Dark Treasures

Not long after Ronin had left, Jocasta started to examine the wormhole generator for damages.

"This mysterious Ronin… who in Odin's name is he?" Thor asked.

"I've checked every known database for body type, combat style, and voice, but no match. Hero, or villain," Tony replied.

"In other words, he's completely unknown," Cap said.

Lucia scowled, angry at herself for her rash action.

At the Celebrity Seven's hideout, they were shown to have stolen more items including a bell, a pair of crystals, and a part of a dinosaur fossil.

"How much longer must we play robbers?" Jubei asked.

"Until Imperious says otherwise, we keep going," Tim replied.

"If Imperious came here, it would be much easier to steal them!" Boris said. "So why won't he?"

"Maybe he's scared?" Manino suggested.

"Scared?" Tim asked.

"Of the Avengers. Remember what happened last time?"

"Haha, now that's a good joke," Joel said before chuckling.

Then, Ronin suddenly appeared, looking down from a hole in the roof. "Enough with your rambling." Then, he came down to the ground to face the Celebrity Seven. "Pawns should stay quiet."

"Bold words. Who are you?" Tim asked.

"Imperious has asked me to tighten your leashes," Ronin replied.

"Imperious?" Jubei asked.

"From now on, I'll be giving the orders here."

"What an ill-mannered guy…" Manino said.

"You think you can pop in and boss us around?" Valerie asked.

"I'm simply tasked with babysitting you fools," Ronin answered.

Jugei drew his katana to strike, but Ronin stopped him without even drawing his own sword.

"Why you-" Joel got ready to D-Smash, but Ronin drew his sword, slicing all the masked goons' masks in half before they even knew what was happening.

"That is quite enough, Ronin," Imperious's voice said, and a projection of him came from Tim's teleporter device. "They should have a firm understanding of your power now."

"Master Imperious!" Rosetta said.

"My Celebrity Seven, continue collecting the Dark Treasures. Ronin, where's our new acquisition?"

Ronin then revealed the Dimension Sphere.

"That's-" Manino said.

"The Dimension Sphere?!" Tim continued.

"The real thing!" Jubei yelled. "But the Avengers had it! How did you get it!"

"Such a dependable fellow!" Imperious said as he laughed.

Soon, Ronin started helping the Celebrity Seven collect more Dark Treasures, including a necklace with white jewels and an antique axe.

Back at the Avengers base, Jocasta completed her analysis of the wormhole generator.

[Damage reported 96%. Main system has sustained heavy damage.]

"Meaning we have to rebuild it from scratch," Noel said.

"No way…" Coco said.

"Even if we do fix it, it won't start without the Dimension Sphere," Tony informed.

"It's all my fault…" Lucia said.

"Lucia…" Tony said.

"It's true. If only I hadn't turned it on, none of this would've happened!" Lucia said. "I'm sorry, Tony."

"No need to blame yourself," Tony reassured.

"It's not just Iron Man you need to apologize to," Kaito said.

Hearing this, Lucia looked at all her friends. "Yeah… I made you all worry,"

"That's right!" Hanon exclaimed.

"What you did was dangerous, what were you thinking?!" Rina shouted.

"If something happened to you, I don't know what I'd do," Hippo said.

"We're a team, remember?" Seira said.

"Since when have any of us gotten something done alone?" Caren asked.

"If you're gonna do something reckless, at least tell us first," Coco said.

"If you don't, you'll be hearing from us," Noel teased.

Hearing this, Lucia became touched. "Guys…"

Meanwhile, Pepper watched the events in relief.

"Everyone, I acted rashly and caused trouble. I'm sorry," Lucia gave a heartfelt apology. "And thank you for your concerns."

With that, everyone was happy to see Lucia back to her normal self.

"Tony! Let's find Ronin and take back the Dimension Sphere!"

"Right. Guess we should. If only we could locate the Dimension Sphere's energy…" Tony said, but then the glow of the Dimension Sphere appeared on his hand and faded not long after he got a look at it. 'Don't tell me…'

"Tony, is everything alright?" Pepper asked.

"Oh, sure!" Tony responded. 'That energy is familiar…'

Meanwhile, Ronin, Rosetta, and Jubei were stealing another Dark Treasure in a museum, with a dozen cop cars waiting outside.

"Return the crown and surrender. If you cooperate, we can guarantee your safety," A policeman said.

"What are you gonna do now, Ronin?" Rosetta asked as she laughed.

Ronin simply coated his katana in the Dimension Sphere energy and slashed forward, creating a tornado of dark energy that sent all the police cars flying, to his accomplices' surprise.

Back at the Avengers base, the team worked on repairing the wormhole generator.

