With Thor gone, the only two left in contact at the Watchtower were Diana and Victor. Victor was focused on something he was viewing inside his half mask. Once he finished, he turned to Diana. "Well, I've scheduled a "routine inspection" with our SHIELD liaison. I could use your company incase things go south. You coming with me, Princess?"
Diana was once again snapped out of another haze and quickly nodded, "Yeah, sure. I don't believe I've visited before. I've not heard good things. Although it will be nice to see Agent Barton again."
"Didn't think you remembered his name. Anyway, let's go, punching in the coords now," Victor responded with a shrug as he began typing away at the panel in his arm.
Diana stepped up onto the teleporter in the center of the meeting table and extended her hand down to help Victor up. Victor took her hand and pulled himself onto the pad. With a few more button presses and one final tap, the teleporter whirred. And with a flash of light, Wonder Crystal and Cyberman were gone from the Watchtower, and reappeared at the docks of Star Orleans, Louisiana.
Diana looked around to see a busy city behind them, the bombastic sounds of jazz and the aroma of freshly fried beignets invaded her senses. Her plastered smile felt real for a moment as she felt some of humanity's simple beauty.
Victor took Diana by the shoulder and turned her the other way, "We're on business here, Princess. We're heading out there." The cyborg then pointed out into the ocean. The coast was covered in a thick, murky cloud of fog. But just before the horizon, a faint domelike shape could be made out sitting in the middle of the water. That was the Belle Raft Superhuman Correction Facility. This was SHIELD's most extreme procedure when it came to the containment and "rehabilitation" of Metamutants, or any other enhanced persons by other miscellaneous means.
Diana was unnerved by the ghoulish sight of the yonder prison, "Surely there are better places to house them during their rehabilitation. Why didn't you just teleport us to the prison itself?"
Victor shrugged, "They installed some special tech inside the place that prevents teleportation, a kind of spatial lock. Some metas can teleport, so they took the precaution in case they ever had to keep someone like that in." Cyberman then triggered the repulsor jets in his feet and slowly lifted off the ground, "Let's just fly there, it'll take five minutes tops."
Diana sighed and aimed her hands at the ground. She channeled a gust of wind around her a began to levitate. Guided by the currents of air surrounding her, she flew across the water towards Belle Raft in the distance. Once she took off, Victor followed suit, rocketing behind her.
Cyberman as a great deal faster than Wonder Crystal when it came to aerial mobility, but he wasn't exactly in a rush, and he didn't mind maintaining conversation with Diana. While he found her idealism a little naïve, it was equally admirable to him. There was also the fact she was drop dead gorgeous and he didn't mind looking at such a nice face.
Diana wasn't paying much attention to Victor as they flew to the Raft. Minerva was still on her mind, in addition to the weight of all her other responsibilities. She'd been working with Amanda Fury and the higher ups at SHIELD for years to do what's best for her fellow Inhumans. She was also the face of international efforts by the LMI, being the usual hero sent to handle major disturbances in southern Europe, the Middle East, and Asia. She had the largest ground to cover because she was the most versatile. Amazonian physiology, millennia of combat training, and mastery of the elements; earth, wind, fire and water, made her comparable in power to Thunderman and Captain Gamma.
But with that power came with lots of unwanted attention. If she could be that powerful, to have the potential of a god, then so could anyone of the same blood, and thus have the same potential for destruction. At least that's what the common person would think. There was an even greater pressure to set a good example for her sisterhood, to show the world that the Inhuman Amazons are a force for good, to be the statuesque symbol of perfection anyone could aspire, and that level of extreme expectations she set for herself was overwhelming to her.
But nobody can be perfect, Diana knew she had surely made some mistakes beyond the ones she already ruminated over, and the other just slipped through the cracks. Eventually they would come back to haunt her. But for sake of those she cared about, Diana suffered in silence, putting on the smile she needed to show to let everyone around her that things were going to be okay. She held back a lot of herself from the League, the only ones she confided with were Sarge, her brother in arms and best friend, and oddly enough, the Blind Bat. His enhanced senses always let him know how she was truly feeling.
As the two neared closer to the prison, Diana felt another wave of unease hit her, fully independent of the crashing waves across the ocean beneath them. "Victor, doesn't this place seem a bit extreme? A manmade prison island seems excessive," Diana proposed as they landed at the edge of the Raft. It was smaller than expected up close, but that wasn't to say it was small. It was roughly the size and shape of an oil rig, with concrete pillars jutting down into the murky depths to match.
"This is the place for the most dangerous criminals in the world. They gotta be kept far off from the rest of the world so they can't hurt the normal people. The best armor from danger is a cage around it," Stark explained cynically. "My worst enemies are locked up here, at least the ones that aren't still running around. It's the only place I trust to hold them."
