by Stan Lee
“Nope. So we’ve got to make this count.” Steven whirled to address the others. “Nicky had the right idea, but not enough power. Josie, Malik—when the sound barrier drops, you’ve got to attack the Dragon physically. I’ll be with you, and Liam, too. Celine, it’s a long shot, but maybe you can distract it with your hypnosis.”
He glanced at Roxanne. She was maintaining the sonic barrier, her head moving slowly from side to side. But sweat had broken out on her brow, and her eyes looked desperate.
“Steven?”
He turned, irritated. “Not now, Mom. I just need you to stay back—”
“Your mother,” Mr. Lee said sternly, “is attempting to remind you of the weapon we gave you.”
He blinked at them. No clue.
“In the drill-ship?” Mrs. Lee prodded.
Kim reached a hand into Steven’s pocket. As he watched, surprised, she pulled out a small metal cylinder.
“The qi disruptor,” he muttered.
“In concert with your assault,” Mrs. Lee said, “it may be able to momentarily disrupt the Dragon’s form.” She sounded like a kindergarten teacher talking to a sleepy five-year-old.
Kim held out the disruptor. Steven glanced at it, then at the Dragon. The creature sniffed at the sound barrier, eyeing the humans beyond.
“Nah,” he said to Kim, pushing her hand away. “You keep it.”
Roxanne coughed and gasped. In an instant, the barrier was down.
The Dragon growled.
“Go!” Steven cried, sweeping his arm forward.
He ran toward the edge of the wing. This is the end, he thought. The end of the cycle. The Dragon’s going to fry us like bacon.
But at least we’ll go down together.
He leaped through the air, the Tiger roaring with power. Josie and Malik followed. Liam rolled himself into a ball and soared behind.
They landed along the Dragon’s body, snarling and clawing. Josie touched down on its neck, her Horse avatar whinnying and chomping at the air. Malik landed a powerful punch to the Dragon’s wing joint, denting a few scales. Steven almost overshot but grabbed on to the Dragon’s powerful tail, braced himself, and tugged hard.
Liam plowed into the Dragon’s eye. Eldritch energy, the concentrated power of the Zodiac, blazed all around him, holding him suspended in the air. As the creature cried out in pain, Liam bounced away.
The Dragon glanced toward the plane—where Celine caught its eye. A bright green glow surrounded her; the coiled, hissing Snake whipped back and forth above her body. They locked eyes.
“Fly away,” she said. It sounded like a chant. “Fly away and leave this world.”
Kim held up the qi disruptor to the Lees. “Like this?” she asked, pointing it at the Dragon. They nodded.
“Fly away,” Celine repeated.
Roxanne fired a series of short sound bursts. They struck the Dragon in its belly, jolting it backward in the air.
The creature’s tail whipped up, almost shaking Steven loose. He leaped off and landed on its back, between the two crackling wings. The Dragon’s skin felt like fire, like raw electric current. He scrambled to keep his balance, recoiling from the touch of its scales.
Josie stood upright on the creature’s neck. She surfed from side to side, dodging its sharp horns, punching it repeatedly. Malik clung to a wing, pounding one powerful Ox blow after another into the Dragon’s scales. The raging water flowed only a few meters below.
“Spinal tap!” Steven cried, aiming a two-handed punch right at the middle of the creature’s back. It howled in pain and whipped its head back and forth. A sharp horn grazed Steven’s cheek.
Celine staggered. “Fly…away….”
She fell to the surface of the plane’s wing, her power depleted. The Snake avatar faded away.
Kim aimed the disruptor with shaking hands. A dark beam burst forth from it, like a shadow against the looming ring of fire. It looked like blackness, the utter absence of light.
When it struck the Dragon, the creature grew stiff. It flickered, becoming transparent, intangible. For just a moment, Steven saw through its body to the center of its being. A human figure hovered there, limp, suspended in the air.
That’s Maxwell, he realized. Or his body, anyway. The Dragon’s still using it.
The disruptor beam bored into the Dragon. The creature flickered, vanished for a split second, and cried out. Its massive wings flapped up, then slashed down.
