coiled itself tightly around Jasmine. Its face hovered near hers, like a mother protecting its child.
And its image was now on every screen—dozens of them—whipping and flashing its fangs at the world.
“The Dragon,” Jasmine rasped, “is more powerful than all of them. All of you.”
Then she turned toward Steven. On all the screens, above and below and on every side, the dragon silhouette turned to fix its dark eyes on him, as well.
“If you’re hiding something, I’ll deal with it,” she promised. “I’ll deal with you.”
The gaze of the Dragon seemed to bore into him, to penetrate every inch of his being. He knew she was right. The Dragon was the strongest Zodiac sign; he’d seen it in action against its enemies. It could move tons of rock, quell fierce storms, stop a madman from killing its friends.
But he’d never felt its power directed at him before. He felt helpless, paralyzed—like a tiny flame-red leaf in a sandstorm.
He scrambled for the door and got out of there.
BY EVENING, the third-floor labs had been cleared out. All the chemicals and equipment had been stowed away, replaced by tablecloths, napkins, and a few half-wilted flower arrangements. A big banner read WELCOME MRS. ROOSTER.
Duane edged up to Steven, frowning at the banner. “I thought it might be funny,” he said.
Steven poured himself a cup of red punch. “Not too good with the funny, Duane.”
Duane’s expression turned even sadder.
“I’m sorry,” Steven said. He forced himself to smile. “It’s fine.”
He looked around the room. Mags stood with a group of the civilians, drinking punch and laughing. Over by the coffee machine, Liam and Ox were talking and waving their fists at each other. It looked like an argument, but Steven knew they were just having a conversation.
Near the door to Carlos’s lab, Roxanne leaned against a sink, a pained smile on her face. Her mother gestured all around, alternately smiling and pointing a sharp-nailed finger at her daughter. Mrs. LaFleur, Steven remembered, was an animated, larger-than-life woman. She was also the only person on Earth who could make Roxanne go quiet.
Jasmine wasn’t there. Neither was Kim. Despite the noise and the laughter, Steven felt oddly alone.
“They put me in charge of party planning,” Duane continued. “Which is odd, because I’m not comfortable at parties. Also, there’s no place out here to get supplies on short notice.”
“Duane,” Steven said, “chill.”
“The streamers, for instance,” Duane continued. “I had to make them out of shredded intelligence reports.”
Steven fingered the thin strips of paper hanging from the wall. He could just make out the word CONFIDENTIAL running down the side of one piece.
He closed his eyes. Duane was clearly feeling insecure, in need of reassurance. But Steven’s thoughts kept drifting back to something Jasmine had said: Maxwell is capable of anything.
Maybe I blew off her concerns too quickly, he thought. If Maxwell is holding Carlos prisoner, he could be doing anything to him….
“I’m getting better at controlling my power,” Duane said. “Did you notice I haven’t shorted out the training room systems for more than a week?”
“Um. No. I mean, I hadn’t noticed.”
“Nobody does.” Duane looked sad again. “But I bet everybody notices when I get thrown into a truck in the middle of a highway.”
“Duane, I’m sorry,” Steven said. “I’ve just been really busy lately.”
“Hey, kids,” Mags said, walking over to join them. Two men followed her. One was Dafari, a brilliant computer programmer from Africa. The other, a short man in a jacket and bow tie, wasn’t familiar to Steven.
“This is Billy,” Mags said, putting her arm around the bow-tie man. “He just joined us.”
“Hey,” Steven said. “Where are you from?”
“I just graduated from Oxford,” Billy said, shaking Steven’s hand.
“Billy’s smart as a whip,” Mags said. “He’s my new assistant.”
Billy frowned. “I was promised the title ‘quartermaster.’”
“Yeah, yeah. Get me a coffee, Billy?”
Billy gave her a quick, doubtful look, then hurried away.
Steven leaned toward Mags. “Bow tie?” he asked.
“What a nerd,” Duane said, laughing as if he’d made a private joke.
“I told him it was a fancy party,” Mags said.
Steven blinked. He looked down at his own hoodie and jeans. “It’s not,” he said.
“I know.” Mags laughed.