"We're gonna have to replace all the cables…" Tony assessed, then he noticed his hand glowing again. "Again?"

He then saw a vision of Ronin cutting a diamond-shaped hole in a wall, along with an eerie location, Imperius and his former base, and lastly, a figure that seemed to be on fire.

"What was that?" Tony wondered.

"What's wrong, Iron Man?" Thor asked.

"Uh, it's nothing," Tony replied. "JARVIS, are there any abnormalities in the suit?"

["Negative, sir."] JARVIS answered.

"I see…"

["Everything alright, Mr. Stark?"]

Tony thought back to when he tried to grab the Dimension Sphere from Ronin. 'That was the moment when my armor started malfunctioning, and when I began having these visions. And now, they're becoming more and more vivid. But I don't want to worry Lucia…'

"Tony?" Lucia called.

"Ah! Sorry, sorry!" Tony said.

Then, Pepper came into the lab. "Tony, we have an incoming transmission from Director Fury.

"From Fury?" Tony asked.

"These artifacts have been stolen in the last 2 days. They all have something in common," Fury said as he showed images of the treasures stolen by Ronin and the Celebrity Seven.

"Which is…?" Wasp asked.

"All of them are dubbed the 'Dark Treasures' by historians," Fury replied.

"'Dark Treasures?'" Seira asked.

"According to intensive research, each of these items brought its owner great power, but also deep misfortune," Fury explained.

"That's what they said about the Rainbow Teardrop stolen from my museum…" Tony recollected.

"That's a clue about the culprits," Hippo said.

"It must be Celebrity Seven's doing…" Caren said.

"An hour ago, another Dark Treasure was stolen, a section of the Golden Wall," Fury informed before showing an image of the Golden Wall, with a large diamond-shaped hole in it.

"That's…" Tony then recalled one of his visions which showed Ronin stealing the aforementioned part of the Golden Wall. "Ronin was behind it!"

"Ronin?!" Lucia asked.

"Ronin is working with the Celebrity Seven… thus Imperious?" Thor asked.

"Let's go to Imperious's fortress," Tony suggested.

"How did you know Ronin's with them? Explain it to us!" Lucia demanded.

"Just trust me, okay?" Tony said.

Soon, the team arrived at Imperious's castle in Jotunheim.

"It's the same way we left it. I'm heading further in," Rina said.

"Okay," Caren said.

Lucia then noticed snow falling from the ceiling and remembered back when Dr. Akatsuki disappeared. "Dr. Akatsuki…" Then she noticed something shiny. "Hmm?"

It was a small, transparent cube with a glowing core.

Then, Seira and Caren came over.

"What's that?" Caren asked as she took the cube to look at it.

"That chip belongs to me," Tim's voice was heard, and the girls turned to see him and Valerie.

"Tim!" Iron Man shouted.

"And Valerie!" Lucia added.

"How did you know that was lying there?" Tim asked.

The girl quickly put up their guards, with Caren putting the chip away in her back pocket.

"Not talking? That's fine," Tim then took out two Tech DISKs. "Blizzard, Crimson Dynamo…"

"Living Laser!"

"D-Smash!"

Tim and Valerie D-Smashed their villains.

"Cool! Cool, cool, cool! Everybody, freeze!" Blizzard shouted.

"No one's armor is tougher than mine! Give it your best shot!" Crimson Dynamo boasted.

"It's my time to shine!" Living Laser said.

"So this was the right address for the party after all," Iron Man said. "Lucia?"

"Right! Seira, Caren!"

"I'm ready!"

"Let's go!"

"Heeeeey, chill out!" Blizzard flicked pellets of ice at the girls, freezing over their DISKs and pendants.

"We can't D-Smash!" Lucia said.

"We can't even transform either!" Caren said.

"Isn't it cool?" Blizzard taunted.

"This show's already over," Tim said.

"Someone's a bit too hasty!" Noel's voice was heard, and Tim turned to see Noel, Coco, Rina, and Hanon who had their DISKs ready.

"Captain America! Wasp! Hulk! Captain Marvel!"

"D-Smash!"

"Courage, honor, freedom, and hope!"

"Villains in town? Let's take them down!"

"SMASH!"

"It's time to take flight!"

"Get them!" Valerie commanded, and the villains charged at the Avengers.

"Shoulder Rocket!" Crimson Dynamo fired missiles from his shoulders.

"Shield Throw!" Captain America threw his shield to take out the missiles.

"Wasp Sting!" Wasp fired an energy bolt at Crimson Dynamo.

"Electric Bolt!" Crimson Dynamo fired a bolt of electricity from his hand to counter Wasp's attack.

