Author's Note: Ready for some more original content? Just like the last one, this chapter was inspired by the excellent mini-comics. check them out if you ever get the chance!
Iron Man's old foe is back, and he's not messing around! The Mandarin is here to unleash havoc upon the city of New York, and with all ten rings, he's more powerful than ever! Iron Man can't do this alone, true believers, but will his friends be enough? Can the team succeed where one man cannot? Or is it out with the Avengers and-
Chapter 11: Enter The Mandarin
A mild afternoon settled over New York City, the air warm yet pleasantly so from the roof of the Wakandan Embassy. But the perfect nature of the day was completely lost on Connor Peterson, who was captivated by everything else around him.
"Oh wow… This is incredible…" he breathed, taking in every piece of culture that so much as decorated the embassy. "I've only ever heard about Wakanda. To see all of this, it's… it's amazing!"
"I have yet to meet someone as passionate about other cultures as you, Connor." T'Chaala mused, dressed in far more traditional robes instead of his Black Panther suit.
"I've always loved Africa, the jungles, the landscape, the people and their traditions and cultures… plus, Toto made a great song about it," Connor replied, also dressed in far more casual clothes than his Cybernaut costume, "But Wakanda… man, it's not every day you get to learn about a nation so many believed did not even exist for decades." He said rather absentmindedly, running his hand across the carving of a panther engraved into the wall. Suddenly realizing he was somewhat lost in his own little world, he quickly left the carving alone. "Sorry, please stop me if I overstep my bounds." He apologized.
"There is nothing to be sorry about," T'Challa replied with a genuine smile. "Your curiosity is… heartwarming. In all my time here, I have not met a man more eager to learn about our ways, aside from Doctor Pym that is but he was only truly interested in Vibranium."
"Ever the scientist." Connor responded in agreement. "Me? I just love Africa. Always wanted to travel there, never had a chance to. So… I'm a little enthusiastic about this opportunity. Thank you so much for inviting me."
"As a member of the Avengers, you are welcome to come and go as you please." T'Challa promised. "And if you like, I'd be happy to teach you about Wakanda and our ways." He offered. Connor perked up immediately, his eyes wide and bright.
"Really? You mean it? I-I mean, you're the king, surely you've got more important things to attend to."
"I am proud of my culture and prouder still to share it with anyone who is interested." T'Challa replied. "What would you like to know?" Connor scratched his head. Of the long list slowly coming to mind, he started right at the top.
"Well… to you, what does it mean to be a Wakandan?"
"Spoken like an anthropologist," the king mused with a chuckle, "much like anyone else, I assume, Wakandans take great pride in our country. But in the sense that we are our country. Wakanda is not borders on the map but a people, not tribes but the people who comprise them." He explained. "Our national salute is Wakanda ngonaphakade. In English it means 'Wakanda Forever'. Despite it's simplicity, it is far from a simple statement of national pride."
"I'm gonna guess that 'forever' means multiple things in Wakandan." Connor surmised.
"Correct. Forever means longevity, but also dedication, desire, unity and respect. It is a rallying cry, a statement of belief, a personal creed and a symbolic command. When we say 'Wakanda Forever', it encompasses our entire lives." T'Challa described. Connor dwelt on that for some time, mulling over such a dense outlook.
"I feel like saying 'that's deep' is too shallow to describe how I feel about that." He finally determined. "It's… magnificent. In every aspect." Words well and truly failed him, everything he wanted to say seemingly incapable of truly encapsulating everything he felt and thought. "I'd love to learn more… if you're okay with that, I mean, I don't wanna step on any toes." He asked. T'Challa approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder.
"There is a proverb among Wakandan elders: ignore the ignorant man as he dismisses you, but welcome the curious man as he studies you." He recited from memory. "I welcome you, Connor Peterson."
Elsewhere…
Describe the change in fashion trends between 1910-1920. Use as many key terms as possible.
Half-slumped over her desk, Janet tapped her pencil against her study book out of boredom. She needed to focus, knuckle-down and get this assignment finished before her next class… which she could've finished beforehand had it not been for her helping Cap, Panther and Hawkeye against Hydra.
But there was this innate sense of joy that came with being a superhero that she simply couldn't shake. The rush, the thrill, the driving sense of purposeful need that made it far more appealing than homework. Just anything, any excuse at all, was all she needed to become the Wasp and abandon this. "Why do they have to make the questions so… lame? Let me sketch something! Let me do something other than look at things that aren't in style anymore!" She complained to the blank pages, staring back at the singular question staring back at her.
