by Stan Lee
“Here’s another dumb thing,” Steven said. “Run.”
They sprinted across the chamber, beneath the bizarre ceiling showing the reversed continents. China passed by overhead, then the Persian Gulf and northern Africa. Kim was puffing, breathing hard, but she kept up with him.
He stole a glance back. “The lava,” he said, “it’s gaining on us!”
She grabbed him and leaped up. “It’s not—”
Poof.
“—lava. It’s magma.”
He glanced down and chose a landing spot. “What’s the difference?”
“It’s magma while it’s in the volcano. It only becomes lava when it gets outside, into the air.”
“But it’s the same stuff!”
“I don’t make the—”
Poof.
“—rules.”
They both laughed. He clasped her hand, flashed her a quick smile, and started running again.
All at once, he knew: We’re going to make it. This will be okay.
We’re together again, and that’s what matters.
Fiery magma flowed upward, destroying everything its path. Rocks melted, ash filled the air, hidden machinery sparked and died. And as the Dragon’s lair dissolved into molten slag, the Tiger and the Rabbit ran hand in hand, sprinting and jumping through the Mountain of Fire to safety.
ONE LAST poof and they were outside. Kim tumbled free of Steven’s grip as he landed roughly on the uneven ground.
He paused for a moment, catching his breath. The soil was a mix of red clay, dark rock, and gray ash left over from previous volcanic eruptions. Smoke filled the air, rising in a slow cloud from the volcano.
Steven scanned the area through the Tiger’s sharp eyes. The mountainside angled sharply downward, a treacherous slope covered with more dry ash. After about a kilometer, the land flattened out and trees, whole forests, began to poke through gaps in the ash.
A few kilometers away, a small village was nestled in the trees, surrounded by green fields plowed in arcs and whorls. Low houses spread out at odd angles from a central hub. They looked like toys, like the building blocks Steven had played with as a little boy.
They’re so exposed, he thought. So vulnerable. What would it be like to live there? Under the constant shadow of death?
“Hey,” Kim said.
He turned to see her standing at the very peak of the mountain. He climbed up to join her, the Tiger guiding his steps. The volcano’s opening gaped wide, leading into the chambers below. Kim waved away a plume of ash and pointed down into the volcano.
“Look,” she said.
He peered over the edge. The jagged rock floor, the streams of water, the ropes his team had used to enter the mountain—all of it was gone. Molten rock filled the chamber, seething and rising, bubbling like a teakettle ready to overflow.
“Mince.” Steven shook his head. “She destroyed the whole installation, just to get rid of us.”
“She’s crazy,” Kim said.
He looked up. Ash blocked out the sun, but he guessed it was midafternoon. “We better get out of here.”
She looked at him, and he saw how tired she was. “I can’t ’port any more.”
“We better radio for…”
He trailed off as he touched the spot on his temple where the HUDset should have been. Then he remembered: I threw it away. He turned to explain to Kim—
—just as she stumbled backward, tripping on a rock. “No!” she cried, looking past him. “Stay away!”
Steven whirled in surprise. Nicky—Dog—approached around the curve of the volcano peak, stalking through the cloud of ash. Thick yellow fur still covered his body, including his scarred face. He wore a small Bluetooth earpiece.
Kim stared at him in terror.
Steven laughed. “It’s okay,” he said. “Nicky’s with us now.”
Kim took another step back. “He used to chase me. Like, a lot.”
“Yeah,” Nicky acknowledged, stepping over a rough patch of ground. “I used to have trouble with what you call impulse control.”
Kim moved close to Steven, still eyeing Nicky. “Don’t worry,” Steven said. “He’s learned some, uh…”
“New tricks?” she asked.
“Ha! Good one.” Nicky clapped Steven hard on the back. “They sent me up to find you ’cause I’m the best climber. What happened to your headset, kid?”
Steven shrugged. “Batteries.”
“Well, while you were breakin’ blondie out of her cell—”
“I broke myself out,” Kim protested. She seemed calmer now.