“Dafari,” Steven said, “you haven’t heard anything from Carlos, have you?”
Dafari shook his head. “Nothing. I have tried searching for him, even hired a detective firm. But no luck.”
Steven nodded.
“It is ironic,” Dafari continued. “Were you or Mister Pig to go missing, I could use Carlos’s machinery to trace your Zodiac energy anywhere on the Earth. As long as you were not using your wave blocker, of course. But Carlos is just a normal man, like seven billion others.”
Over by the coffee machine, Liam and Ox seemed to be blocking Billy’s way. Steven heard Liam say, “You want coffee? Hit me first. You heard me, posh boy. Hit me!”
“Maybe we better…” Steven began, starting toward the coffee machine. Duane and the others followed him.
When they got over there, Billy was backed up against the table. “I said hit me!” Liam insisted. He didn’t sound cruel, just enthusiastic.
Ox stood nearby, watching the proceedings. His eyes flicked from Liam to Billy.
“I d-don’t want to hit anybody,” Billy said.
“Liam,” Steven said, laying a hand on his shoulder. “I think you’ve had enough coffee.”
Liam whirled to face Steven, then turned and clapped Billy on the arm. Billy winced slightly.
“Sorry, mate,” Liam said. “Just playing around.”
“If you want the latest equipment, you better be nice to this guy,” Steven continued. “He’s our new quartermaster.”
Billy smiled.
Ox stepped forward. “Quartermaster, huh? Maybe we can talk about getting me outfitted.”
“Outfitted,” Duane said. He looked away, but there was an edge in his voice. “Like a soldier.”
Ox turned to look straight at him. “I am a soldier. Or I was.”
“H-have you killed people?” Duane asked.
Everyone went silent.
“I’d like to know that, too,” Steven said.
“That’s not who I am,” Ox said, frowning. “It’s definitely not why I’m here.”
That wasn’t an answer, Steven thought.
“Look, I can help you out,” Ox continued. “That plane of yours, for instance—it used to belong to Vanguard.”
“So?” Steven asked.
&nb
sp; “So I helped the techs set up its programming. I could show you some tricks.”
“If we program it to obey your commands,” Duane said.
Ox turned and glared at Duane. For the first time, the former Vanguard operative seemed a bit angry. He was the same height as Duane, but he seemed twice as imposing.
“If I wanted to steal your plane,” Ox said slowly, “it’d be gone by now. And so would I.”
Duane quivered but stood his ground.
Thankfully, the sound of clattering heels broke the tension. Roxanne’s mother was being pushed toward the group by her daughter—who seemed desperate for company. “Maman!” Roxanne exclaimed. “I wanted you to say allo to—”
“Steven!” Mrs. LaFleur dashed up and gave him a fierce hug, almost cutting off his breath. “Of course I remember you.”
“Hello, Mrs. LaFleur,” Steven gasped.
“I owe you a very large apology, young man.” Mrs. LaFleur disengaged and looked him in the eye, very serious then. “When we met before, I fear I was not at my best.”
“Maman,” Roxanne cautioned.
“I understand, ma’am.” Steven forced himself to smile. “The Zodiac powers can be a shock, at first.”
“Of course, yes.” Mrs. LaFleur nodded vigorously. “Your own mother and father must have gone through that, as well.”
Something flipped upside down in Steven’s stomach. He’d never had a close relationship with his parents, even before the powers came into play. Over the previous year, he’d texted them several times, making various excuses for staying overseas a little longer. They always replied with a brief message, saying they were proud of him and hoped he was well. He’d barely spoken to them.
No, he thought, my parents don’t even know about my Zodiac powers. They’re too busy with their business, their fancy company, and their world travels.
They never knew what to do with a son anyway.
Steven looked away. Mags and the others had drifted off again, taking Liam and Duane with them. Ox stood alone, off to the side. He seemed much less dangerous, almost uncomfortable. His drink looked comically small in his hands.
“In any case,” Mrs. LaFleur continued, “I’m so glad my girl and I are talking again. I’ve missed my little Roxy.” She grabbed Roxanne around the shoulders and hugged her tight.