With a sigh she sat up and threw her head back, stuck in the doldrums of monotony as conflict simmered in her mind. "I'm bored." She groaned. "Bored, bored, bored, bored, bored…" But she was going to college for a degree, a degree she wanted, a degree she could use. But this was so tedious and mind-numbing, she'd rather be doing anything else… well, by anything, she really wanted to do anything that revolved around being an Avenger.
A clamour arose from beyond her window, distant and faint, but the distinct sound of shattering glass and the crunch of rent steel and fractured pavement perked her right up. "Don't go away!" She told her assignments, shrinking down as her casual clothes fell in a heap on her chair while her Wasp costume remained. Darting out the window like a golden streak, Wasp took off in pursuit of the noise with a big, eager grin on her face. Soaring high above the street, she rounded corners in pursuit of the commotion.
She eventually found it, and the sight that awaited her brought her to a screeching halt in midair.
With a gasp, she looked upon a massive green beast crawling up Stark Tower. Long and lanky, with the head of a dragon, she could hardly believe her eyes. A giant dragon? Attacking Stark Tower? It sounded like the headline from a cheap tabloid.
"It's not Chinese New Year, is it?" She wondered aloud, flying forward with a burst of speed from her wings. At that moment, her ID card chirped an alert and she quickly pulled it out, revealing the face of Iron Man.
"Avengers! Assemble at Stark Tower now!" He cried frightfully.
"Already on my way!" Wasp replied.
Back in the mansion, Hank, Thor and Hulk all received the same transmission. "What is the matter, friend Stark?" The Asgardian inquired.
"There's a dragon on my tower!" Hank paused, raising a brow in confusion.
"Is that a… euphemism?" He wondered.
"No, Hank, it's not a euphemism. There is an actual, giant dragon attacking Stark Tower!" Tony reiterated. "I need you guys over here stat! This thing is only going down if there's some big hitters involved."
"We're on our way!" Thor promised. "Come, my friends! Let us slay this foul dragon as heroes of old have done!"
"Finally. Gone too long without smashing something." Hulk grumbled, cracking his knuckles.
Having already suited up to battle the beast attacking his tower, Iron Man was unleashing a volley of repulsor rays upon the dragon in an effort to get it off the building. "I can't believe this is happening! It's like the universe wants to destroy Stark Tower!" He complained, swerving around one of its wings as he landed blasts long its neck and across its head. With a roar the dragon lashed out with its head, snapping its jaws in an attempt to eat the armored Avenger.
Narrowly avoiding it, Tony flew high and unleashed a blast from his unibeam, nailing the dragon on the nose but dealing no visible damage. It charged after him, reaching out with one of its long arms as it snared Iron Man within its clawed grip. Struggling against its crushing strength, Tony looked on in horror as the dragon's mouth drew extremely close to his head…
Flying in at the last second, Wasp landed a series of biostings across the dragon's face, scoring hits along its nose and eye, forcing it to drop Tony with a roar of pain. He took flight alongside Wasp, the two Avengers steering clear of its reach.
"Now there's something you don't see everyday," Wasp commented, "usually it's giant robots."
"If I had to chose between this and a giant robot… I'd pick the robot." Iron Man remarked. "Much easier to deal with."
"Look on the bright side, Tony..." Janet began to say, forced to pause as the dragon lunged for them, the two narrowly avoiding it by flying around and attacking its head with repulsor beams and biostings.
"And what exactly is the bright side to a giant dragon trying to eat my building, Wasp?" Tony questioned, sounding very done with this already. Janet struggled for an answer.
"I, uh, well... I was hoping you'd know." She answered. "Man, you've got some bad luck! How are we supposed to deal with this thing anyway?" She asked, the dragon roaring as it turned with its long neck and fixed the two with a crimson stare.
"I'm working on that." Tony remarked, panels on his shoulders popping open to unleash a barrage of micro-missiles that impacted the dragon with a fiery cloud of smoke.
"Uh, I think you just made it mad." Wasp mused worriedly, watching as the dragon lunged towards them.
Suddenly, the sky was split with a thunderous boom as Thor arrived behind them, surging past his comrades with Mjolnir full of crackling power. "Have at thee!" He roared, slamming into the dragon hammer first and knocking it down into Stark Tower. As he did, Ant-Man arrived astride a flying mount and hovered between Janet and Tony.
"We got here as soon as we could..." he began, pausing as he laid eyes on the creature attacking Thor. "Wow, you were right Tony. That's actually a dragon." He observed.
"Yeah. Shocker." Iron Man remarked.
"I wonder what kind of species it is... This could actually prove to be-"
"Hank, science it out later, will you?!" Janet cried. "This thing could trash the city long before it stops to let you study it!" Hank sighed.