"Pathetic firepower. Not only that, you're the size of a fly. You have no chance of defeating me with such mediocre skills!" Crimson Dynamo taunted.

Hulk ran full-speed at Blizzard.

"Ice Wall!" Blizzard released a cold wind from his wrist shooters to form a wall of ice that stopped Hulk in his tracks.

Hulk repeatedly struck the wall, and after a few punches, managed to break through.

"Not bad. But don't you feel cold dressed like that?" Blizzard asked.

"Not one bit!" Hulk replied.

"Cool! Then allow me to help you chill out. Freeze Ray!" Blizzard fired ice at the ground and rapidly circled around Hulk, putting him in the center of a freezing tornado, which started freezing him solid

Hulk tried to smash the ice, but he started freezing faster than he could break out.

"Now my deluxe freezer is done! It'll freeze your breath too!"

Hulk scowled as he continued to freeze as Blizzard continued to send more ice his way.

Captain Marvel engaged with Living Laser.

"Laser Rush!" Living Laser changed into photon form and dashed erratically around Captain Marvel, charging at her at random intervals, requiring her to defend herself or dodge.

"Shining Fist!" Captain Marvel tried to punch Living Laser with a light-enhanced punch, but Living Laser moved too fast for her.

"You can absorb my lasers, but not me. Combine that with my speed, and that's all I need to overpower you!" Living Laser taunted.

Meanwhile, Lucia, Caren, and Seira tried to smash the ice covering their DISKs.

"Now then, hand over the chip," Tim demanded.

Then, a figure dashed from right behind Caren and appeared by Tim and Valerie's side.

"Ronin!" Lucia shouted.

Meanwhile, Blizzard had completely frozen Hulk in ice.

"He's frozen solid. So this is it for Hulk? What a letdown. You can't beat me with sheer physical strength. Guess it's time for a nice long nap in your frozen tomb."

But then, he noticed that the ice was fogging up from inside.

Back with Lucia, Caren, and Seira, they were now face-to-face with Ronin.

"So he is working with the Celebrity Seven," Seira said.

"What's taking so long with the chip recovery?" Ronin asked Tim.

"What?!" Tim asked.

"Give us back the Dimension Sphere!" Lucia demanded.

"You're not fit to handle such power. Why do you want it?" Ronin asked.

"We need it to rescue Dr. Akatsuki from the Dark Dimension!"

"Oh? Your acquaintance trapped in the Dark Dimension? That certainly is a pity," Ronin said. "That's not the sort of place anyone can survive. Stepping foot inside it means destruction."

"What do you mean?" Caren asked.

"You don't know that! If there's a chance he survived, we have to do everything we can to save him!" Lucia said.

This got a chuckle out of Ronin.

"What's so funny?" Lucia asked.

"What can you do? Right now, you can't D-Smash, nor use your own powers. Take a look at yourselves, you're just powerless kids. Give up and move on. That's the smart choice."

However, Lucia clenched her fists, and her Biocode lit up.

"That light…" Tim muttered.

"The Biocode power…" Seira said.

"I won't give up. Never backing down!" Lucia declared.

"That's right. Quitting's not an option!" Caren said, triggering her Biocode as well.

"We will succeed!" Seira firmly declared, also activating her Biocode.

"Evolution Biocode…" Lucia said.

"Give us power!" The three girls all shouted.

The DISKs from their wrists started giving off rays of light, and soon, the DISKs and pendants were freed from the ice.

"What?!" Tim asked,

"Mighty Thor! Vision! Iron Man!"

"D-Smash!"

"For the glory of Asgard!"

"Behold… the Vision!"

"Suit up! It's on! Feel the heat!"

As Thor, Vision, and Iron Man stood tall and proud, Hulk's growl was heard from inside his icy prison.

Cracks started forming in it as steam escaped through the cracks. Soon, Hulk was freed from the ice and threw Blizzard into a wall before charging right at him, which Blizzard barely dodged.

"Whoa, chillax!" Blizzard fired a burst of ice at Hulk.

Meanwhile, Captain Marvel concentrated to try and track Living Laser's movements.

"Laser Tackle!" Living Laser came charging in at Captain Marvel from the back.

However, this time, she was ready for him and as he came rushing, she decked him with a right hook.

"I'll take care of Ronin. You two go after the others," Iron Man said.

"Understood," Thor and Vision said before splitting off.

"Think you can take me on?" Ronin asked as he drew his katana and charged at Iron Man, who managed to catch the blade.

"Like that? I'm lucky to have a partner with special talents."

"Evolution Biocode, huh? That was unexpected."

"You underestimated her. She's growing strong at an unbelievable rate. She's a girl who can turn adversity into something positive!"

