The Dragon's Return

by Stan Lee

  “I know,” Jasmine said. “That’s because of Maxwell. He did something to you.”

  Carlos stared at her for a moment.

  “Maxwell.” He kept the rifle raised. “It was logical to help him. Only he can control the Zodiac power. Only he can be trusted with it.”

  “Carlos,” Steven began, “take it easy.”

  “Maxwell is—he’s the champion of the human race,” Carlos continued. “Only he can be trusted with all that power.”

  “He can’t be trusted,” Jasmine said. “He’s not even in control of it anymore.”

  “He can. He…he told me.”

  “Carlos,” Jasmine said. Her voice was cracking. “Maxwell did something to your mind. He made you believe.”

  “I did everything rationally,” Carlos replied, shaking his head violently again. “I followed the proper steps, acted according to consistent guiding principles.” He paused and looked around wildly. “Yet it all led to this. The results are all wrong.”

  “Yes,” Jasmine said, taking a tentative step forward. “They are.”

  Carlos turned and stared at her. “He made me hurt you!”

  Jasmine just stared at him. Tears were forming in the corners of her eyes.

  “My brain,” Carlos said. “Oh god, it doesn’t work.” The rifle quivered in his hands. “I am the Operator. The Operator. My brain my brain my brain—”

  “It’s okay,” Jasmine said. “We can help you. Just—”

  “No.” He shook his head. “The Dragon power…it’s his now. Only the Dragon can fix my brain. Are you the Dragon?”

  Jasmine stopped. She shook her head.

  He’s still thinking, Steven realized. As damaged as that mind is, it won’t stop working.

  Carlos stepped back against the tank. Steven glanced up at the ceiling, then down at Carlos. If I had my powers, I could take him, he thought. Swing off the pipes, knock him away from the tank.

  But Carlos’s energy rifle was trained on Jasmine. One twitch of his finger and Jasmine would be dead. Without his Tiger powers, Steven couldn’t take the chance.

  Carlos studied Jasmine. “Maybe if I kill you,” he said, his voice disturbingly calm, “maybe then the pain will go away.”

  “No,” she said.

  “Yes.” He nodded his head. “It’s logical. It’s rational. It’s the only way.”

  “Carlos,” Jasmine said, her voice breaking. “I came down here to get you. I came back for you.”

  Steven watched the two of them. There was no way out. If he tackled Carlos, Carlos would shoot Jasmine. If he didn’t, Carlos would probably shoot her anyway.

  “Don’t,” Jasmine said. “Don’t do this.”

  But she didn’t move. Steven remembered her words, back on the platform: I don’t even care what happens to me.

  Carlos’s finger tightened on the trigger.

  I have to try, Steven thought. I have to do something.

  Jasmine closed her eyes.

  A flash of light swung down, slashing into Carlos from behind. He cried out and fell forward, dropping to his knees.

  The energy rifle went off and struck the ceiling. A pipe burst, spewing steam into the air.

  From behind the tank, out of the shadows, a small figure stepped forward. She held up her hand, revealing an electrically charged glove studded with bright claws. It glowed and sparked like a second skeleton over her hand.

  It took Steven a minute to recognize her: the blue eyes, the unwashed hair. He shook his head in shock.

  “Mince?” he whispered.

  She smirked, waving the claw in the air. “Invented this myself,” she said. “Pretty tight, huh?”

  At her feet, Carlos groaned once and collapsed.

  Jasmine blinked in confusion. “Who is this?”

  “She works for Maxwell,” Steven explained, watching Mince warily. “She’s his number two scientist.”

  “Number one,” Mince said, “as soon as you take him away.”

  She kicked Carlos, not too gently.

  Jasmine rushed to Carlos and took him in her arms. Carlos’s back was gashed and bleeding from Mince’s claw weapon, but he was breathing.

  “I don’t understand,” Jasmine said.

  “You and the kid trashed this place pretty good,” Mince said. “And Maxwell’s—well, I’m not sure exactly what he is now. But let’s just say I’m hoping to advance in the new power structure.” She looked around and laughed. “There’s always opportunities in the face of disaster.”

  Steven peered at Mince. She was crazy as ever, but she seemed sure of her plan. Her manner was almost calm.