"I'm assuming you want me to stop it from wrecking your tower?" He inquired of Tony.
"Sure, why not. That'd be very nice." The billionaire sarcastically replied. As he finished, Hulk rushed past him, dropping down like a bomb.
"Hulk smash puny dragon!" He shouted, dropping feet-first into the side of the verdant beast and sending it tumbling into the street below. It seemed to work, the gamma giant standing up as he raised his fists over his head to bring them crashing down, but a snap of the dragon's wing sent him flying through the air and into the side of a building.
"Well, seeing as its not gonna be that easy..." Hank mused, leaping off the back of his ant and reaching for his belt, flooding his body with a rush of blue Pym Particles and growing from Ant-Man into Giant Man, easily able to match the dragon in size and height. Now large enough, he grabbed the dragon in a headlock and pulled back against it, the beast flailing and roaring as it struggled. "Ngh! Come on now...!" Giant Man grunted, struggling against the dragon's own impressive strength. "Just cooperate with us and this can all go smoothly!" He promised. But the dragon did not seem interested in his talk and allowed its tail to encircle its leg, pulling forward and tripping him up.
As he landed flat on his back, Thor conjured a bolt of lightning that struck the dragon's chest and driving it into the side of a building. "Thou hast ruined Iron Man's day for the last time, vile creature!" He proclaimed, the powerful electric storm barraging the dragon relentlessly. As if in response, the beast opened its mouth and unleashed a column of crimson flame that engulfed Thor, throwing him out of the sky.
"Yup! Definitely a dragon! Has the fire and everything!" Wasp mused as she flew in low alongside Iron Man, unleashing a volley of biostings. As they did, their pass was halted when the dragon faced them again, mouth still agape and glowing with fiery potential.
"Wasp, look out!" Tony cried, quickly manoeuvring between them as his armor took the brunt of the blast, pitching him out of the air with a cry as he crashed into the ground. Wasp cried out in alarm and darted after him as he was flattened against the road, his armor smoking and steaming from the heat of the blast.
"Warning! Armor systems compromised." JARVIS alerted as Tony groaned and struggled to rise. "May I suggest taking evasive maneuvers next time, sir?"
"Always nice to have a sarcastic computer state the obvious." Tony snidely remarked, ignoring him as Janet grew to full size in order to help him up. But the moment he was on his feet, a fresh energy blast struck him in the chest and bowled him over again, the impact leaving a dent behind in his armor and the immense force burrowing him into the pavement.
"Tony!" Freaking out, Wasp shrank down as her hands glowed with bioelectric energy, ready for anything.
"Sir, I'm detecting a surge of neutron particles in the air." JARVIS alerted. Tony's mind started racing, quickly considering possible energy sources as well as who might have the tech to fire such a potent weapon.
"Ah... Tony Stark. A symbol of America's indulgence." A silken, accented voice declared quite suddenly. "Hollow, filled with false promises, and leaves a bad taste in your mouth." Despite his flickering sensors, Tony looked up and laid eyes on a spectacular sight... one that had plagued him in the past.
An aged man in a flowing robe of green and gold, long black hair waving in the wind that matched his long fu manchu beard and eyebrows. A wicked gleam in his emerald eyes, his hands were encircled by a fiery glow from the rings on his hands, one for each finger.
"You claim to be a man of iron," he continued, alighting before Tony and Wasp, "but iron is nothing before the rings of the Mandarin!"
Thor and Hulk continued to struggle against the dragon, the green giant wrestling with its tail as Thor warded off its claws with swings of his charged hammer. Having shrunk back down, Ant-Man made his way to the top of its head before growing to normal size and grabbing the pair of antennae-like protrusions jutting out. "Come on! Come on, dragon, come on!" He gasped, struggling to try and corral it.
"Enlarge, friend Pym! In your posture, your giant form will flatten the beast!" Thor encouraged.
"Not... the plan... Thor!" Hank replied, each word parsed out amid his struggle. "I just want to subdue this thing, I'd like to study it later." He explained.
"Me thinks it may not take too kindly to your endeavour, Doctor!" Thor replied, unleashing a burst of lightning that struck the beast in the chest. It promptly retorted with a column of flame from its mouth, striking Thor's lightning bolt as the two engaged in a powerful clash. Able to sustain its flame for far longer than anticipated, Thor was forced to break off lest he be incinerated by its fire. He put some distance between them as he looked for another window of opportunity.
"Thor!" The tiny voice of Jan shouting his name drew his attention to the winsome Wasp as she hovered beside his head. "We need some help! Iron Man was just attacked by some weird, floating guy who really likes jewellery!" She urgently revealed. The Asgardian arched a blonde eyebrow.