A crackling horn swept Steven off his perch. He lost his grip and tumbled through the air. He caught a quick glimpse of the fire wall, still blazing bright, and then he hit the water.
Malik and Josie swam up next to him. “Knocked us off, too,” Malik said.
Josie coughed up water. “Is it gone?”
Liam swam over, pointing. “Not bloody likely.”
Steven looked up. The Dragon hovered overhead, larger and more solid than ever. It reared back, blazing with power, and spat fire into the sky.
Kim stepped out to the edge of the plane wing and waved the qi disruptor. “It’s out of juice!” She tossed it into the sea.
Nicky and Celine lay dazed on the wing. Roxanne fired off another volley of sonic bursts, but they were growing weaker. This time the Dragon barely noticed them.
“Mom!” Steven called. “Got any more tricks?”
Mrs. Lee shook her head sadly.
The Dragon wheeled and swept its tail through the air. The ring of fire burned higher, flaring into the sky.
Liam dunked his head and spat water in the Dragon’s general direction. “Bloody thing’s stronger than ever.”
Malik placed a thick hand on Steven’s bobbing shoulder. “We did everything we could,” he said. “All of us.”
“We did.” Steven stared upward. “And it wasn’t enough.”
Duane lowered the screwdriver. “That’s the last connection.”
“Let me see,” Carlos said.
“Will it function as designed?”
“Difficult to say.” Carlos held a small analyzing device next to the cube. “Qi balance looks right, but—”
“Wrap it up,” Jasmine said, “before I throw you both overboard.”
They turned to stare at her across the table.
“Jaz,” Carlos began, “the cube’s principle is derived from that of the jiānyù. But the physical-form containment feature is an entirely new, untested—”
She couldn’t stand it any longer. She leaped to her feet, grabbed the cube, and ran. As she flipped open the hatch door, she heard Carlos’s feeble protests behind her.
“Now or never, boys!” she cried.
She ran out on the wing and stopped short, assessing the situation. Roxanne and Kim were kneeling near the end of the wing, tending to Celine and Nicky. Mr. and Mrs. Lee stood against the fuselage, watching.
Out in the water, Steven was paddling back toward the plane along with Josie, Malik, and Liam. A wall of fire rose from the sea behind them. And up above…
“Hey!” Jasmine called. “DRAGON!”
The great beast paused. It whirled and swooped down, straight toward the plane.
Jasmine held out a hand to Steven, motioning him to stay away. He and the others paused in the water, eyeing the Dragon as it drew closer.
“Jasmine?” Roxanne asked, moving up next to her. “What are you doing?”
“Get back,” Jasmine said. “This is my show.”
I wish it weren’t, she thought. But it is.
The Dragon dove low, whipping its tail in the air. It looks magnificent, she thought. She’d known the Dragon’s power, felt its electric song coursing through her veins. She knew how beautiful it was.
And how deadly.
The Dragon slowed to a hover just above the water. It glanced down at Steven and his teammates, floating near the plane. It spat fire but not directly at them. The flames struck the water, sizzling and hissing. Just a warning, a reminder of the creature’s power.
Then it turned and stared straight at Jasmi
ne. Its nose hovered mere centimeters from hers.
Jasmine felt all eyes on her. She knew what they were thinking: the Dragon could fry her with its flame breath anytime it wanted. But she knew it wouldn’t.
“Remember me?” she asked. “Your old bud? Your former host?”
The Dragon growled, low and unsure. It’s remembering, she realized. It’s evolving beyond us, beyond humanity. I’m its last fading link to the human world.
She held up the cube. “You know what this is?”
The creature hovered, staring at the bronze object. Jasmine stepped forward, almost to the edge of the plane’s wing, and thrust the cube forward.
Suddenly, all the Dragon’s energy flared at once, like a string of firecrackers igniting across its body. It recoiled, rearing back in midair.
“Yeah,” Jasmine said. “You know.”
The beast shrank away. Its vast wings flapped, its horns swept through the air. But it seemed weak, unable to move. Its body flickered once again and became transparent. Maxwell’s limp body hung like a marionette at the beast’s core.
