by Stan Lee
…then it’ll have to be face to face.
STEVEN PACED AROUND his quarters, gathering up clothing from the desk, the bureau, and the floor. When his arms were full, he trudged over and dropped everything into a suitcase lying open on the bed.
He’d made up his mind. He was leaving.
He started to close the suitcase, then realized the clothes didn’t even belong to him. They were all things Jasmine and Carlos had provided. He’d arrived empty-handed from Hong Kong.
Okay, he thought. Guess I’ll leave the same way.
He caught sight of his face in the mirror. His bruises were fading, healing faster than usual—another byproduct of the Tiger power. But when he closed his eyes, he could still feel every blow, each little defeat in the cold snowy wasteland.
One last time, he looked around the small room—and realized he was going to miss it. It had felt just like home only twenty-four hours earlier. Now, though…
…now it was just a reminder of his failures.
Something caught his eye: a thick, padded manila envelope sitting on the desk. He couldn’t remember seeing it there before. It bore an international postmark and the address:
STEVEN LEE
General Delivery
Greenland
Steven picked it up, frowning. Mags went into town every few days to pick up supplies—this must have been waiting at the post office. But who knew Steven was in Greenland?
He ripped it open and fished around inside. Something cold and hard, nestled between layers of protective padding, touched his hand. He pulled out the object and held it up to the light.
It was a flat, irregular piece of bone, about the size of his hand, almost round but with jagged, worn edges. It looked very old. Tiny writing stood out, barely visible, gray against the dirty white of the bone.
Steven squinted, peering closer. It was in Cantonese, or maybe Mandarin.
Great, he thought. Another person who thinks I know Chinese!
He threw the bone fragment over his shoulder.
“Whoa! Incoming!”
He whirled around at the voice. Jasmine stood in the doorway, frowning at the piece of bone. She’d snatched it out of the air.
“What’s this?” she asked. “An oracle bone? Where’d you get it?” Then she noticed the suitcase on the bed. “And, uh, where are you taking it?”
“I’m not taking it anywhere.” He frowned. “Can you read it?”
“Sure.” Jasmine glanced briefly at the writing on the bone. “It says ‘From someone who cares.’ You got a secret admirer or something?”
“I dunno.” He turned away. “It doesn’t matter.”
“It does to me. I just spent an hour talking Roxanne off the ledge. She was practically out the door, but I managed to convince her to stay.” She paused. “Maybe I was talking to the wrong person.”
“I don’t need training,” Steven said.
“Sure you do. Not as desperately as Roxanne—your power isn’t as destructive. But you could be a lot better than you are.”
“Guess we’ll never know.”
He could hear the anger seeping into his own voice. Why? he thought. Why won’t she just leave me alone?
But when Jasmine spoke again, her voice was suddenly twice as angry as his.
“Steven,” she said, “we were attacked yesterday, remember? The whole base is on alert—everyone’s doing double shifts, repairing walls and equipment, shoring up our defenses. Everyone except you. Ever since your little tantrum in the snow, you’ve been moping and dragging around. We don’t have time for that.”
“Maybe you don’t have time for it. I’ve got plenty of time.”
“Where are you gonna go?”
“I don’t know. Home, maybe.”
“And then what? What happens when Maxwell comes after you, looking for your power?”
“I can take care of myself.”
“You didn’t do too well yesterday.”
He turned away, really angry now.
“I didn’t mean that,” Jasmine said. “Steven, what’s this about? Why do you want to leave?”
“Because I can’t be what you want me to be. I’m no hero.”
“Like those guys in the movies you like? Steel Badger, whatever it is?”
He didn’t reply.
“Steven, nobody can live up to that,” Jasmine continued. “In the real world, people make mistakes, and they move on.”
“Mistakes?” He whirled back around. “Let’s see. I wasted time arguing with you when I should have been getting the recruits to safety. Then, when they asked me what to do, I froze. And that gave the Vanguards time enough to get the better of us.”
