by Stan Lee
That time, Jasmine wouldn’t open the Infosphere. Steven struggled with the hatchway door; he even summoned the Tiger power to give him extra strength. But the door was locked tight.
He stepped back, frustrated, and stared at the gleaming sphere. It looked like an alien visitor in the old dusty basement.
Then his phone buzzed. He fumbled to answer it. “Jasmine?”
“Go away,” she said. Her voice sounded faint, distant.
“I just want to tell you a few things,” he said.
There was a long pause, so long he thought they’d been disconnected. He stared at the sphere bobbing lightly in the air before him.
“Well?” she said finally.
“Roxanne’s staying,” he said. “For now. But Kim’s already gone.”
“I know.”
“Jasmine, maybe we ought to think about other ways to find Carlos.”
Her laugh crackled in his ear, hollow and cold. “Kid, what do you think I’ve been doing for the past three months?”
“Well…” He thought frantically. “What about this energy signature that Dafari and Duane found? In Germany?”
“I’ve seen it. It’s too faint to be a Zodiac wielder.”
“It’s gotta be something.”
“Probably just trace energy.” She sighed, as if she were tired of having the same argument over and over again. “Sometimes small amounts of Zodiac energy seep into ordinary people, but it doesn’t give them powers or anything. Besides, it’s Tiger energy. And you’re the Tiger.”
Steven’s eyes went wide. He nearly dropped the phone.
“Tiger energy,” he repeated. “How do you know that? Dafari said—”
“Dafari isn’t the Dragon.”
A halo of energy blazed out from the Infosphere. Steven stepped back in surprise. A moment later, the energy was gone.
“Jasmine. Shouldn’t we—”
“I’m making plans for the assault, Steven. There’ll be a large storm system coming in over central Australia in two days’ time—that’s when we’ll do it.” She paused. “It’s when I’ll do it. You can come or not.”
Steven barely registered her words. His mind was racing. Another Tiger? He didn’t even know why it was so important to him—but it was. The beast inside roared, nearly drowning out the rest of the world.
I have to find him. Or her. I have to find this Tiger.
Two days, Jasmine had said. Berlin was just a flight away. He could take Liam and Roxanne, maybe Duane, and be back before…
Suddenly, a phrase Jasmine had spoken echoed in his mind: Maybe the Zodiac power is meant to be wielded alone.
“Steven?” Jasmine said. “Did you hear me?”
“Yeah.” He spoke slowly. “Two days. Got it.”
The line went dead. He lowered the phone, still deep in thought.
He walked up to the sphere and looked into its reflective surface. His own face stared back, warped and sinister in the dim light.
Then he turned and started back through the stone hallway, toward the ladder to the surface. Almost absentmindedly, he raised his phone again and dialed another number.
“This is Billy.”
“Quartermaster? I’m going to need some supplies for a trip.” Steven paused. “And let’s keep this between us, okay?”
STEVEN RODE ATOP the Tiger’s back, along the dusty plain. They passed boulders, dead trees, and a few animal skeletons he didn’t recognize. The landscape seemed endless, covered with a low fog that hid the horizon from view.
I’ve been here before, he realized.
As if in answer, the Tiger let out a deep growl. And then Steven remembered where he was:
The Tiger’s realm.
The beast continued on its way, powerful legs moving steadily across the level ground.
“Where are we going?” Steven asked. “Do you want to show me something?”
No answer. Just another growl.
He squinted ahead. He could see something in the distance: an animal, crouched down low. It had gray fur with faded black stripes down its back. It was turned away.
It’s another one, he realized. Another Tiger.
The second Tiger’s fur was matted and patchy, and a few of its claws were missing. When it saw them, it turned and let out a deep roar.
Steven’s Tiger, the one he was riding, stopped and snarled. He felt it respond to the challenge, its blood rising. The second Tiger was old and gray but also dangerous. And there was something else in its roar—something that excited Steven’s Tiger even more than the prospect of a battle.