Jasmine closed her eyes and thought a single word: Go.
Deep inside her mind, a presence stirred. It soared up, locked in on its destination, and shot forth like an arrow. She felt a tremendous sense of relief, a lightening of her spirit. And there was something else, too: a sound she couldn’t make out at first.
Laughter.
Maxwell’s essence flashed through the air, into the heart of the Dragon. Its body began to solidify again, but too late. As Maxwell reentered his body, his eyes opened wide. His expression grew dark, angry, dangerous.
The Dragon spat fire. It roared, a desperate howl of pain. The scream seemed to fill the world, but somehow Jasmine heard Maxwell’s words over it:
Only I can control the Dragon.
Carlos and Duane emerged from the cockpit. She waved them away, keeping her eyes on the Dragon. This is my show, she thought again. Mine and mine alone.
The Dragon twitched, its huge wings slicing through the air. It flickered in and out of existence. Each time it returned, it seemed smaller, less powerful. And every time it faded, Maxwell grew stronger.
He raised an arm and pointed at Jasmine.
She nodded, standing her ground. She held up the cube, moving it forward like an offering. Maxwell aimed himself at the cube and started to will his way forward, flying through the air in slow motion.
The Dragon shrieked and wailed. But slowly it began to move along with Maxwell. It struggled, clawed the air, spat fire from its nostrils.
The wind from the creature’s wings hammered against Jasmine. The heat from its mouth was almost unbearable. She closed her eyes and turned away. But she kept her grip on the cube. Nothing else mattered.
As they drew closer to Jasmine, Maxwell and the Dragon seemed to shrink, dwindling in midair. Maxwell spread his arms and pulled the Dragon tight around him. Then he turned and reached out to the cube, as if surrendering to some magnetic pull.
With a final burst of flame, they screamed together and vanished inside the cube.
Jasmine dropped to her knees. The others gathered around her. Steven scrambled up onto the wing, with the other waterlogged team members right behind him.
“Did it work?” Duane asked.
“That was Maxwell,” Roxanne said. “I’d know that arrogant laugh anywhere.”
Carlos peered over Jasmine’s shoulder. The cube pulsed and shook in her hands. It was hot, almost scalding to the touch. And one side now bore a faintly etched image of the Dragon.
“Step back,” Steven said. “Give her some room.”
Then it was just Steven and Carlos fussing over her, studying the cube in her hands. They helped her to her feet, asking if she was okay—supporting her as they always had.
For the last time, she thought.
Carlos pulled out his analyzer and started to run it over the cube. He paused at a second image, which bore the likeness of a different Dragon: the thin-taloned creature that had been Maxwell’s avatar.
“So he’s inside there with it?” Steven asked. “It’s over? We’ve won?”
“Not quite,” Jasmine said.
She couldn’t keep the sadness out of her voice. Both Steven and Carlos picked up on it immediately.
“Maxwell did as he promised,” she continued. “But we can’t trust him. He said only he could control the Dragon—but who’s gonna control him?”
“Jaz,” Carlos said, touching her arm, “one problem at a time. We can—”
Jasmine cried out. One side of the cube bulged, as if something was trying to push its way out from inside. The image of the Dragon—the new one, the crackling superbeast—opened its mouth wide, its eyes flaring red. Then it faded, retreating back inside the cube again.
“You see? Maxwell’s good, but he’s not as good as he thinks he is. He can’t contain that thing alone.” She took a deep breath. “He’s gonna need help.”
The realization hit Carlos first. His eyes went wide with panic. Steven was a beat behind, but then he started shaking his head rapidly, almost convulsively.
“No,” Carlos said. “Jaz, no. You can’t.”
“I have to.” She shifted the cube to one hand and touched Carlos’s cheek with the other. “It’s the only way. You know I’m right.”
“No!” Carlos’s eyes shifted from Jasmine to the cube and back again. “I—I just got you back, Jaz. I can’t lose you again!”
“And I love you for that.” She felt the tears starting. “I love you forever.”
“We’ll—Jaz, we’ll find another way. Duane and I, we’ll—”
“There’s no time. You know that.”
