MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...

THE JADE EMPIRE

Written by Barry Reese & Gregg Epstein

What Has Come Before: Jimmy Stark has come from a future where the world is deadlocked between two great powers: a United States overseen by Jimmy's father, Tony Stark, and the Jade Empire, controlled by the Mandarin. Desperate to prevent this from coming to pass, Jimmy fled to the early years of the 21st century in the guise of Iron Lad. But he was not alone: the Mandarin's daughter (and Jimmy's sometime lover) Lin had already made this same trip, forewarning her father of the troubles to come. Now the floating city known as the Jade Empire has arisen early, making its first salvo in the growing war by appearing in the skies above Hong Kong. Bill Foster, current CEO of Stark-Fujikawa, and the robotic Mainframe have both been captured by the Mandarin while Iron Man makes plans to embark on a rescue mission. His allies include the heroes of the Force Guard, Iron Lad's former teammates, who are seeking to prevent further damage to the timestream.

The Jade Empire

Bill Foster moaned as he rolled onto his back. His body felt like it had been chewed upon by a fifty foot long dragon and then spat out into the air, where it had then crashed down horribly hard to the ground.

Which was exactly what had happened.

"Where the hell am I?" he asked out loud, peering into the darkness surrounding him. The sounds of rats scurrying about made him sit up too quickly, his head spinning. The sound of dripping water reached his ears from somewhere, along with the rattle of chains.

"You're in a dungeon," a woman with a British accent said. Bill's eyes began to adjust to the gloom and he saw a lovely blonde woman wearing black and white. Her skirt was torn, revealing an ample amount of leg and her face was slightly bloodied, though she managed a weary smile. "I'd offer you  a hand but I'm a bit tied up at the moment," she laughed, pulling at the chains that held her against the wall.

Bill looked down and saw that he, too, was bound. "These guys must not know much about me. I can grow and bust my way out of these with no problem."

"You're Black Goliath, right?" she asked.

"Used to be."

"Well, I wouldn't advise using your powers while wearing those. They'll send an electric shock through you when it detects the use of metahuman abilities. Enough electricity to fry you to a crisp. My name's Lindsay by the way."

"Bill. You a superhero?"

"Supposedly. Though current circumstances might dictate that I'm not a very good one."

Bill gently tested the chains. He couldn't quite tell what mechanism could supply them with electricity.

"They're magic."

"What?"

Lindsay nodded at his bonds. "They work through magic. I can sense it."

Bill sighed. "I hate magic. I really do." He looked back at her. "How long have you been here?"

"About a week. The Mandarin was rounding up scientists to help him with some of his plans. I stumbled upon some of his agents in London and thought I'd give them a thrashing. The blokes overpowered me and voila -- here I am."

"What's your hero name? I don't recognize the costume."

"Ah, well I'm not as famous as Captain Britain or Union Jack, that's for sure. I go by Britannia. Only being doing the cape and mask bit for about six months." Lindsay tossed her hair and Bill found himself impressed at how well she was holding up under these conditions. She looked half-starved and filthy but still managed to radiate an attractiveness that made him feel at ease around her. "I'm the host for a heroic spirit that's appeared in English women for centuries."

Bill managed to get to his feet, moving as far from the wall as his chains would allow. "Are we alone down here?"

"For now. A Chinese guy who couldn't speak English died right where you're standing about two days ago. They took his body away just before they brought you in. You're a handsome devil, by the way. Nice to see some eye candy after all these horrors."

Bill chuckled. "Thanks. Well, I guess we don't have anything to do but wait for Iron Man to come and get us. I work with him."

"Bully for you, Mr. Name Dropper!"

"It's true," Bill said with a grin. "Hey, you didn't happen to see a robot with me, did you? Answers to the name Mainframe."

"Oh." Lindsay looked a bit uncomfortable. "Was he a friend of yours, then?"

"Yes. Why?"

"They mentioned his name when they brought you in. Said he was being disassembled for study."

"Great." Bill sighed. "C'mon, Tony," he whispered. "Get your ass in gear!"