Fear.
The old Tiger rose heavily to its feet and began to pace. It walked in a small circle, around and around again. Steven watched its progress, puzzled.
Then he noticed something else. A tiny form on the ground, just beyond the old Tiger—a shock of white, barely visible in the fog.
A baby Tiger, with fur as pure as new-fallen snow.
The old Tiger turned and let out a loud roar. Steven frowned. Is it protecting the little one? he wondered. Or…or does it just want the young cub for itself?
A terrible thought struck him. Is it going to eat it?
As if in answer, the tiny Tiger rose to its stubby feet. It turned and regarded them one by one: the old gray cat, the newly arrived Tiger, and the puzzled boy rider.
Then the little white Tiger opened its mouth and let out a roar so loud, the world shattered to pieces.
“Kid. Kid!”
Steven’s eyes snapped open. Two flight attendants—a young man and an older woman—were staring at him from the aisle. The man looked concerned. The woman seemed to be trying to conceal her annoyance.
“What?” Steven asked.
“The plane’s about to land,” the male attendant said. “It’s time to buckle up.”
“And, uh, stop screaming,” the woman added.
Steven shook his head, still disoriented. He flashed the attendants a quick, embarrassed smile and reached for his seat belt.
As they walked away, the woman shook her head. “Unaccompanied minors,” she muttered. “Nothing but trouble.”
Steven leaned over the empty seat next to him and peered out the window. He could just barely see the parks and skyscrapers of Berlin, the long river winding through and around them. The city grew larger, drawing closer as the plane descended.
He closed his eyes, trying to remember what he’d just experienced. Visions were nothing new to Steven; ever since he’d gotten the Tiger power, they came to him occasionally. Sometimes they were easy to remember, and other times they seemed like dreams, fading away as soon as he tried to grab hold of them.
The visions usually came to him on airplanes. Carlos had told him a theory about that—something about rapid movement over the surface of the Earth and the fields of ley-line energy below. Steven didn’t really understand it.
He remembered the Tigers, the creatures from his vision. What did that mean? He’d gone on the trip because of the Tiger energy that Duane and Dafari had detected. Was that just his imagination running wild, conjuring up literal images of Tigers he might find?
He thought of the vision-Tigers, wild and untamed. Then he thought about Carlos, who was still missing—lost somewhere out in the world.
And then, for some reason, Steven’s own words came back to him: Are people your friends just because they’re like you, because you share some experience?
Or are they really just strangers?
The plane dipped sharply, and another jolt of panic hit Steven. Once again, he felt like the floor had dropped out from underneath him. As if the roar of a newborn beast, or the sudden descent of an aircraft, could undo everything he’d ever accomplished in his life.
Get ahold of yourself, he thought. You’re on a mission. Whatever’s out there, it’s time to find it.
If you’re ever going to be a hero, now’s the time.
Steven straightened up in his seat and stared ahead. But his hands gripped the armrests tightly until t
he plane was safely on the ground.
IT WAS ALMOST DARK by the time Steven reached the city. He rented a bicycle—using Jasmine’s credit card—and parked it in Kreuzberg, the area where the Zodiac signature had been detected. Then he set off down a long street called Oranienstrasse in search of his objective.
The air was growing colder as night fell. The Tiger energy kept Steven warm, but he still wished he’d remembered to bring a coat. Tourists and students bustled past him, all bundled up in jackets. The sidewalk was crowded with tables from cafes and restaurants, spilling out almost to the street. The stone walls were covered with street art: graffiti, cartoons, elaborate portraits of politicians and historical figures.
Steven frowned at the Zodiac energy detector in his hand. Its screen showed a map of the immediate area. A few blocks ahead, a red dot glowed faintly: the Tiger energy.
A big man brushed by Steven, glared at him, and muttered something in German. Steven didn’t understand the words, but he figured they meant “Watch where you’re going.”
