4: The Iron man
Tony led Tigress to a part of the laboratory she hadn't seen yet. Strange armor-looking things were lined up in alcoves, a little like in the Hall of Warriors. A kind of platform occupied most of the floor space.
"Now," said Tony, "witness my greatest creation."
He removed his shoes and climbed on the platform.
"Jarvis," he said, "dress me up!"
The floor and the ceiling suddenly exploded in a forest or metallic arms around him. With an efficiency betraying countless hours of of practice and refinement, the machines fitted him with the pieces of his armor. Beside him, Tigress had backed up to the wall, flabbergasted. That's exactly the effect Tony had hoped for.
He smiled at her "Cool, uh?"
A moment later he stepped down and walked to Tigress in a whirring of servomotors.
"If you will excuse me, I now have some butts to kick. I promise I will explain everything when I'm back. See ya."
His visor clamped down and he took off with a blast of his repulsors.
Tigress stood motionless for a moment, still trying to make sense of what just happened. She had an idea:
"Jarvis, where did he go?"
"Mr. Stark is presently in transit toward 42 Baker Street." Jarvis's always calm voice responded "I have access to various live feeds from news channel and from the on-board camera of the armor, would you like to see them?"
"I don't understand a word of what you're saying…" Tigress said. "Wait! Do you mean I can see what he is doing right now?"
"That is correct, Miss Tigress."
"Show me," she said.
Half a dozen screens lit up on the wall. There were different views of a building surrounded by armed men. A cracking sound was heard from time to time. Tigress understood it was firearms because she had seen them earlier on TV. One screen was showing a fast-moving view of the city from above, and Tigress suddenly realized she was seeing what Tony was seeing.
He landed in front of the building with a boom, cracking the sidewalk. Immediately, the gunfire intensified and Tigress could see sparks flying of the armor. That did not slow him at all and he walked to the steel door and kicked it off its hinges. Once inside, half a dozen men started firing at him at close range. Immediately, he knocked two of them off their feet with what looked like a blast of light coming from his hands. Tony had said there was no magic in this world, he would need to explain that. Two others men ran away at once but the others did not have that luck. Tony punched one across the room and the other was thrown straight through a wall. The two men left climbed into a vehicle parked inside but before they had time to move Tony grabbed it and overturned it with a crash. The passengers offered little resistance after he ripped off the doors and bent their weapons in half. The whole thing must have lasted barely more than a minute.
He got out of the building under the applause of the policemen and bystanders. He made a V sign with his hand and then took off.
Ten minutes later Tony was back at the Stark mansion. Tigress stood beside the platform as he had the armor removed.
"Did you see that?" he asked as he stepped down.
"I have indeed. This is a remarkable armor you have here," she said.
"Yup. Let's get another drink, and I'll tell you everything."
For the next hour he told her the genesis of the Iron Man: his captivity at the hand of the Ten rings, his escape, the new armor and the betrayal of Obadiah, Vanko... He did not neglect any detail and Tigress listened carefully all along. It was the first time that he had told his story to anybody like that. He felt strangely relieved afterwards.
"So that's it," he concluded "My armor is my greatest achievement and I'm trying to use it for good."
Tigress looked at him for a moment.
"You surprise me Anthony Stark. I misjudged you. It seems that you are as much a warrior as I am." For the first time, Tony perceived genuine friendliness in her voice.
"Please, call me Tony."
They finally settled for sushi that evening and Tony decided Tigress was ready for a showing of The Lord of the Rings. She found the film fascinating, but Tony had to do some explaining to finally convince her that it was not based on real events.
Later that night, when Tigress was finally alone in her room, she decided to meditate a little before sleeping. She had never been good at this, her impatient and passionate nature left little place to relaxation. But Shifu considered meditation to be an essential part of a kung-fu master life, so Tigress felt it was her duty to persevere. Besides, being thrown in another universe and exposed to all sorts of weird things could be perceived by some to be a stressful situation, so maybe it would do her good. She sat on her bed and began her breathing exercises, clearing her mind. The world started to fade around her.
She must have fallen asleep. This not how it is supposed to be. Instead of a calm nothingness she found herself walking the streets of a village. It somehow looked familiar and foreign at the same time. She looked up and saw a very long flight of stairs, and at the top of it... could it be the Jade Palace? But that's impossible! She is trapped in another universe. Or was she? Everything seems so confused. She started to run toward the palace.
She did not remember the village being so big, the palace did not seem any closer after running for a while. Didn't she just cross that street? They all looked the same. Where are the peoples? She looked up... the palace was gone! No, wait... it was behind her now. She started going the other way. She couldn't tell how long she had been running, but she was still going nowhere. She slowed down. She knew confusedly that she is supposed to be somewhere else, but where...
"Are you lost, child?"
Tigress stopped. An old pig was talking to her. He was the first person she saw here, and she was sure she crossed that street before.
"Yes, master pig. I want to go to the Jade Palace but just can't reach it," she said.
"Are you sure that is where you want to be?" the pig asked.
"What? Yes, of course! I have the feeling that I was very far away not long ago... But now I am here, I want to go home!" Tigress said.
"And where were you before, if I may ask?"
"I was in a strange place, another world... But it feel like a dream... I am not sure anymore." Tigress looked at the faraway Palace, uncertain.
"Perhaps you can't go home because you are not done yet in that place," the pig said as he started walking away.
"But done doing what? I'm not supposed to be there; it was an accident!"
"There are no accidents," The old pig said over his shoulder "Find the reason and you will find the way." He turned the corner.
Tigress stood speechless for a second. "Wait!" she called, running after him. She reached the corner. He was gone. "Master Oogway! Is that you?" she called again. No answer.
She looked around but everything started to fade. She felt like falling and she suddenly found herself sitting on her bed, her claws grabbing the sheets and her heart pounding.
She had the feeling she would not get much sleep tonight.
Next : Sparring