Tony Stark allowed himself to relax, letting the armor continue its healing process. The full workings of this battle suit were still unknown to him, composed as it was of various technologies from another universe. But Tony knew one thing very well: this was the most amazing armor he or anyone else had ever worn.

"You alright, Mr. Stark?"

Tony turned to face Vagabond, the leader of the futuristic Force Guard. He barely knew the Vagabond of his era and most of what he knew came courtesy of Steve Rogers, who had once worked with the girl. This was a grown woman, however, and the obvious leader of a team that in her time was the equivalent of the Avengers. "Honestly? Not really." He cast a quick glance around the SHIELD mini-Carrier. Given the number of contracts he had with the government, getting a hold of the ship had been no problem. He would have liked having the West Coast branch of the Avengers to further back him and the Force Guard but they were busy with an emergency of their own. "My worst foe is back, this time with a floating city and an army of dragons. My son from the future is missing and we have to assume he's either en route to the floating city or already there. And one of my best friends is being held hostage. Let's forget about the fact that I feel awful from the battle I just finished*... So, if you're asking what I'd like to be doing right now -- this would not be the answer."

(*Tony was wounded battling Deathwatch last issue!)

Vagabond smiled softly and Tony found himself admiring her. She wasn't a natural beauty like Rumiko but there was something about her that he found appealing. She'd been through the wars and back, emerging stronger for the experience. "It's so strange being around you like this. I'm used to you being the President of the United States."

"Hope I'm not a disappointment."

"Not at all. It's actually refreshing to see you when you're still so... human. The Presidency takes a lot out of you."

The Vision suddenly appeared, floating through the floor between them. Given that Tony's last memory of the Vision involved him being destroyed, it was odd to see him resurrected as a member of the Force Guard. "We are nearing Hong Kong," the synthezoid said. "Reports are that the Jade Empire has dispatched its dragons to deal with the military forces below. In almost all ways, Hong Kong has now fallen."

"Damn!" Tony hissed. "What's his plan? To conquer the entire world?"

The Vision answered calmly, saying "That is his ultimate goal. In our timeline, he conquers all of Asia before he is finally held at bay. An unsteady peace then exists between the East and West, with a sort of super powered Cold War taking place."

Iron Man thought it over, wondering just how long this feud between he and the Mandarin could last. From the way these kids made it sound, they'd be fighting for years to come. I want to stop this thing now, he mused. Whatever the future holds, I want it to be something a damned sight better than what they've described so far.

Iron Lad didn't waste any time. After his brief confrontation with Lin, he'd flown as fast as he could to the Jade Empire. He'd arrived too late to stop them from attacking Hong Kong but he'd be damned if he'd stand aside and let the Mandarin capture any more land. He launched his first assault at the very heart of the madman's science center, using his knowledge of the Empire to good effect. His repulsor rays left two buildings in smoking ruin before the foot soldiers of the Mandarin had even realized they were under attack.

Jimmy felt the rush of air behind him and he turned, knowing exactly what he was about to face. Two of the dragons commanded by the Mandarin were there, poised for battle. One was a shimmering emerald in color, its scales glinting in the sunlight. The other possessed a bronze hue that Iron Lad would have found beautiful under other circumstances.

The bronze spoke to him, its razor sharp teeth revealed in all their glory. "Our lord and master bids you welcome, young Stark."

Jimmy readied a sonic attack that he'd prepared for the dragons. Though physically intimidating, their inner ears remained vulnerable to attack. "I know that he's controlling you. Help me and I promise to free you from his control."

The dragon studied him for a long moment before speaking again. Its voice rumbled with power and age. "I sense your truthfulness, human, but there is nothing to be done. He holds a magic relic that gives him power to control all the great Wyrms. We cannot resist."

"Then I'm really sorry about this." Iron Lad raised both gauntlets and activated the sonics. The dragons began screaming immediately, clasping clawed hands over their ears and losing their balance. The green fell from the sky, landing so hard that the floating city nearly tipped over.

The bronze roared in defiance, lunging for Iron Lad. Its mighty jaws just missed catching him and Iron Lad flew higher, continuing to concentrate the sonic assault where it would do the most harm. The bronze finally gave up the fight, blood spurting from its ears and nose. Its body missed the Empire's surface entirely, hurtling down towards Hong Kong.