“That’s not how—”
“Then, when I had to decide which team member to help, I chose Rabbit. Because she’s little, and I, I, maybe I kind of like her. But I was wrong again. She was the only one who managed to take down her attacker!”
“She’s tougher than she looks,” Jasmine agreed. “That’s one of the things we’re learning: who’s got what skills, and what areas everyone needs to work on. That’s why I need you to help train them.”
“Train them?” He looked at her, incredulous. “I can hardly talk to them. Duane barely speaks, Liam does whatever he wants, and you said Roxanne’s halfway out the door.”
“Steven, you can’t leave now.”
“You don’t need me. Look at my face! If I were you, I’d get out, too. Maxwell knows where you are now. He’s gonna come back with more guys, and next time Carlos’s magic trick isn’t gonna stop ’em.”
Steven flopped down on the bed, sweeping the suitcase aside. He squeezed his eyes closed until he saw bright patterns.
When he looked up, Jasmine was glaring down at him.
“First of all,” she said, “the recruits are better than you think. Kim did manage to take out Dog. Liam would have trapped Ox, too, if Duane hadn’t shorted out the power. And I know Duane could have taken that obnoxious Monkey guy if he knew how to control his power. We’ve got a good team—we just have to teach them to work together.
“As for you: you could have run away when the Vanguards attacked. But you didn’t. You stayed and took that beating, because you refused to abandon your team.”
Steven said nothing.
“We are not leaving this base,” she continued. “We’ve built up too much here, worked too hard to establish things. I’ve been running since I was seventeen. No more.
“But you’re right: we can’t just sit around and wait for Maxwell to attack again. Carlos has a plan—he thinks he and I can de-power Maxwell once and for all. But we can’t do it here, and we can’t do it alone.”
She raised her arms and closed her eyes. The Dragon power began to appear around her, shimmering into its familiar, reptilian shape. But another figure formed along with it: a larger, winged Dragon, holding Jasmine’s dragon in a thick-winged grip.
Steven recognized the second Dragon. “Maxwell?” he asked.
Jasmine nodded sharply. “He’s got hold of me,” she said. “Leeching away the power. And he’s—too strong—”
Maxwell’s Dragon screeched and squeezed, pressing Jasmine’s Dragon tight between dark wings. Jasmine let out a little cry.
Steven felt helpless. Like when his grandfather would burst into a coughing fit, and there was nothing he could do to help.
“I can’t lead a normal life, Steven.” Jasmine’s voice was strained now, her teeth gritted in pain. “I gave that up a long time ago. But you and the others—if we can stop the Vanguard once and for all, you might have a chance—”
Then, all at once, Maxwell’s Dragon flickered. Jasmine’s eyes shot open, and her Dragon burst free. It reached out with sharp claws and slashed at the larger creature. Maxwell’s Dragon recoiled and howled, fire shooting out of its mouth. Then it flapped its wings helplessly and vanished.
Steven stared at Jasmine. “What happened?” he asked. “What was that?”
Jasmine raised a hand to her h
ead. She stumbled, reaching out a hand to steady herself against the desk.
Then he noticed: her Dragon wasn’t fading. It glowed brighter now, whipping its tail around, slashing the air with its claws.
“I don’t know,” Jasmine said. “I…I feel…”
Energy flared out from her in waves. The Dragon seemed firmer, more solid than ever before. Jasmine straightened up and clenched her fists.
“…feel stronger.”
But something was wrong. Jasmine started staggering around the room, twitching, as her Zodiac glow blazed even brighter. She opened her mouth and the Dragon mirrored her action. Fire burst out of its maw, flaring like a flamethrower.
Just then, Carlos appeared at door. “Hey, I…Jaz?” His face had a chance to form a look of concern before he and Steven were knocked backward by Jasmine’s Dragon power. Steven squinted against the blinding light. It was clear Carlos was unconscious, and Jasmine’s power was growing.
“Too much,” Jasmine said. “Too much power. The Dragon…it’s really strong.” She looked from Carlos’s limp body to Steven, and for the first time since he’d known her, he saw fear in her eyes. “I can’t hold it in!”