He moved closer to her, almost whispering in her ear. Steven pulled back, staring at them with wide, desperate eyes.
“You said we had to forgive ourselves,” Carlos said. “That means you, too. Not just me.”
“Maybe—” Her voice caught. “Maybe forgiving myself isn’t enough. Maybe I need to make amends.” She leaned in, sobbing on his shoulder. “All these years. All this time, I was too ashamed to admit what I’d done. Now I have the chance to make up for it—to atone for my sins.
“I have to do this.”
Carlos said nothing. She heard him crying.
“Be well,” she whispered.
Between them, the cube pulsed. She could feel the pressure, the power throbbing within it—the raging beast struggling to escape.
With a great effort, she pulled away from Carlos and cast her eyes over the scene. The ring of fire was already dying down, its flames sizzling away into the calming water. The Dragon was gone from the world, as if it had never been.
On the wing of the plane, Steven stood with the assembled Zodiacs, watching with concern. Kim the Rabbit, Duane the Pig, Roxanne the Rooster. Horse and Dog and the elusive, untrustworthy Snake. Liam the Ram and Malik the powerful Ox.
A real handful, Jasmine thought. But a good bunch.
She turned to Steven, forcing a smile. He opened his mouth to say something, but she waved a hand, cutting him off.
“You’re in charge now, kid,” she said. “Don’t screw it up.”
She tossed the cube to Carlos and jumped. As she swooped toward the containment unit in Carlos’s hands, her body seemed to dwindle in size. For just an instant, Jasmine’s old Dragon avatar appeared around her: lithe, wiry, with sharp fangs and deadly claws.
Then, in a flash of fire, she was gone.
STEVEN FOUND CARLOS in the big laboratory complex on the top floor of Zodiac headquarters. The scientist sat all alone in a desk chair, surrounded by computers, workstations, electron microscopes, and discarded clipboards.
Steven cleared his throat. “Gave everybody the day off, huh?”
“I just felt like being alone.” Carlos swiveled his chair around. “Well, sort of alone.” He held up the containment cube.
Steven walked over and took the cube. It was cool, inert. It hadn’t bulged or made a sound since Jasmine
entered it, two days before. He turned it over, noting the patterns on the sides. One showed the Uber-Dragon, as they’d begun calling it—the creature that had sought to destroy the human race. Another side bore the image of Maxwell’s Dragon.
A third side showed Jasmine’s Dragon. Slim, wiry, with short deadly claws.
“Is she really inside this thing?” Steven asked, holding up the cube. “What’s going on in there?”
Carlos shrugged. “A world of adventure? A battle without end? An endless, blank void?” He gestured around the lab. “All this equipment, and none of it can tell me. There’s no way to know.”
Steven stared at the image of Jasmine’s Dragon. Then, shaking his head, he handed back the cube.
Carlos held it up to the light, studying the different sides. “Maxwell,” he said. “I wish she’d never met him. I wish none of us had.”
Steven pulled up a chair. “Do you think he was really trying to sacrifice himself? For the good of mankind?”
“Maybe. Sort of.” Carlos frowned. “But at the same time, he wanted to prove he was right all along. That only he could control the power. With Maxwell, it always comes down to ego.”
“At least he’s gone, too.”
Carlos grunted.
He looks better, Steven thought. Still tired, and obviously upset about Jasmine. But his mind seems sharp again. He’s back to his old self.
Somehow, that made Steven think anything was possible.
“She put you in charge,” Carlos said.
“Uh, yeah.” Steven grimaced. “But you should really be running things. I’m not trying to—”
“No.” Carlos looked over the cube, his expression serious. “I’m going to run a battery of tests on this thing, and then I’m going away for a while. I can’t just keep the cube here—it’s too dangerous.”
“Oh,” Steven said. “That makes sense.”
“Besides, she trusted you.” Carlos stared at the cube. “The world is counting on you now.”
A dozen lame jokes danced around the edges of Steven’s brain. But in the end, he just nodded. “Then I’ll try to be worthy.” He looked away, uncomfortable. “How, uh, how’s the world doing, anyway?”