As Iron Lad turned to resume his attack on the Jade Empire, multiple beams of energy struck him. Ice, fire and lasers all tore into his armor as a tall, thin man below attacked. It was the Mandarin and even though Jimmy's armor was more powerful than almost anything ever devised in this era, he was no match for an unexpected assault. As he began to black out, he caught sight of his true love standing at her father's side.

The Force Guard landed several miles away from Jimmy's failed battle against the Mandarin. The Whizzer and Thor Girl were the first to attack, each using their powers in unique fashion to take down the barracks full of troops. Iron Man knew that some of these men and women had been forcibly driven into service but many of them were willing agents of the Mandarin, hoping to curry his favor in the new world order.

Vagabond was next to enter the fray, dropping from the arms of the Vision as the synthezoid began delivering powerful energy blasts towards the enemy.

Iron Man actually held back, using the alien technology in his armor to scan the area. The rings used by the Mandarin gave off a very unique energy signature and it was one that his armor was able to track easily enough. Seeing that the young heroes of the Force Guard were doing quite well on their own, he almost decided to leave them to their work and go off after the Mandarin. Cool your jets, he thought to himself. Just because they're not the Avengers doesn't mean they can't save your ass if you get into trouble. Besides, the way my head's still pounding, I might need the backup.

Tony flew towards the Vision. "Vizh, the Mandarin is active -- right now. I'm picking up signs of an energy firefight a few miles from here. We should check it out. Hit him hard and fast before he has a chance to go into hiding."

"Agreed," the Vision replied. "Given your erratic physical condition, you should remain in the background during the battle."

"The hell I will," Tony laughed. "When have you ever known me to remain in the shadows when I could be front and center?"

"Good point," the Vision conceded. Though his voice and manner were both cold, there was enough inflection in his words that Tony caught the humor. Dropping lower, the Vision said, "I will inform the others."

Iron Man nodded, rocketing off in pursuit of the Mandarin. Now that the Force Guard would be following suit, he didn't feel guilty about going off on his own. He couldn't help but think back over the history of the man the world knew as the Mandarin, trying to connect the dots that led to his transformation into a kingpin of evil. Born in mainland China, the Mandarin's father was one of the richest men in the nation, boasting of a direct bloodline connection to Genghis Khan. His mother had been an English noblewoman, of good breeding and intent. Both of his parents had died soon after his birth, leading the Mandarin to fall into the care of his father's sister, whose bitterness towards the West had helped shape the villain's opinions. After the Mandarin was toppled from a position of political power, he had set off to the Valley of Spirits in hopes or regaining his standing. He had found alien technology of Makluan origin, with which he launched a series of attacks against the rest of the world. These had eventually led to repeated clashes with Iron Man, building up a mutual level of hate between the two men.

It ends today, though, Tony thought to himself. I'm sick of this endless merry-go-round of fights between us. One way or the other, the feud is going to end.

Iron Man's boot rockets entered "stealth mode" with a flip of the swtich, making his approach as soundless as could be. He spotted the Mandarin, along with a startlingly lovely young woman, standing over the fallen form of Iron Lad. Something inside Tony seized up in anger and he realized with a trace of humor that he'd already come to feel protective of this future "son" of his.

Tony paused in mid-air, allowing several metallic spheres to slide out from the side of his armor. He then threw these with unerring precision, knowing that each one would detonate upon impact, releasing a powerful expanding foam capable of restraining someone of Spider-Man's strength level or less: more than enough to hold the Mandarin.

To his surprise, however, the spheres passed right through the Mandarin and shattered harmlessly on the ground. Before Tony could react, he felt himself gripped in an icy embrace. A quick glance at his surroundings showed that the true Mandarin and his daughter were a short distance away, both smiling broadly. Tony was still able to use his boot jets to burn his way free but the gauntlet had been thrown down: there would be no surprising the enemy here. "Mandarin!" he shouted, amplifying his voice so that everyone could hear him. "Give yourself up and spare us a repeat of what's happened every time we've met: I've kicked your butt from one end of the planet to the other!"