Before Diana could give a response, the front entrance of the prison opened. Large, steel, sliding doors receded into the walls. Out from it came a man in a sharp black suit, dark sunglasses, and a head of snow-white hair. "Good afternoon Mr. Stark, Ms. Amaquelin. My name is Agent Phil Faraday, I'll be your new liaison to SHIELD effective immediately." Faraday spoke with firm authority, but with an underlying tone of friendliness.
Victor raised an eyebrow, "New liaison, what happened to Barton?"
"Agent Rick Francis Barton, codename: Eagleeye, has been promoted to Level 7, beyond my level of clearance. All I know is he's doing specialized missions for Director Fury," Faraday answered walking up to the two and extending out his hand, "I want to put aside any worries, I don't want to get in the way of what you're doing. I'm only here to help."
Diana smiled cordially and shook Phil's hand, "We'll it's always nice to make new friends. It's good to meet you, Agent. We should get going into Belle Raft. We have the suspicion a breakout may be happening soon, and we just want to check the security," she explained looking back into the fog. "Let's continue discussion inside."
Agent Faraday nodded and led Diana and Victor into the complex. The doors slammed shut behind them with a loud metallic clang. Victor flinched at the noise and started tapping the side of his helmet, "Hey Phil, I'm not getting any signal. My GRID's offline."
"Another security measure, Mr. Stark. All communication in and out of the prison are sent through a discrete frequency, anything is jammed courtesy of signal jammers from Stark Labs. So, you'll have to thank yourself for that. They implemented them after we saw they worked on telepaths. It's how we were able to contain Calvin Cizko, he was one of your guys, right Ms. Amaquelin?" Faraday asked as they went through a series of security measures.
Diana felt uneasy at the mention of him, "Yes, Mr. Psycho was certainly very dangerous. He's one I'm glad is still locked up here."
"We have the best security and superhuman containment systems in the world. Escape is nigh impossible; you truly have nothing to worry about," Faraday reassured.
"You guys really keep my pockets full, with all the tech you're buying from Stark Labs," Victor commented with a smirk.
"Director Fury believes in showing support in the ways that benefit both sides, it fosters a team mentality," Faraday answered, "Speaking of which, I have to mention that I am a huge fan of your early work Ms. Amaquelin. Those old MSA comics inspired me to join SHIELD. I jumped at the chance to get this position so I could finally have the pleasure to meet you."
Diana was flattered by Faraday's geeking out over her, "Oh, well thank you, Agent."
"I also collect those old MSA Trading Cards. I was almost able to get a full vintage set. Only missed out on one that got discontinued. It'd mean a lot if you could sign my card of you," Faraday requested with a goofy grin, despite his age, the man still seemed starstruck working alongside Diana.
Diana snickered, "Alright, once we get out of here, I'll sign it. I'm intrigued to see what reference they used for the cards. I had my fair share of different outfits back then."
"It was the one with the star-spangled bathing suit and the eagle brasserie, your "Prototype Costume", they call it on the card," Faraday answered sheepishly.
"Okay, you're gonna have to show these to me, Phil," Victor interjected, his interests piqued.
Blush crept across Diana's face before she playfully punched Victor in the shoulder, making a loud clang upon contact with his armored body.
After going through a myriad of other security measures amidst this whole conversation, the three of them arrived at a large elevator. Faraday scanned a key card against a wall panel, and the elevator doors opened, all three then walked inside as they began their descent to the real prison underwater beneath the Raft, "All the containment cells are below. Anyone specific you want to check on, or do you want to look at every single one?"
Victor thought for a second before answering, "Take us to the Toymandarin."
Faraday nodded and hit a button to send them to one of the lowest floors. The elevator et out a droning hum before slowly gliding down the rails of the shaft. Any natural light faded as the elevator plunged beneath the sea into the murky depths where the prisoners lie.
Diana had never heard of this Toymandarin before, "I'm sorry, the who?"
"His name is Shu Winwu, Diana. You could call him my nemesis," Victor began to explain, his expression now a thousand-yard stare. "I don't like talking about him."
Faraday piped in to explain the rest, "Winwu's originally from China, he's the wielder of ten magical rings that let him interface with any machinery telepathically along with a few other benefits if he's directly wearing them. And that's any machine, no matter how simple or complicated. Something so trivial as a wheel and axle or a spring could be under his control if he sent one of his rings onto it. He came to the States and started wreaking havoc about four years ago. It didn't help he was also a genius engineer who could make more toy-themed weapons of mass destruction."
Diana processed the information, "So does that mean he…?"