  “You don’t want to kill us?” he asked.

  “Not if you get rid of my problem.” She pointed at Carlos.

  Jasmine and Steven exchanged a quick glance. Jasmine rose to her feet, lifting Carlos in her arms. He moaned once but remained limp.

  “Thanks,” Steven said. He reached out to help Jasmine support Carlos.

  Mince laughed—a crazy, nasty laugh.

  “Don’t thank me,” she said. “Once Maxwell learns to tame the Dragon, you’ll wish I’d killed you.”

  Yep, Steven thought, crazy as ever.

  Steven and Jasmine trudged back down the tunnel, with Carlos propped up between them. Mince’s laughter followed them. When they rounded a bend and she passed out of sight, Steven felt relieved.

  Jasmine raised an eyebrow. “You made some very strange new friends while I was out of action.”

  Despite himself, Steven smiled. “That’s the first joke I’ve heard you crack in a while.”

  “Huh,” she said. “Felt pretty good.”

  They retraced their steps, walking past the downed guards. Now Steven noticed the electrical burn marks on the guards’ backs and necks.

  Mince planned all of this, he realized, just to get Carlos away from Maxwell. She’s dangerous. Very dangerous.

  Somehow, he knew they’d meet again.

  When they rounded the last bend, a surprising sight confronted them. Roxanne stood in the tunnel, just below the surface entrance. Duane sat at her feet, his leg wrapped in an improvised bandage made out of his jacket.

  “Thought we’d meet you downstairs,” Roxanne said. She gestured upward. “It’s not too safe up there.”

  Another explosion sounded overhead. The air smelled like burning plastic.

  Duane gestured weakly at Carlos. “You found him.”

  “Yeah.” Steven rested Carlos’s heavy form against the tunnel wall. “We found him.”

  “Now all we need is a way out,” Jasmine said. She turned to Roxanne. “Any word from Liam?”

  “Good news: he’s alive,” Roxanne said. “Bad news: he says the plane can’t be fixed.”

  An explosion shook the tunnel.

  “Well,” Steven said, “we better figure out someth—”

  A low rumble filled the air around them. The ground began to shake. At first Steven thought it was another explosion, but the noise grew steadily louder, filling the tunnel.

  Roxanne and Jasmine gathered together with Steven against the wall. Jasmine pulled Carlos’s limp form closer. Roxanne held out a hand to Duane, and he limped over to join them.

  “What now?” Roxanne asked.

  The wall beneath the tunnel opening began to buckle and collapse. A pair of metal treads appeared, cracking and smashing through the wall. The ceiling crumbled, stone and pipes raining down.

  Steven gestured to the others. Together they backed away from the opening, retreating a small way into the tunnel. Jasmine reached out to take Steven’s hand in a trembling grip.

  As the strange subterranean vehicle rumbled into view, Steven suddenly recognized it.

  “That’s the Vanguard drill-ship,” he said. “The one they used at Dragon’s Gate.”

  The drill-ship ground to a halt, its engines subsiding to a dull rumble. With a rusty clang, the ship’s outer hatch swung open.

  Roxanne smiled. “Ox!”

  Ox hefted himself halfwa
y out of the ship and ran his eyes across the group.

  “Couldn’t abandon my team,” he said. “Come on.”

  Jasmine’s hand slipped from Steven’s. When he turned to look at her, she was slumped against the wall, exhausted.

  “You heard the man,” Steven said.

  She smiled weakly.

  Ox helped them, one by one, into the cramped ship. Steven and Jasmine picked up Carlos’s limp body, passing it to Ox inside. Ox grabbed on to Carlos with strong, thick arms, maneuvering him through the narrow passageway into the main cockpit.

  Jasmine followed. When Carlos was safely inside, she reached out and softly ran a hand down the sleeping man’s face.

  Steven helped Roxanne with Duane. They stepped down and took a spot on the floor of the interior cabin, in the cramped space behind the cockpit.

  “Don’t forget Liam,” Steven said. “We’ll have to pick him up at the weapons depot.”

  “That loser?” Ox said, seating himself in the pilot’s chair. “No way.”

  Steven and Jasmine both turned to stare at him.