"I suppose so. Perhaps it would do me well to be prepared for anything in the future," Ronin contemplated as he put more effort into trying to overpower Iron Man.

Meanwhile, Crimson Dynamo punched Captain America, knocking him back.

"Hulk, the Gamma Catapult!" Captain America called out to Hulk, who promptly got in position.

"Gamma Catapult!" Hulk launched Captain America high into the air where he spun fast to generate a mini-tornado around himself.

"Tornado Shield Throw!" Captain America threw his shield, its speed boosted by the wind from the tornado.

"How lame! That toy of yours won't even scratch my armor-!" Crimson Dynamo boasted, only to be proven wrong when the shield struck him. "OWW! Spoke too soon!"

"D-Secure!" Tim recalled the downed Crimson Dynamo back to his DISK.

Meanwhile, Wasp joined Captain Marvel against Living Laser.

"Wasp Sting!" Wasp fired an energy blast at Living Laser, stunning him.

"Laser Beam!" Living Laser retaliated with his own laser beam at Wasp, which she countered with another Wasp Sting attack.

"Let's finish this!" Captain Marvel said.

"Right!" Wasp responded, turning her attacks toward Captain Marvel, who absorbed Wasp's attacks to charge it up with her own power.

"Shining Swarm!" Captain Marvel unleashed a barrage of Wasp's energy blasts from her hands, all striking Living Laser.

"Guess it's lights out for me…" Living Laser muttered as he lay defeated.

"D-Secure!" Valerie recalled Living Laser back to his DISK.

Then, the four Avengers' time ran out.

"Time's up!" Wasp said as the four of them were recalled to their DISKs.

Meanwhile, Thor and Vision faced off against Blizzard as his attacks started freezing them.

"What's wrong? Can't handle the cold?" Blizzard taunted.

But then, Vision fired his beam at Blizzard, hitting him dead-on and stopping his attack.

When Blizzard tried to fire his freezing wind again, Thor threw Mjolnir in its path, causing the wind to be deflected toward Blizzard, freezing him instead.

"This isn't what I had in mind…"

"Now, Caren!" Thor shouted.

"Seira!" Vision also said.

With that, Caren and Seira got the Build Up Plates ready. "Build Up Smash!"

"Target… Lock-On!"

"Lightning Star! Vision Glare!" Thor fired the Lightning Star, energized with electricity; Vision fired one big laser beam; both at Blizzard. The attacks broke through the ice and struck Blizzard.

"Why'd you have to be so cold?" Blizzard asked as he fell back, defeated.

"D-Secure!" Seira D-Secured Blizzard.

Then, both Thor and Vision returned to their DISKs.

Meanwhile, Ronin held up his katana against Iron Man.

"Iron Man, let's go!" Lucia shouted.

"Right!" Iron Man responded.

"Build Up Smash!"

"Target… Lock-On!"

But then, Ronin revealed the Dimension Sphere.

"The Dimension Sphere!" Lucia said.

"Final Repulsor!" But before Iron Man could fire, Ronin used the Sphere to weaken Iron Man, making him collapse to his knees.

"Take this!" Ronin leaped into the air and sent a Dimension Sphere energy-enhanced slash at Iron Man.

"Tony!" Lucia shouted.

"Wonder Man, D-Smash!" Lucia then heard Caren, who had D-Smashed Wonder Man, and got the idea to do the same.

"War Machine! D-Smash!"

Wonder Man fired a beam of ionic energy to block Ronin's attack and War Machine fired his turrets at Ronin, who had to run to dodge.

"C'mon, you can do better than that, Iron Man," Wonder Man said as he was recalled to his DISK.

"This time, finish it," War Machine said as he was also recalled.

"Thanks, you two!" Iron Man said.

"Final Repulsor!" Iron Man fired a powered-up Repulsor at Ronin, who used the Dimension Sphere as a shield, however, it wasn't long before he was overpowered, knocking him back.

"That's it for now, Ronin," Iron Man said before being recalled.

"Ronin!" Valerie called as she and Tim went over to Ronin's side.

"Retreat for now," Ronin said.

"But the chip!" Tim said.

"You need not worry," Ronin then revealed he had the chip.

"How did-?!" Caren asked as she checked her back pocket.

Then, the villains teleported away.

"Next time, we'll beat him and take back the Dimension Sphere!" Lucia declared. "Right, Tony?"

"Yeah," Iron Man firmly said. 'Ronin… who is he?'

A/N: Now, those of you who have watched the original Marvel DISK Wars may recall that Tony does have an idea of who Ronin might be. But here, due to the change of main characters and the relationship they have with the man behind the mask, there isn't really much for Ronin to say that would have clued his true identity.

Even so, I'll say this much, it will be revealed soon. Very soon.