"Yes, he managed to get one of his rings on me. And for weeks, he'd puppet me around like his own personal action figure. It was a living hell. That sadistic little bastard treated me like I was nothing but a piece of property, a damn toy," Stark said bitterly as he clenched his fists.
Diana placed a hand on Stark's shoulder, "I'm sorry you had to go through that. But, if he doesn't have any powers without his rings, why is he here? Wouldn't he be better suited at the Iron Vault? All of your other foes are there."
"Between you and me, Princess, I don't trust the guys running that place," Victor answered, "Those private places are full of corruption and shoddy security. At least I know if he's here, he's staying here."
"As for the rings, we keep them in a remote location far enough away so that Winwu can't recall them to his person," Faraday added.
Eventually, they reached the desired floor which contained the Toymandarin among a few other villains. The elevators door opened with a hiss revealing a large square room. The walls were lined with cells with plate glass walls separating them from the prisoners. And at the opening of the elevator was someone else to greet them.
Right outside the elevator of the cell block stood an iron giant taller than the door. It was a suit of armor not too dissimilar, but less advanced than Stark. It was grey and blue with some red and white detailing, glowing red eyes, and it sounded like it had the motor of a car. The entire mech seemed to be built from various car parts, including a radio antenna sticking out from the right shoulder. The faceplate of the helmet opened to reveal an older black man. His face was grizzled, but it radiated warmth. "Hey Vic, surprised to see me?" the man asked in a southern drawl.
"Rhodey! What the hell are you doing here, I haven't heard from you in months," Victor called out as he stepped out of the elevator to greet the man in the bulky mech. The two armored men clashed fists in a steel fist bump, followed by a series of coordinated actions akin to some longtime known secret handshake.
"Colonel Patrick Rhodes volunteered himself and the Iron S.T.R.I.P.E. to our program as a part time guard. S.H.I.E.L.D. registered superheroes are chosen for guarding Belle Raft as apart of our extra security," Faraday explained for them.
Rhodes laughed, joyed to see his friend again, "I'm just happy to do my part. Besides, who better than to keep Toymandarin in check than your old sidekick?" He then noticed Diana step out of the elevator, "Howdy Princess, good to see you. Haven't see you since Fate's funeral."
Diana smiled in spite of herself at the mention of Erik, "It's good to see you to, Colonel. How are your kids doing?"
"Courtney's doing great, she's going to MIT next fall. We're so proud of her. She's got a heart that burns like a star. Mike is doing great too," Pat gushed as he talked about his kids. He had once just been a mechanic who worked for the Starks after leaving the Air Force. He was a very close friend to Victor growing up. Once Victor got into his accident and became the Cyberman, Rhodes had used his mechanical expertise to build a suit of his own. And now he was working for the government again, giving S.H.I.E.L.D. a Cyberman of their own.
Faraday checked his watch and tapped it, "Let's get a move on, people. Take us to Winwu, Colonel."
"Yeah, right this way, guys," Rhodes said pulling his faceplate back down and guiding them over to one of the cells at the back of the block.
As they walked past the other cells, prisoners within clamored and jeered at Diana and Victor. All were clad in orange jumpsuits; and distinctly, they were all wearing large black collars.
Diana looked to Faraday in confusion, "What's with the collars, they seem unwieldly heavy."
"Metamutant Dampening Collars, courtesy of Trask Industries. They provide a genetic block on superpowers, helps keep them in line. Those have been Fury's favorite additions to the prison," Faraday answered.
Unsure her true feelings on the use of such technology, Diana kept quiet and advanced on with the rest until the reached the back of the cell block. Her feelings would fully sour upon seeing something else.
Within a cell with just a bed, a desk, a toilet, and a few books was to Diana's horror: a fifteen-year-old Chinese boy. He didn't have a dampening collar, but he wore an orange jumpsuit all the same. There was some humor in the fact the one who's namesake involved the word "Mandarin" was wearing orange. He sat up from the bed, his eyes widened at the sight of Diana, Phil, and Victor. A deranged smile stretched across his face like a glob of silly putty.
"Well, if it isn't Barbie, Ken, and oh boy! My favorite action figure has returned to me! The Transformer was starting to bore me." The Toymandarin spoke in a creepy, breathy voice full of ominous giddiness. He didn't even seem to open his mouth, his words just passed through his eerie grin.
Diana's smile faded as she looked at Stark, Rhodes, and Faraday in outrage, "Why is there a young boy in a place like this?!"
"Look Princess, I know this looks bad, but this punk deserves to be here," Victor said trying to place a hand on her shoulder.
Diana pushed his hand aside. She was absolutely livid at the sight of seeing someone so young in Belle Raft, "Stark, that is a child!"
"Winwu posed an international security threat, and he was tried as an adult based on his mental capacity," Faraday explained trying to calm Diana down.