“—we evacuated the village.” Nicky gestured down the mountain, toward the houses in the distance. “Now we’re waitin’ to hear from Duane about how bad the eruption’s gonna be.”
“What about the Vanguard soldiers?” Kim said. “There must have been at least a hundred of them in the base.”
“Ah, don’t worry about them,” Nicky replied. “They’re okay. A big Vanguard airship blasted out of a hidden entrance halfway down the mountain half an hour ago.”
Steven stared out at the village. Trucks rolled away from the houses, tiny figures running alongside and clinging to the doors of the vehicles. Only the Tiger’s eyes could have picked them out at that distance.
The mountain rumbled beneath their feet. “Blondie,” Nicky said, “you feel like doin’ that poof trick? Get us outta here?”
“I can’t. I’m exhausted.”
“A’ight,” Nicky said. “We’ll do it the hard way.” He touched a furry claw to his earpiece and spoke in low tones.
Steven was barely listening. He stared at the village, at the houses surrounded by trees and ash. It all reminded him of something, but he couldn’t remember what.
Kim touched his shoulder. “That lava’s getting pretty high,” she said, gesturing at the volcano’s opening.
He smiled. “You mean magma?”
Before she could reply, the mountain shook. Steven leaped up, his Tiger reflexes kicking in. He whirled, growling, just in time to see Kim lose her balance. She cried out and fell backward down the mountain slope.
He leaped toward her, the Tiger rising above his head. But she was too far away.
“No worries, boss,” Nicky said. “I got ’er!”
Before Kim could hit the ground, Nicky leaped ahead of her and landed on all fours. He dropped to his back and rolled, using his furry stomach to cushion her body as she fell. The impact flung them both down the slope; Nicky grabbed hold of Kim and pulled her tightly to him, shielding her as they rolled over a patch of rocks.
When they came to a stop, he opened his arms. Kim staggered to her feet, dazed.
“Thanks,” she said, “You’re pretty soft, when you’re not trying to kill me.”
“Don’t tell nobody,” he replied, winking his one good eye. “I got a whole tough-guy image goin’.”
Steven ran to join them, keeping an eye on the volcano’s mouth. A thick cloud of smoke filled the air. He coughed and waved it away, grimacing as a thin spout of magma burbled up.
Lava, he corrected himself, not magma—
“Let’s bounce,” Nicky said.
They ran, stumbling and coughing their way down the steep mountain face. Behind them, more smoke billowed out of the volcano. They could hear the lava now, the deep rumbling sound of superheated liquid rock rising to the surface.
Then, all at once, Nicky stopped. “Look!” he cried, pointing back toward the top of the mountain.
The smoke was thinning out. A single gout of lava burst out of the volcano’s mouth, spreading to cover the near side of the summit. It flowed down a meter or so, then stopped short and dried, cooling rapidly.
Kim blinked. “Is that it?”
“Yup.” Nicky touched his earpiece again. “According to Duane, that’s all there’s gonna be. Looks like Mince only triggered a little eruption.”
“Huh,” Steven replied. “So she didn’t wipe out a whole village just to take a shot at us, after all.�
��
Kim frowned. “Maybe Mince has got a tiny little conscience someplace inside that hot mess of a brain.”
“Maybe.” He gazed at the rock around the volcano’s mouth, sizzling as the last of the lava cooled. “Or maybe the Dragon’s volcano tech just isn’t out of beta yet.”
Suddenly, he felt tired. He looked down the mountain face, past red rock and long stretches of dried ash. The village seemed a long way away.
Kim gave him a weary smile. “Guess we better start walking.”
“Walkin’?” Nicky laughed. “No way. Now that the dust cloud is clearing…” He pointed up.
Steven squinted into the sky. The sun was beginning to poke through, low on the horizon. And just above it, a thick tubular shape swooped through the air, moving closer.
“Malik, baby,” Nicky said into his earpiece. “How ’bout a pickup?”
The vehicle resolved into the form of a large military helicopter. Malik—Ox—sat alone at the controls, steering steadily toward the volcano. He pulled up on the stick, tilting the copter’s rotors to avoid the last sputtering plume of ash. Then he slowed and came to a hover.