Steven leapt to his feet. “What—what do I do?”
“I don’t know! Oh, this isn’t good. I…no!”
Again, the Dragon’s mouth erupted. Fire struck the wall, charring a hole in the plaster. Steven rushed over to the wall, patting rapidly at it to tamp out the flames.
When he turned around, Jasmine was facing him. The energy seemed to have merged with her now—they glowed together, as bright as a star. The Dragon whipped its head and tail all around her, like a savage animal.
“Help me,” Jasmine said. Her voice sounded small, lost inside the maelstrom of power.
Instinctively, Steven willed the Tiger to rise up inside him. He held out his hand and touched Jasmine’s. Touched the Dragon…
…and felt its power, flowing into him.
Steven had almost become accustomed to the Tiger energy. He was always half aware of it, like a fast heartbeat or an aching limb. Most of the time it pulsed at a low, steady level, flaring up only when he needed to fight someone or punch through a wall.
The Dragon, he now realized, was something entirely different. It burned brighter, hotter, than any of the other Zodiac signs. Maxwell believed he could harness it, bend it to his will. But right now, in its pure form, it was a threat to Jasmine’s life.
The power ebbed and flowed, cycling into Steven’s body and then back into Jasmine again. The glow around her softened. The Dragon still blazed, but not as bright.
“I’m…I’m getting control of it again,” she said. “Whatever you’re doing, keep doing it.”
I don’t know what I’m doing, he thought. But he held on tight to Jasmine’s hand. Her fingers tensed up around his, then relaxed.
The Dragon power settled into a warm, steady glow. Jasmine turned toward Steven, and the Dragon’s head turned with her. Two sets of eyes, one real and one made of energy, stared at him.
Then, all at once, the Dragon faded away. Jasmine rushed over to Carlos, who was just coming to.
“Are you all right?” She helped him into a chair.
“I’m fine,” Carlos said, searching Jasmine’s eyes. “Are you all right?”
Jasmine shared a look with Steven. “Yeah, I’m okay now. Thanks to Steven.”
“What what what the what was that?” Steven asked.
“Something big,” Jasmine said. “For days now, Maxwell’s been leeching the Dragon right out of me. But something must have happened to him. The power…he lost hold of it, somehow. It flowed out of him and back into me.”
Steven frowned. “That’s good, right?”
“If I can keep it. And if it doesn’t fry me alive.” She held up a hand, blazing with Dragon fire. “But if I know Maxwell, he won’t just give any piece of the Zodiac. And I know him better than I’d like.”
She turned and stared up at Steven. “You did something there. You reached out and linked our powers, helped me to control mine. You shared your energy with me.”
He shook his head, overwhelmed. “Is that a property of the Zodiac power?”
“That must be a property of your power. But nobody else’s. I’d like to do some more research on this,” Carlos said.
Jasmine snapped her fingers. She sat up straight, her eyes suddenly wide. “That might give us the edge we need.”
Steven turned away, frowning. “I’m not leaving, am I?”
“That’s up to you. But I sure hope not.”
“We’re not ready,” he said, turning to plead with her. “If our team goes up against Maxwell’s, we’re gonna lose again. We might die.”
“Not if we’re smart.”
Steven walked over to the bed and gazed at the half-filled suitcase. He thought of his father, stern and stoic, and his enigmatic mother. He thought about his classmates, Harani and Ryan, joking and wandering around the museum in Hong Kong. They were all part of another life now, a time that seemed very, very far away.
Then he thought about Jasmine and Carlos setting up this compound because they knew the Zodiac Convergence was coming. He thought about the recruits, Duane and Kim and Liam and Roxanne, who needed someone to guide them. He thought about Maxwell, hovering imperiously above the Zodiac pools, his arms outstretched as if to draw in all the power in the world.
And Steven thought about the world. A world that now had people of incredible power running wild across it, power like nothing it had ever seen before.
Somebody has to protect that world.
“I’ll stay,” he said.