"Had we been drinking, friend Wasp, I'd claim this a clever jest. But a sight such as thou hast described I must see... and put an end to!" He declared, quickly taking flight alongside her in pursuit of the newfound threat. With the Asgardian gone, Hank was forced to change his plans and grew to giant size as he grappled the monster around the neck.
"Looks like its just you and me against this thing, Hulk!" He mused, struggling to contain the beast.
"Hmph. Good. Goldilocks was just getting in the way." The green giant grumbled. A snap of the beast's tail pitched him to the ground and a clawed foot smashed down on top, pinning Hulk with a savage cry.
"Hulk!" Giant Man cried in alarm, putting a little extra effort into his stranglehold. "Get off him, you big lizard!" He growled, losing his cool for a brief moment. The dragon roared in retort, struggling fiercely... but then its foothold began to shift.
It's weight unequally balanced, the dragon's foot began to move. "Stupid dragon..." a familiar voice growled from below. Giant Man glanced down and looked on in astonishment as Hulk handled the entire weight of the beast by lifting its foot off the ground with his bare hands. "Nobody steps on Hulk! NOBODY!" He bellowed, throwing the foot into the air and officially catching the beast off balance. Using the shift in situation, Giant Man shunted hard with his shoulder and drove the dragon in the side of Stark Tower, shards of glass and steel raining down from the heavy impact.
Sent tumbling by another neutron burst from Mandarin's ring, Iron Man tumbled to a halt, his armored scorched, cracked and in desperate need of repair. Tony struggled to his feet as the Mandarin hovered closer. "Now, finally... you will pay for your arrogance, Stark." He promised, a raised fist still glowing with the power of his rings. "My dragon will destroy everything that you've ever built. Starting with your tower." He promised. "There is no place for Tony Stark in the Mandarin's new world." Iron Man said nothing, raising a hand a firing off a repulsor blast that Mandarin deftly missed. "Remaker!" He shouted, a golden beam erupting from one of his rings to strike the very hand that fired, reducing the armored gauntlet to dust that fell away from his black-gloved hand.
Tony staggered as warning lights appeared all across his HUD. "Not good... not good!" He rasped, the sheer power of Mandarin's Remaker ring allowing him to change atomic and molecular structures perfectly deadly when used properly.
"Now comes the end of the age of iron..." Mandarin spoke, poetic descriptiveness lacing every word, "and arrives the dawn of the dark age of the Mandarin!" His right hand lowered and his left hand raised, glowing bright white. "Incandescence!" The command was followed by a sheet of white flame erupting from the ring, zeroing in on Tony Stark with metal-melting properties...
But it was abruptly halted by a defence of red, white and blue.
The flame abated to reveal the untouched shield of Captain America, shining bright and impervious in the midday sun. His arrival had saved Tony just in time and he hadn't come alone. Hawkeye dropped down from above, astride a grapple line shot from one of his arrows, while Cybernaut swooped in with Black Panther under his arms. The Avengers set down around Tony, armed and ready for battle.
"I put that call out hours ago! What took you guys so long?" Iron Man demanded, sounding annoyed.
"Extensive matters at the Wakandan embassy." Black Panther explained.
"Lunch with Sharon ran late." Cap answered.
"I fell asleep watching commercials." Hawkeye claimed.
"I, uh, was with Panther." Cybernaut excused. Tony sighed, rolling his eyes beneath his helmet.
"Never mind." He grumbled.
"What's the deal with this guy, Tony? You know this nut?" Steve inquired, shield up front as the Mandarin hovered a little higher in the air.
"Yeah, Gene Khan, old 'friend' from China. Had my first go-round with him early on in my Iron Man career. He only had half as many rings back then." Tony explained as he picked himself up.
"Then it is settled; you are disliked on every continent." Black Panther stated, drawing a series of Vibranium daggers.
"Thanks Panther..." Tony deadpanned.
"Yeah, I'm gonna take this guy down now, if that's okay with everybody." Hawkeye remarked, loosing twin arrows without hesitation.
"Zero!" Mandarin shouted, a blue-white beam erupted from the ring on his finger and passing through Clint's arrows, freezing them solid before shattering them into millions of pieces. "Stark's allies... as arrogant as he is." He mused, letting his power flow. "If you choose to side with him, then you will share his fate!" He vowed.
"I don't think you've heard, mister, but we're the Avengers!" Cap declared boldly and proudly. "You mess with one of us, you mess with all of us!" His words were heralded by the arrival of Thor and Wasp, the team now at far greater strength than before. Mandarin simply smiled.