  Ox grinned. “Just kidding,” he said. “You think I’d leave that crazy cannonball behind? He owes me a rematch at chess.”

  The hatch slammed shut, and the drill-ship rumbled back to life. Steven Lee slumped against the cold metal wall, exhausted.

  In less than a minute, the Zodiacs were gone.

  THE THIRD-FLOOR LAB was a strange place for a meeting. A piece of the party banner still hung from the ceiling, and a paper plate covered with congealed icing lay on the counter next to the sink. The previous few days had been so busy, no one had bothered to clean up properly.

  But Steven wanted to talk to the whole team as soon as possible. Duane and Dafari were still finishing up their scans for Zodiac energy, and there were only two places they could do that: the lab or the war room.

  Steven studied everyone in the group, one at a time. Duane sat at a computer console, his leg in a cast, tapping away at a keyboard. Every now and then Dafari pointed at something over his shoulder and Duane shot him an annoyed look.

  Liam and Roxanne sat nearby, chatting in low voices. Liam’s arm was in a sling—he’d broken it in the jump from the platform—and he seemed unusually serious.

  They’re all different now, Steven thought. They look so…normal.

  He walked over to Duane. “Anything?”

  “The Australia base is still offline,” Duane said. “No energy signature at all.”

  “Vanguard has suspended all known activities,” Dafari added, “including ongoing wars in several countries.”

  “No sign of Snake and Monkey. Or Horse and Dog, for that matter. If they’re alive, they’re all laying low.”

  “Maxwell?” Steven asked.

  Duane shook his head. “It’s like he’s vanished.”

  “Okay.” Steven took a deep breath. “Dafari, would you excuse us?”

  The scientist looked at Steven in surprise. Then he nodded quickly, clapped Duane on the shoulder, and left.

  Liam and Roxanne approached. They leaned against a counter, waiting. Duane blinked a few times at his screen, then swiveled to face Steven.

  Suddenly, Steven couldn’t think of a thing to say.

  Ox strode in. “Just went over the new security protocols with Mags,” he said. “Without Zodiac protection, we’re gonna have to double the patrols and enlist everyone in sentry duty. That should—” He stopped and walked over to join Liam and Roxanne. “I mean, sorry I’m late. I got the e-mail this time.”

  “Well,” Steven began. “Here we are.”

  They all stared at him.

  “Okay, look,” he continued. “I’m no good at speeches. We all know that. But here’s the thing: none of you asked for the Zodiac power in the first place.”

  “I did,” Ox said.

  Everyone glared at him.

  “Ox, mate,” Liam said. “Let the kid talk, hey?”

  “Sorry,” Ox said. “And it’s Malik.”

  “Malik,” Steven said, “you’re new here, but I’ve had long talks with the others over the past year about the power. Duane, it made things impossible for you back home. Roxanne, it ruined your musical career.”

  “I never minded,” Liam said. “Being the toughest guy in the room, I mean.”

  “I know.” Steven pointed at Liam’s cast. “But now you’re not. And I just want you all to know…Jasmine and I appreciate everything you’ve done here.”

  “Where is Jasmine, anyway?” Roxanne asked.

  “With Carlos,” Steven said. “Again.”

  Everyone looked down for a moment.

  “Anyway,” Steven continued, “I just want you to know there’s no hard feelings. You’ve all got lives to lead, and now that your powers are gone, there’s nothing to keep you from leading them.”

  Steven felt tears rising to his eyes. He turned away, lifting a hand to his face—unobtrusively, he hoped.

  When he turned back, four sets of eyes were staring at him.

  “Mate,” Liam said, “you think we’re leaving?”

  Steven blinked. “But…I…” he gestured at Liam. “Didn’t you want to go square things with the British Army?”

  “Aye, I’ll have to do that eventually,” Liam said. “But Maxwell’s still out there, mate. And I never liked leaving a fight while the other guy could still walk away.”

  “Roxanne?” Steven asked. “What about your mother?”

  “She told me to stay.” Roxanne gave him a crooked smile. “You need us, dude.”

  Malik shrugged. “I just got here.”

  One by one, they all turned to Duane. He looked troubled.