Kim clapped her hands in joy, then leaned over to kiss Steven on the cheek. “See you on board!” she said.
With a poof, she was gone. Steven glanced up in time to see her reappear in the copilot’s seat.
Two ropes dropped from the bottom of the copter. Nicky leaped up and grabbed one, swinging and barking theatrically.
“Malik hates it when I do this!” he said, laughing.
Steven reached out and clasped the second rope. With the crisis past, his adrenaline was fading. He’d been so pumped by the return of his Zodiac power, he’d forgotten it wasn’t inexhaustible. Even the Tiger needed rest.
The copter rose, lifting him into the air. He looked down again, over the ashy mountain, the scattered forests. The copter drifted slowly away from the volcano, toward the populated area beyond.
In the distance, trucks circled back, returning to the village. Tiny figures leaped off the vehicles, landing on the ground and embracing their fellow villagers.
Under the shadow of death, he thought again.
The copter lurched slightly. Steven hung in the air, gripping the rope tight. Nicky swung himself up and grabbed hold of the copter’s landing struts.
The volcano belched once more, rumbled, and went silent.
Suddenly, Steven realized what the village reminded him of. My vision. The terrible choice: my parents or my team. My two families.
The villagers faced a similar choice every day: between the home they loved and the safety of their loved ones who lived there. They escaped death, he thought, today at least. And they decided it was worth it…to stay in their homes, with the people they care about most in the world.
He hoped he could choose as wisely, when the time came.
DESPITE ALL THEIR newly recovered power, the Zodiacs found themselves short on transportation options. Their stealth plane had recently crashed in Australia, and the military helicopter had to be returned to the Indonesian government. So the eight teammates crammed themselves into tiny seats on a commercial airliner and flew coach back to their headquarters in Greenland.
Kim held Steven’s hand the whole time. That was nice. Halfway through the flight, his phone beeped a text alert.
“Hey,” he said. “I’ve got some news.”
Kim looked up, sleepy. “Mmm?”
“Your parents are waiting for us. At HQ.”
“What?” She blinked. “Why?”
“You just escaped,” he explained. “From Maxwell, the Dragon, whatever. We don’t want him going after your folks, so Jasmine had ’em moved where we can protect them.”
“Mom. Dad.” Kim shook her head as if trying to clear it. “I was so worried about them. My dad…he had a stroke….”
“I bet they want to see you.”
She turned and touched his cheek tenderly. “Thank you,” she said.
She leaned in closer. Steven barely hesitated a microsecond, but it was time enough for Roxanne to poke her head over the seat ahead and say, “Oh, just kiss her!”
He fell back in his seat, humiliated. But the sound of Kim’s laughter almost made the whole thing worth it.
As soon as they arrived, the team scattered. Jasmine disappeared immediately into the bowels of the high-tech headquarters. Kim poofed away to see her parents. And Steven seemed distracted. When Roxanne suggested they grab some food, he mumbled a hasty apology and ran off.
Fine, Roxanne thought. I’ll just eat by myself.
The small galley was crowded. Two women in lab coats, scientists on a short lunch break, grabbed sandwiches from a lighted shelf and brushed past Roxanne. A group of Chinese refugees sat huddled over a table, talking in low tones with a couple of the maintenance personnel. From the beginning, Jasmine had insisted the Zodiacs provide refuge for people whose communities had been devastated by Maxwell’s private army. This group had recently arrived.
At another table, Duane sat talking with Dafari, a brilliant computer scientist. And in the corner, the three ex-Vanguard agents—Malik, Nicky, and Josie—sat together. They gestured wildly, clearly thrilled by the return of their Zodiac powers. Malik banged his fist on the table to make a point. Josie turned away, but Nicky leaned over the table, growling. In a matter of seconds, his formerly clean-shaven face sprouted thick yellow Dog fur. As he bared his teeth, sharp fangs jutted out.
Then he and Malik both laughed and clapped each other on the back. The refugees shot them brief nervous looks.