"As you wish." He said with a snake-like smile. "To me, my dragon. The Liar!" His hand balled into a fist as one of his rings began to glow. Snapping its eyes open, the emerald beast rose and took flight, charging towards Mandarin and the Avengers. The team turned to face the massive creature as it crashed into the ground, towering over them.
"Uh... this seems like a Thor thing, right?" Hawkeye wondered. "Don't you fight dragons, big guy?"
"Nay, friend Hawkeye. Only giant serpents." The thunder god, answered.
"Whatever! Basically the same thing!" Clint pressed as the dragons tail whipped back and forth, smashing into buildings and causing debris to rain down.
"Hawkeye! See if you can contain that tail!" Cap ordered.
"Oh sure, make me do everything." The archer complained, drawing and loosing an arrow that exploded into a capture net, trapping the end of the tail up against a wall. Giant man quickly pursued the dragon, pouncing on it from behind.
"Fools! My dragon is unstoppable!" Mandarin cried as Panther and Cybernaut sent Vibranium daggers and irons respectively hurtling towards him. "Spin!" One of his rings glowed as it conjured a powerful vortex, whipping the projectiles around and sending them in every direction away from him.
"It is you who are the fool, Mandarin!" Thor retorted, conjuring a lightning storm. "No foul creature is eternal, as you shall soon learn! For Midgard!" He roared, unleashing a bolt of lightning from his hammer.
"Lightning!" Mandarin shouted, a bolt of crimson electricity leaping from his hand to strike Thor's incoming bolt, transforming it into the same crimson color as it fed back into Mjolnir and its owner, pitching Thor to the ground with a cry. With the Asgardian dealt with, Mandarin turned on Giant Man. "Daimonic!" A blinding flash of white light seared Hank's eyes, causing him to be bucked off of the dragon with a shout of pain, crashing into the ground. Thor had picked himself up and spun Mjolnir around in his hand, tossing it towards Mandarin at top speed. "Influence!" Mandarin cried, a grey beam shooting out of one of his rings and striking Mjolnir with a concussive electron blast, completely reversing its course away from him. Soaring through the air, the hammer struck the rising Giant Man...
Right between his legs.
Hank lost all air as an unimaginably pain shot through him, his eyes practically bugging out of his helmet as he doubled over and clutched his wounded genitals. The reactions of his team were very similar…
Tony blanched, hands behind his head.
Steve gawked, his jaw slack and lost for words.
Connor winced, reflexively moving his hands towards his legs.
Clint cringed, his arms shuddering as he understood a fellow man's pain.
"That… looked like it hurt." Janet remarked as Hank collapsed with an agonized shout.
"Ow..." He moaned, his voice high-pitched as if it were on helium. Thor recalled his hammer.
"I... I am truly sorry, friend Hank." He apologized, cut short as another impact beam bowled him over. Iron Man quickly moved to the forefront, combining his unibeam with his remaining repulsor to create a particle containment field that absorbed another incoming blow from Mandarin's rings.
"Cap, take the others to pin the dragon! Mandarin's my problem, I'll handle it!" He ordered.
"Not a chance, Tony! We're in this together!" Cap responded, whipping his shield around and knocking Mandarin's hands apart. "But who's this joker and what's the deal with this dragon of his?"
"Like I said, firs super villain I fought as Iron Man. He enslaved a quarter of China first time we fought... and he only had five rings back then." Tony explained as his unibeam was exhausted and his field dissipated. Cap immediately jumped in the way to block an electron blast as Panther, Wasp and Cybernaut circled him. "Speaking of which, those rings have tech I've never seen before, each one with a different power. I never really defeated him with five... now he's got ten and a dragon."
"Well, you've never fought him with the Avengers at your side." Cap grunted, straining against the assault on his shield. Turning on the other two, Mandarin summoned his Daimonic ring to tear off a car door and send it flying like a buzzsaw towards T'Challa and Connor. The two dodged it with ease, but Connor recognized the rhythms and motions of the manipulated metal.
"Magnetism?! Oh come on, that's my shtick!" He complained, summoning his irons to orbit the Mandarin and keep him occupied with a flurry of projectiles. Wasp moved in with a volley of her stings, buzzing around Mandarin and peppering him repeatedly.
"You really gotta hog all the superpowers? Come on, give some other bad guys a chance!" She teased, zipping back and forth.
"Bothersome pest!" He snapped. "Spin!" Conjuring a far more powerful vortex, the funnelling winds trapped Wasp in their centre and spun her wildly around.
"Woahwoahwoahwoahwoah! AGH!" The diminutive hero was tossed and tumbled, battered this way and that by tempestuous winds before she was thrown smack into a wall.