  “I don’t know,” he said. “I’m still not sure if I’m of value to the team.”

  Liam and Roxanne exchanged astonished looks.

  “Mate,” Liam said, “you fixed an experimental antigravity dingus in less than a minute.”

  “While performing psychoanalysis on a madman!” Roxanne added.

  “Well,” Duane said, “I do have some new ideas for tracking Maxwell. Dafari and I have been working on refining the analyzers, maybe even converting them into feedback devices. That would allow us to weaponize some tech that we’ve so far only been able to…” He trailed off, then flashed a shy smile. “I guess I’m staying.”

  “If nothing else,” Roxanne said, “we gotta make sure Kim’s okay.”

  Steven really felt like he might cry then. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “Look at it this way,” Liam said. “Yeah, we lost our powers—but we still managed to destroy Maxwell’s base. We prob’ly set him back years and saved a lot of lives around the world.”

  “Powers or not,” Roxanne added, “we’re a pretty good team.”

  “This place existed before the Zodiac Convergence,” Malik said. “You’ve got ordinary people risking their lives here every day. You think I’d quit just because I can’t make a big dumb animal appear over my head anymore?”

  “One second, please,” Duane said. He tapped frantically at the computer for a moment. Then he stood up, balancing unsteadily on his injured leg. He looked from Steven to Roxanne, then to Liam and Malik. A scared look flashed across his face.

  Then he held out his arms. “Group hug,” he said. “Grug.”

  Steven frowned. “Is that a thing?”

  “It is now.” Duane gestured at his computer. “I just added it to Wikipedia.”

  Then they were all laughing. Roxanne wrapped her arms around Steven and Duane. Malik hung back, hesitant, but Liam motioned to him, and soon they were all gathered together in one big embrace.

  “Thank you,” Steven whispered. “Thank you so much.”

  He heard the sound of a throat clearing. He disengaged from the group—from the “grug.” Jasmine stood in the doorway, her head cocked, an amused smile on her face.

  “Clearly I’ve missed something,” she said.

  The others filed out quickly. Steven could tell they all sensed the same thing: h
e and Jasmine needed to talk.

  “See you in the training room,” Roxanne said to Steven.

  “You’re on guard duty tomorrow, 0600,” Malik told him.

  “I’ll have those new scans ready in a few hours,” Duane said.

  Liam just smiled and clapped Steven on the back, so hard that Steven winced.

  Then he was alone with Jasmine. And for the second time that day, he wasn’t sure what to say. They both paced around the room for a few minutes, lost in their own thoughts.

  “‘He’s not there anymore,’” Steven said, finally. “What does that mean?”

  “Uh, what?” She didn’t look at him.

  “Maxwell. That’s what you said about him. You also said, ‘The Dragon has taken him over completely.’”

  She looked away, a haunted expression on her face.

  “I’m not sure,” she said. “But I know Maxwell. I worked for him….He killed my parents. And that thing, back on the platform at the end—that wasn’t him.” She turned to Steven and smiled sadly. “You’re Zodiac—or you were. But the Dragon…it’s on a whole other level. I can’t even explain it in words. It’s like comparing a flashlight to the sun. Or a gentle breeze to a sandstorm.”

  “When he took my power—the first time, I mean—he said, ‘Only I can control the Dragon.’ Wrong again, Maxy.” Steven turned to Jasmine. “So he’s different now. Is that a good thing or a bad thing?”

  “I wish I knew.”

  They were silent again.

  “You, uh,” Jasmine said, “you must still be processing all the stuff your mom told you.”

  Steven nodded.

  “Did she and your father really arrange for you to be present at the Convergence?”

  “It all makes sense,” he replied. “Even you were suspicious about that—about why I was there when it happened. Remember?”

  “Yes,” Jasmine said.

  “When my mom told me about it,” he continued, “at first I was really angry. They’ve never really been there for me, you know? And then they do this. Once the fighting started, things got so crazy I barely had time to think about it.”

  “Mm.”

  “But then, on the ride home, I got to thinking. However it all happened—whatever reason there was that I wound up in that room—do I wish it never happened? Would I rather I’d never had the Tiger power, never felt it run through me like a bolt of hot lightning? Never helped people all around the world?”