When he looked down at the tracker, the red dot was gone. Panicked, he shook the device in the air. The dot flickered back on, vanished again, then reappeared.
Jasmine’s right, he thought. It sure is a faint energy signature.
Suddenly he wondered: What am I doing here? He’d flown more than 2000 kilometers, without telling anyone where he was going, on the faintest hunch. Something had drawn him here, he realized—something bigger than himself, maybe bigger than the whole Zodiac team.
What if this is a trap? What if someone’s tracking me, just like I’m tracking this Tiger—or whatever it is?
He shook his head. Stay focused. He realized he was tired. Hungry, too.
Maybe I just need some food.
He bought a curry and ate it as he walked. There was no time for panic, no room for second thoughts. He had to find the Zodiac wielder—or if there wasn’t one, the source of the energy. Then he had to get to the airport and fly back to Greenland. He wanted to get home before anyone noticed he was gone—and he had to be back before Jasmine launched the assault on Maxwell’s base.
But it was too late to fly home that night. And he wasn’t sure anyone in Berlin would rent a hotel room to a fifteen-year-old kid, even if that kid had a credit card.
The curry tasted good. He started to walk faster, keeping one eye on the tracker. He crossed a busy street and then stopped dead, staring at the building on the corner.
One brick wall was completely covered with an elaborate painting. It showed a boy, about Steven’s age, holding out his hands to ward off an attacking monster—a mythical creature, half man and half ram, with a sharp coiled horn on its head. The painting looked worn, chipped, much older than the graffiti surrounding it.
Around the boy, a halo of energy rose up. It might have originally been in the shape of an animal: a pig, a rabbit, even a tiger. But the image was too faded to make out.
Steven walked up to the wall and touched the painting. Inside him, the Tiger surged. There was energy there, traces left behind from an ancient battle. That painting could be a depiction of some past Zodiac user, a boy who’d wielded the power in an earlier time.
Steven felt newly energized. The painting proved he was on the trail of something important. The Zodiac power is all around, in the air. I’m not just chasing after some phantom. This is real.
When he looked down at the tracker, the red dot was gone again.
That time it wouldn’t come back. He shook the tracker, held it up in every direction, even took out the batteries and put them back in again. The device seemed to be working fine. The signal was just gone.
Steven looked back up at the wall painting, and a wave of doubt passed over him. Maybe it wasn’t a Zodiac user after all. It could be just a kid, playing around with his friends—or maybe a character from some ’80s video game.
Am I just seeing what I want to see? Like…like Jasmine?
No. The Zodiac energy was there; he could feel it. And he’d gone that far…he had to see it through.
But the tracker was still dark.
The red dot, he thought. Before it disappeared, where was it? He closed his eyes and tried to visualize the spot where it had been on the map: about a block and a half from where he was. Halfway between the next intersection and the one after that, on the right side of the street.
He stashed the tracker in his pocket and resumed walking.
When he reached the spot, one building was boarded up. The house next to it was dark from the first floor up, but a small flight of steps led down to a black glass door with a rope set up before it.
A young couple brushed past Steven, heading down the steps. As he watched, a doorman in a stylish jacket appeared, shrugged, and pulled the rope aside. The couple went inside.
Steven took one step down, but he couldn’t make out what was inside the door. He checked the tracker again: still nothing.
Taking a deep breath, he walked down to face the doorman.
“I’m supposed to be inside,” Steven said.
A condescending smile crept across the doorman’s face. He placed a hand on the rope, not moving it. “Nein,” he said.
A man in an ugly sport jacket pushed Steven aside and started arguing with the doorman. Steven whirled toward the man, angry—then had a better idea. He quickly slid around the corner, glanced up, and launched himself towards a landing above him.
Below Steven, the doorman said “Nein” again. He hadn’t even seen Steven; he was too busy arguing with sport-jacket man.