Roxanne grimaced. Josie and Nicky had just joined the Zodiacs for the latest mission; Malik had been there a bit longer, but only by a few months. They were all older than Roxanne’s team, and they’d been trained in Maxwell’s fierce, uncompromising military culture. They wanted to belong, but they hadn’t managed to completely fit in yet.
And now, just like us, they’ve got their powers back. How’s that going to work out?
Roxanne grabbed a sushi plate and slid into an empty seat next to Duane and Dafari. Almost instantly, she regretted it.
“The volcano,” Duane said, “was equipped with some sort of tech that triggered a partial eruption.” He shoveled a forkful of eggs into his mouth.
Dafari shot him a sharp look. “That would require a tremendous amount of pressure to be exerted on the magma from below.”
Duane glared back at him. “Obviously.”
“Did you actually observe this ‘tech’?”
“Only hints of it. Defensive weapons, engines humming behind the walls.” Duane paused. “But I remain convinced that the Dragon is performing experiments for some larger, as yet unknown reason.”
“What basis do you have for this conviction?”
“I took extensive seismic and soil readings. They were highly irregular.”
“I’ll tell you what’s irregular,” Roxanne said, holding up her chopsticks. “This eel and avocado roll. Right?”
Dafari ignored her. “When you radioed in,” he said to Duane, “I ordered a meticulous scan of volcanoes on all seven continents. We’ve detected no major seismic activity, no spike in island or continental eruptions. If the Dragon is indeed engaged in ‘experiments,’ he is performing them very quietly.”
“Which does not mean he’s not doing it.”
“It doesn’t mean he is, either.”
“Carlos could figure this out in five minutes,” Duane said. “I wish he were here.”
“Technically, he is here. But he’s in no condition to help.”
“Well, boys,” Roxanne said, rising to her feet. “I don’t want to say this wasn’t fun…”
They didn’t even look up. “Perhaps when we’ve had time to debrief Steven and the others,” Duane said, “and to analyze my findings…then we will have more to go on than your reflexive skepticism.”
“I am merely pointing out the flaws in your rather hurriedly concocted…”
“…but it wasn’t,” she murmu
red.
Sushi plate in hand, she crossed the galley, smiling briefly at the group of refugees. She felt uncomfortable, as if she didn’t belong there anymore.
Without realizing it, she found herself standing before the ex-Vanguard table. Nicky and Malik were engaged in a heated discussion.
“…not saying he can’t do the job,” Malik said, “but we’ve got a lot more experience.”
“You just don’t like takin’ orders from a kid,” Nicky said, laughing.
Josie just sat still, looking away. Her expression was grim.
“His mission parameters were sloppy,” Malik said. “It was a rescue and a snatch-and-grab. That’s a dangerous split in priorities.”
“We pulled it off.”
“We were lucky. Lucky that psycho girl didn’t blow the whole mountain to…”
They turned, noticing Roxanne for the first time. Malik stared at her for a moment, then gestured at the table’s fourth, empty chair.
Roxanne drew in a deep breath, looked at the half-eaten sushi on her plate, and sat down. She felt like a rich kid who’d wandered into a bad neighborhood.
“Steven’s a good leader,” she said. “He saved my life more than once.”
Nicky shrugged. “He a’ight.”
“I’ve fought alongside him,” Malik said. “He’s a capable fighter and very energetic. I suppose I’ve just been wondering about the nature of the Zodiac powers…about the roles they force us into.”
“Uh-oh.” Nicky laughed. “Malik’s been thinkin’.”
Roxanne turned to look straight at Malik. Something about that phrase—“the roles they force us into”—echoed in her mind.
“Go on,” she said.
“Steven is fast, agile, and powerful,” Malik said. “But is he really a leader? Or do we just allow him that role because he happened to be born in the Year of the Tiger?”
“The powers,” she said. “They sought out their hosts, each of us, because we embody the principles of each Zodiac sign. I mean, if you believe all that stuff.” She felt uncertain, as if she were venturing out of her depth. “Point is, it wasn’t random. Steven isn’t just a tiger…he’s the Tiger.”