"Four years, isn't that what you said? This poor boy was ELEVEN when you sent him here," Diana shouted at the both of them.
"Ooh…Barbie is getting angry. This is the most fun I've had in a while!" Winwu started clapping his hands together.
Diana looked at the boy in the cell, placing her hand on the glass, "Oh dear boy, what has this place done to you? You had so much more potential for the world than this." She turned back around to face the three of them, "This boy needs psychiatric help! This place has degraded his mind to see everything as nothing but toys!"
"Look, Diana. I'm not gonna argue that this place ain't good, but he's too dangerous to put him anywhere else. If he gets his hands on the rings, we're in for hell," Rhodes interjected.
Diana sneered at Rhodes, "Was there no hope for any rehabilitation for him? Or was he supposed to just rot here for the rest of his life?! What have you done as his guard to try and make him better?"
"I told you what he did to me! There's no redemption for someone who'll torture someone like that with no remorse," Victor shouted back.
The Toymandarin stared at Victor as he always has, like a new toy on Christmas. "Oh, my favorite action figure, I would love to play with you again. You've gotten so much shinier last I saw you." He was hyper-focused on getting his toy back.
"Look at him Stark, this is a sick child who doesn't understand the world around him!" Diana yelled exasperated at Stark's visible stubbornness. "We owe it to the next generation to protect them, to help them grow into something greater than themselves."
Meanwhile, as all the four above continued to argue, sat someone else in their cell in the block below them. It was a Pakistani woman of about 22 sitting alone with a bulky collar around her neck. This was Kamala Zeul, she was a polymorph, having the ability to shapeshift, but mainly utilized it to grow her body to massive proportions. But these abilities were not from some X-Gene, but from other ancient ancestry; that ancestry being Inhuman Amazon.
She was once a superfan of sorts of the LMI, that of Green Marvel and Wonder Crystal in particular. But one day, while experimenting on Terrigen crystals during a college internship with the Supreme Idea Mechanics in Advanced Neurotechnology, she set them off, triggering her own latent DNA a few years late after the first wave of Terrigenesis that triggered the return of the Wonder Crystal.
At first, Kamala tried to work with Diana as a sidekick of sorts, but she had yet to fully control her powers, and that partnership hardly came to fruition. She was then, during a battle, placed under the control of the psychotic telepath, Maximus Psycho. A giant was set loose on a mindless rampage through the streets of Jersey City, and the Wonder Crystal had to stop her and Psycho. Both of them ended up in Belle Raft.
Diana had once promised Kamala she would make sure to get her out, to make sure she got justice for what happened to her. She promised to bring her to Themyscrattilan to train her with her powers, but a week after all that happened, Ghanoseid attacked. With the invasion of the Titans of Apokolips and the death of the Fatal Compass, Kamala's problems slipped Diana's mind. And the Wonder Crystal unintentionally abandoned her.
And now, Kamala could hear Diana's tirade to Faraday, Stark, and Rhodes through the air vents. She recognized Diana's voice in a heartbeat. She heard her say all things about Toymandarin that she should have been saying about her, the hypocrisy of it all enraged her. Her sullen look turned to fury. She wanted to grow 30 feet tall, break through the ceiling and crush Diana, make her pay for forgetting about her, but she couldn't; not with the stupid collar on.
Then, to Kamala's surprise, she heard another noise. It was a bird cawing. There was a bird cawing in her cell. Her eyes darted around before she saw it sitting on her dinky, little desk. It was a raven, blue feathers with golden eyes, "Where did it come from?" she thought. It wasn't anything like she'd ever seen, and in its beak was a small, silver ring. And in the blink of her eyes, the bird disappeared into the shadows of her cell, leaving the ring behind.
Kamala was wary to take the ring, but she felt it calling to her. She grabbed it off her desk and slowly slipped it on her finger. She felt a surge of energy flow through her as if a whole new world was open to her now. It was as if she could see the inner workings of every electronic device around her, including her collar. Kamala raised her hand to the collar around her neck. She pressed the ring against it, and with a twinge of force, the collar popped open, and it slid off her neck.
Kamala breathed heavily, and instinctively, she rubbed her neck after around 7 months of it encased in that thing. She felt her body get her powers back. Everything had felt so tight before, like being vacuum sealed in your own body. But now, she had full access to her potential.
The woman looked down at her hands, she clenched them into fists, and they grew to the size of hay bales, the ring sliding off her finger into her closed palm. She smiled before looking up at the ceiling, the one who forgot her was just 10 feet above her. And with a rather corny word, she would be there.
She called out a word to help herself grow. Captain Gamma had "SHAHULK", Kamala Zeul had "EMBIGGEN!"