Steven smiled. Sometimes the Tiger powers were a lifesaver. Other times, they were just fun. He found a fire door that had been left propped open and jogged down a small staircase, ending up just behind the main entryway.
A short stone hallway led to an archway with blinking lights over it. Steven passed through it, brushing by two girls with drinks in their hands. They turned to watch him, amused.
“They’re getting younger,” one of the girls said.
Then he was inside the main hall. It was dark, with gray stone walls and a crowded dance floor. Up on a raised platform, a DJ darted back and forth, spinning records. A pounding beat filled the room.
Steven made his way around the edges of the dance floor to a slightly quieter area. A few people in tight jeans lounged in chairs. As he approached, a college-age man with cropped hair turned to look at him, raising one eyebrow.
Suddenly Steven realized: I have no idea what to say.
“I, uh…have you seen anybody strange around here lately?”
The man turned back to his friends. One of them, Steven saw, was a very thin woman clad entirely in rubber, with a gigantic afro. The other, a man, had the tallest, sharpest Mohawk hairstyle Steven had ever seen.
“Nope,” the first man said.
Steven mumbled something and left. Their laughter followed him.
This isn’t gonna work, he thought. Even if the Zodiac is here, I’m never gonna find him. Nobody’s even going to take me seriously!
“Boy,” said a soft female voice.
Steven whirled around. A tall, beautiful woman with striking pink hair was just walking out from behind the bar, heading toward him. For a moment, Steven thought about running. But he decided against it.
“I’m the manager,” the woman said. She placed a hand on his shoulder and smirked at him. “Are you old enough to be in here, liebchen?”
Steven swallowed. “Yes?”
She stared at him for a long moment. The woman spoke English with a slight accent and had dark green eyes. She seemed vaguely familiar, but Steven couldn’t remember where he’d seen her before. Maybe on TV? She was pretty enough to be an actress.
Inside him, the Tiger growled.
“Relax, kid,” she said. “I’m just playing with you. This is Berlin. Everybody’s welcome at the party.” The woman gave him a provocative look. “And the parties last forever.”
Steven frowned. He remembered what Roxanne had said: Nothing las
ts forever.
“You want a beer?” the pink-haired woman asked. “On the house?”
“I…” Steven frowned. “I better not.”
She turned to frown at the dance floor, apparently misinterpreting his hesitation. “I know,” she said. “It’s a pretty lame crowd so far. Later it’ll get crazy.”
He nodded.
“You don’t want a drink. You don’t seem to want to dance. Why are you here?” she asked.
“I—I’m looking for someone.”
The woman laughed. “Everybody here is looking for someone.”
“I mean a specific someone.”
Steven made a decision. He took the woman by the arm and led her past the bar, into a dark corner near the men’s room. She followed, amused.
“You’re a little young for me,” she said, a teasing note in her voice.
He closed his eyes and concentrated. The Tiger image rose up around him, roaring above his head.
The woman watched, her green eyes growing wide. A couple of clubbers stumbled off the dance floor, watching, but as the Tiger faded away, they lost interest.
“Someone who can do that,” Steven said.
The woman was staring at him. She brushed pink hair out of her eyes.
“Assuming I knew this person,” she said, “and assuming I told you where he was, what are you gonna do when you find him?”
Steven’s pulse quickened. She knows, he thought. She’s seen the Tiger!
“I just want to meet him,” he said.
“You’re not trying to hurt anybody?”
“No,” he said, trying his best to sound convincing. “I’m…I’m a hero.”
She stared at him.
Steven swallowed. He replayed his own words in his head. Did I overdo it?
Then she pointed a thumb upward. “You want the guy upstairs,” she said.
“Upstairs?”
“Top floor. He lives in the attic apartment. He’s been there since way before this club opened.”
Steven stared at the woman. Something inside him, some Tiger instinct, seemed to roar in her presence. Why? he wondered. Is it a warning of some kind?