There was a soft poof. “YAY!” Kim cried, appearing in the air between Steven and Jasmine. She ran to Steven and hugged him, very tight.
“Uh!” he said, surprised. “Um, thanks.”
Suddenly, Roxanne, Duane, and Liam appeared at the door and walked inside. Kim pulled away, smiling sheepishly. “We were listening at the door.” Then she hugged him again.
“Yeah, mate,” Liam chimed in. “We don’t want you to leave.”
“Not at all,” Duane added.
“We need you,” Roxanne said, looking him in the eye.
Steven stared at them, utterly surprised that they would care, utterly touched.
Jasmine smiled at the team. “Get back to the training room,” she said, “all of you. And, Steven, try out that new trick with the others, the thing where you link your powers together. I’d like to do some more planning.”
“Okay.” Steven smiled, sheepishly.
Carlos rose surprisingly steadily for having just been knocked out for a few moments. He nodded at Jasmine’s questioningly look, and the two of them headed out.
Jasmine paused in the doorway. “We’re going after Maxwell tomorrow. Get ready, everyone.”
Then they were gone.
Steven turned to the group. “Thanks, everybody. You all go on without me. I’ll be right behind you.”
Duane, Liam, and Roxanne filed out, while Kim flashed him another smile and poofed.
Well, Steven thought when he was alone once more. I guess I’m staying.
He still had his doubts. But he felt a strong sense of relief. He had the feeling he’d just been talked out of a very bad decision.
Something on the floor caught his eye, reflecting the overhead light. He reached down and picked up the bone fragment. What had Jasmine called it? An oracle bone?
Now he remembered. His grandfather had told him about oracle bones: they were used in ancient China, centuries ago, to send messages. Some of the earliest examples of Chinese writing were preserved on these bone fragments.
Is that what’s going on? he wondered. Someone trying to send me a message? But who?
As Steven watched, startled, the Chinese characters on the bone seemed to soften and blur. They moved and shifted, the strokes and lines rearranging themselves into new patterns. When they stopped, the writing spelled out two short sentences in English:
BE CAREFUL, BE SMART. YOU CAN DO THIS.
Steven’s hand was trembling. This is no ancient oracle, he thought. Whatever it is, it’s got some serious tech inside it. Someone went to a lot of trouble to make it.
He sat on the bed, staring at it for several minutes. His phone, the phone Jasmine had given him, bleeped. He clicked it on and saw a text message from Liam: WAITING IN THE TRAINING RM, MATE. U COMING?
Steven frowned at the oracle bone, then stashed it in his top bureau drawer. He made a mental note to have it checked out, to see if there was some kind of tracking device inside it. But somehow, he didn’t feel like sharing it with anyone else yet.
He ran out of the room, his mind whirling with possibilities.
“I’VE ALWAYS liked airplanes, you know?” Liam said. “Not like my Uncle Edwin. First time he ever flew, the bloody plane crashed straight into a control tower. Never left Belfast again till the day he died. He used to say, ‘If man was meant to fly, he’d have landing gear on his butt.’”
Steven liked listening to Liam’s stories, but right now he had something else on his mind. He mumbled an excuse, unfastened his seat belt, and slipped out into the aisle.
Jasmine had booked them on a series of commercial flights. This was the last leg of the trip, a long flight from Budapest through to Beijing, China. Everyone was tired and stiff from all the travel, and there was still a long truck ride ahead before they reached their destination.
Jasmine had explained the mission; apparently they needed to be in a particular spot in China to pull it off. But Steven still had the strange feeling she wasn’t telling him everything.
He walked forward in the cabin. Just ahead, Kim and Roxanne sat together. Kim seemed to be trying to make conversation, but Roxanne was wearing ear buds, rocking back and forth in her seat.
“This is pretty exciting, isn’t it?” Kim asked.
Roxanne didn’t say anything.
“I mean, this whole thing,” Kim continued. “Training to use powers, flying all over the world, going on a mission into unknown territory. Mildly terrifying.”