"Jan!" Connor cried, using his magnetic soles to boost himself over and catch her before she hit the ground. Her tiny body landed in his hand, unconscious and looking ragged with her outfit frayed. Connor eased her to the ground before he was viciously tugged away by his arms. The Mandarin was using his Daimonic ring to pull Connor via the magnets in his arms, using his own metal equipment against him.
And it hurt. Immensely.
Loosing a scream of agony as his very skeletal system was pulled painfully towards the robed villain, his body suspended in air as blood seeped out from under his gloves. "Your weakness is revealed. A bold face, but a very very soft underbelly." Mandarin proclaimed with a wicked grin.
"Yo! Shang Tsung!" Hawkeye called, loosing a trio of arrows. "Put the rookie down!"
"Incandescence!" A sheet of flame engulfed the arrows and burned them to ash in an instant. Mandarin turned his fiery ring on Hawkeye. "You have the most ideal kindling." He mused with a villainous smile. His ring glowed brightly and, in an instant, Hawkeye's quiver and costume burst into flames.
"Hot, HOT! Fire!" He cried, stumbling back. "Someone help! I'm on fire!" He screamed with a vivid, frightened look in his eyes as he shucked off his quiver and dropped to the ground. Iron Man was on him in an instant, his remaining gauntlet unleashing fire retardant foam that bathed Hawkeye in white, extinguishing the flames instantly. The archer was left sooty black, his costume burnt and ruined, his mind trapped in a frozen state of horror. The Avengers were stunned by the brutality, but also knew they needed to act. Cap had quickly pieced together an analysis of the Mandarin amid the fighting and knew how to strike next.
"Panther, on me!" He shouted, closing the gap and getting in close to the supervillain as T'Challa joined him, the two unleashing their combat prowess in sync. Mandarin, however, was well-versed in Chinese martial arts and countered them easily.
With deft grace he bent over backward to avoid Cap's shield, rising up and swinging his hand like a claw to cuff him across the face as T'Challa dove in with a lunge kick. His arm parried his boots as her performed a quick hop-step that forced Panther to backpeddle, his arm snapping out with a judo chop that Panther parried as Mandarin surged ahead with a dagger-like blow from the tip of his fingers that connected with T'Challa's side. "Your Vibrainium power is wasted." He sneered.
"And you would find a better use for it?" Panther questioned, backflipping away from a rising high-kick. "You consider yourself wise enough to handle its power?"
"I consider myself a teacher," Mandarin replied, turning to parry Cap's jabs and roundhouse blows with simplistic movements of his hands, merely toying with the Captain as he made mockery of his skills, "and I have a few lessons left to impart." He added, driving both knees into his chest. "Daimonic!" A crushing gravity field drove Cap to the ground as Mandarin turned on the pouncing T'Challa. "Influence!" A white beam of sonic energy assaulted T'Challa's senses, overwhelming him with painful white noise as he was driven to his knees. Mandarin grinned victoriously, his look lost as Cap leapt on him from behind, attempting to tackle him. But with surprising strength, Mandarin turned and shoved Steve off of him, landing a dual-chop to his neck that staggered the Captain before driving him back with a hefty push kick. "I know your history, your story, Captain... lost to the cold, lost to time and memory as you abandoned your nation and country."
"I abandoned no one!" Cap retorted.
"Yes, if you insist." Mandarin mused, levelling a ringed hand towards him. "But now, history shall repeat itself. Zero!" He called out, unleashing a powerful cryogenic beam from his hand. Cap tried to move, moving forward while blocking with his shield, but the beam was so thick and intense... the immense enormity of an entire blizzard concentrated in one place. An entire ice age unfolding in the span of a few seconds.
In the end, Captain America was trapped in a block of inch-thick ice.
Mandarin looked smug, the Avengers were stunned, silence ensued as everyone wrapped their head around what happened. That silence was promptly broken when Hulk charged in. "Smash puny dragon! Smash puny man!" He roared, slamming into concrete as Mandarin vacated the scene.
"Ah, yes, the monstrosity." He noted. "Your team, your allies, they fall one by one, Stark. Witness the fall of another!" Mandarin proclaimed, lifting his hand towards Hulk. "Nightbringer!" A beam of pitch black energy erupted from his hand, snaring Hulk's body in an ever-growing dome of onyx energy. His green mass disappeared completely as Hulk was lost to an impenetrable darkness.
"Hulk... gah, for the love of-!" Iron Man groaned, seemingly the last surviving member of the team. But Panther and Thor were still moving, as were Cybernaut and Wasp... but so was the dragon. It reared up on its legs, towering tall like a symbol of Mandarin's power over the Avengers.
"Fear not, Iron Man. We shall battle this villain and his beast to the last breath!" Thor promised, Mjolnir promised with crackling energy.
"I genuinely hope it doesn't come to that," Iron Man replied, picking himself up despite his armor's limited capabilities.
"Uh, guys?" Wasp piped up. "Just so we're clear, the dragon is still attacking!" Rearing back, the emerald beast unleashed a column of flame from its mouth, aimed at the survivors. Spinning Mjolnir around at high speed, Thor used his hammer like a makeshift shield to deflect the incoming fire.
"We must stand together. There must be a way to stop him!" Panther urged.
"I don't think teamwork will ever be enough." Tony replied dejectedly.
"How right you are," Mandarin agreed, "you cost me my dynasty, Stark. Now I will take yours... your empire, and your life!" He promised maliciously. "The Liar!" A burst of green light erupted from one of his rings, striking Thor and freezing the Asgardian in place. He fell to his knees, Mjolnir dropping heavily beside him, his expression blank and completely lost.
"Thor?!" Janet cried in alarm as the others studied him.
"He is paralyzed... a trance-like coma has consumed him." Panther determined, studying his vacant expression and distant stare. A thunderous roar turned them towards the dragon as it stepped forward.
"Well, break him out of it! He's a sitting duck!" Wasp urged them.
"I don't know how!" Tony replied, equally anxious.
"Tony..." Connor rasped, pushing himself up to his knees. "We... Scan the area. If his rings... are tech, like you say... then there has to be... something..."
"My HUD is on the fritz," Tony explained, "I don't know if-"
"Then let me." Connor stated, closing his eyes and reaching out with his senses. The mass of data that was Iron Man's armor was obvious at first... then came the less obvious in the form of Mandarin's rings. They reminded him strongly of the Kree sentry, alien tech that was completely foreign to him... except for one little piece... "I... I-I can feel something," he said excitedly, his technopathic senses wrapping around the familiarity of the data, "one of the rings... it's emitting a signal similar to brainwaves." He revealed. The moment the words left his mouth, it all clicked with Tony.
"Of course! That's how he took control in China and how he paralyzed Thor!" He realized. Looking up at the towering dragon, the answer was all too obvious. "He's mentally controlling the dragon!"
"Then we break his hold, if we can get that ring, he loses control of the dragon." Panther determined.
"And... that's a good thing?" Wasp wondered, worried about a loose-cannon dragon.
"I don't think it could get any worse." Tony remarked. "But we're gonna need some extra firepower. Connor, can you tap into my armor's systems? I need JARVIS real quick." He asked. Cybernaut nodded and stood, his hands on Iron Man's suit as Tony watched his HUD reboot as all static dissipated within seconds. "JARVIS, remote recall Silver Centurion and Hulkbuster!" He commanded.
"Remote recall activated, sir. Estimated arrival time is five minutes." His AI responded.
"Connor, do you know which ring it is?"
"Sure do. Left index finger." The technopath answered.
"You heard the man, team. Get that ring!" He ordered, taking flight and charging towards Mandarin.
"Pitiful creature!" Mandarin snapped. "Remaker!" The ring unleashed multiple energy blasts that reduced Tony's remaining armor to dust, only his boots left alone as he tackled Mandarin.
"I won't let you win! You're not getting away this time, Gene!" Tony promised, struggling against him.
"Insolent wretch! I am your better, your master!" Mandarin roared, backhanding him fiercely and knocking him to the ground. Wasp flew in alongside Panther and unleashed a barrage of biostings as Vibranium daggers were hurled alongside Cybernaut's irons. "Enough! Influence!" A burst of electron energy deflected the projectiles and an ensuing shockwave laid out the whole team.
"He is too powerful..." T'Challa coughed. "We cannot get close enough." Their foe stalked forward, his robes flowing as he approached the downed and disarmed Tony.
"I have wasted enough time allowing you to grovel, Stark. Now your end comes..." Mandarin vowed, levelling a single ring towards his foe... his most powerful ring, the disintegration ray, "Spectral-"
But then, Iron Man's Hulkbuster suit crashed into the dragon, knocking him over and jerking Mandarin's attention behind him before he could disintegrate the remaining Avengers. "What?!" He cried, witnessing his mighty slave fall prey to the unforeseen attack. As it did, the silver and crimson form of Silver Centurion touched down before Tony who shed his boots and stepped into the new suit. It powered up as he was granted access to an improved array of ARC energy abilities.
"I'm sorry, you were saying?" Tony quipped, unleashing a dual repulsor blast that struck Mandarin in the back. He whirled around, rage in his eyes.
"You dare?! Lightning! Influence! Daimonic!" A trio of beams shot from a single fist, the intense blast of energy, striking Tony's central ARC reactor... just as he intended. Using the enhanced energy capabilities of Silver Centurion, Iron Man transformed his unibeam into an energy well that sucked in the power of Mandarin's rings, each form of energy simply charging him up a little more as his armor turned into a battery.
"Now! Hit him while he's distracted!" He cried out, Wasp moving as directed as she tried to get in close to Mandarin's other hand. But it shot high into the air, sunlight erased a dark power swirled around his hand.
"You merely prolong the inevitable, Stark! My rule is destiny, my time is appointed, my reign is eternal!" He vowed, his eyes wide and wild. "Nightbringer!" Impenetrable onyx surged forth, threatening to envelop them all.
But then, a pair of yellow eyes formed in the dark.
"Mandarin... hold still." Black Panther whispered, emerging from the blackness as he trapped Mandarin in a stranglehold while grasping his reaching hand. Taken by surprise, Mandarin's spell was cut short and the darkness receded. "Wasp! Now!" T'Challa urged. Zipping in like a golden dart, Wasp located the ring in questioned and lifted it off Mandarin's finger, sliding it free until she was carrying it through the air.
"Gotcha!" She declared victoriously, disappearing behind the safety of Iron Man as Black Panther landed a dropkick that launched Mandarin face first into the pavement.
"My... My ring!" He gasped, quickly getting back up. Surrounded by Iron Man, Wasp, Cybernaut and Black Panther, the Mandarin felt somewhat outnumbered. "I will destroy you all for this, do you hear me?!" He roared, his hands glowing with charging power. "Do you hear me?!"
"Yes... I hear you." A new, deep, otherworldly voice replied, causing Mandarin to pale. The Avengers turned, looking up into the owner of the voice... the dragon itself.
"Wait, it can talk?!" Janet cried in disbelief. The other Avengers had no comment, awestruck by the beast looming over the Mandarin.
"You dare use the Makulan rings against their master?! You will pay for your transgression, human. So says I, Fin Fang Foom!" The dragon roared, unleashing a column of flame from his mouth that Mandarin hurriedly blocked with a fearful cry of "Lightning!" Their clash was blinding, the Avengers backing away as Fin Fang Foom closed the gap and bore down on the Mandarin.
"No! Get back! Get away!" He screamed, running away as he summoned the power of his rings to teleport, his body phasing from existence... along with Fin Fang Foom... "GET AWAAAAAY...!" His final scream dying off as the two faded from view with a pop as they removed themselves from the scene, disappearing to wherever the Mandarin had teleported them.
With the Mandarin gone, his powers faded until the remaining Avengers were freed and restored, the whole team back together... but looking a touch worse for wear.
"Someone wanna fill me in on what just happened?" Clint wondered as paramedics treated him for burn damage.
"It would appear the dragon was intelligent, and acting under the Mandarin's control." T'Challa explained. "Once free of that control, the dragon was less than pleased... and is most likely going to eat him." He surmised.
"Think I'm starting to like him." Hulk mused with a slight grin.
"Aye, a fitting end for such a foul Midgardian." Thor concurred. On a makeshift bed, Cap was treated for hypothermia as Connor's implants were checked for any permanent damage, Tony standing before them with a fallen look.
"This is all my fault. None of this would've happened had I taken Mandarin down the first time." He said. "I'm sorry, you guys."
"Easy, soldier." Cap waved him off. "After all the times you've saved our lives, maybe its okay for the Avengers to save yours." He offered with a reassuring smile. Tony huffed.
"Well... maybe just this once." He replied, a grin spreading across his features as well. "Thanks for the assist, Connor. Once again, technopathy saves the day."
"Nah, your quick thinking saved the day." Connor dismissed. "But that guy was nutsville tough. You better have an armor ready for him just in case that dragon doesn't eat him."
"Well at least he's down one ring." Wasp interjected, holding up The Liar between her fingers. "Really nice, though, the design is super pretty."
"I'll be keeping that in Stark Tower, thank you very much." Tony quickly stated.
"Where the next dragon can try to eat it." Hank quipped, whimpering slightly as a paramedic examined his... sore spot.
"You're going to be fine, Doctor Pym," he promised, completing his examination, "but I would recommend you avoid any… shall we say, stimulation for a while." Hank understood and nodded in compliance. Janet crossed her arms and huffed.
"Not like any was happening anyway." She grumbled under her breath. The men's faces turned red as Hank glowered at her.
"Of all the things we didn't need to know..." Tony muttered under his breath, speaking what all of them, except for Connor, were thinking.