"How charming," the Mandarin replied, sarcasm dripping from his words. "You see the glory that I have built -- the dragons I control, the city that floats beneath us -- and you still think this is nothing more than a game of combat. This is a war for the soul of humanity, Tony Stark. Will the world embrace the ways of the West's sinful technology or will they return to the purity of the magical past?"

"This is about your ego and you know it," Tony retorted. "It's always been about that. You want to decide what's right for everyone else!"

The Mandarin laughed heartily. "You call it ego... but I call it a proper view of the world."

Iron Man felt his chest constrict and wondered at the wisdom of attacking right now. Deathwatch had done a real number on him... but there could be no turning back now. He dove at top speed towards the Mandarin, who raised his ring-covered fingers in defense....

Thor Girl was about to throw her hammer at the Mandarin, aiding Iron Man in his fight when she said, “What’s wrong, Vision?”

Vision paused, letting his computer banks roll through the information that he needed. “It seems that Bill Foster and Britannia are held prisoner in a dungeon nearby. We should rescue them and then, with their aid, we can help Iron Man fight the Mandarin.”

Vagabond nodded. “We also have to bring Iron Lad back to the future with us. He has caused enough damage as is.”

“First things first,” Thor Girl said. “Point me in the right direction, Vision.”

"They are down the hall and to the left,” Vision said.

Thor Girl raised her hammer but the Whizzer stopped her. “Allow me.”

In a flash, he was gone, running as fast as he could to reach the dungeon. When he arrived he saw that it was guarded by more ferocious dragons and soldiers. He sped up his fists and punched the soldiers before they were able to fire their rifles at him. For the rest, he grabbed their weapons and emptied their clips.

The array of dragons loomed over Whizzer, but the Vision made him intangible as the dragons were about to step on the Whizzer.

“Thor Girl, now!” The Vision shouted.

She used the lightning powers of her hammer to distract the dragons while the Whizzer broke into the dungeon and saw Bill Foster and Britannia chained to the wall.

”Careful, Whizzer, these chains are electrified.”

The Vision saw their predictament and phased the two prisoners out of their bounds. Then, the chains came alive with electricity and exploded.

“Not that I’m complaining,” Bill Foster commented. “But I was sort of expecting Iron Man to rescue us.”

“He’s busy with the Mandarin.”

“Well, if we’re going to help him, I’ve gotta change into my Black Goliath self.” Bill Foster concentrated and grew to the top of the ceiling. He then started to aid Thor Girl in defeating the dragons and the remaining soldiers.

“I hope Iron Man is having better luck than we are,” Bill Foster said, as he punched various dragons.

Iron Man saw that the Force Guard, Bill Foster, and Britannia were attacking the dragons and soldiers. It would have been nice if he could really cut loose on the Mandarin, but what Deathwatch had done to him prevented that.

Mandarin pointed his right fist at Iron Man, who immediately erected a force field around his armor. The Chinese warlord fired a ray of ice in its purest, frozen form at the heart of Iron Man. From his chest, Iron Man let forth a burst of a repulsor ray that melted the ice and subsequently forced back the energy into the ring from whence it came.

While the Mandarin relied mostly on his weaponry to fight his adversaries, Iron Man could utilize his brute strength also. The Golden Avenger flew straight at the Mandarin, driving the warlord back against the wall. The brunt force of the impact seemed to temporarily knock the wind out of his opponent.

Before the Mandarin could recover, Iron Man punched him in the mouth, making his foe bleed profusely. Then, the Mandarin gained the advantage by lifting Iron Man’s armored body and hurling him against the opposite wall. Deathwatch’s doings made Iron Man even weaker.

The Mandarin reached the place where his foe was lying helpless and raised both fists to finish the job.

“This is where I show the world that Iron Man has been turned helpless,” the Mandarin hissed. “I hope you believe in reincarnation, because this is where you die!”

“NOOOO!!!”

The voice had not come from Iron Man’s own whimpering but from Iron Lad mere feet away who had just entered the corridor. The young Stark stood ready for battle, outfitted in his armor. His fists were clenched.

“Young boy, you are not the warrior that Iron Man once was,” the Mandarin said, redirecting the aim of his arms from Iron Man to Iron Lad. “You will suffer his indignities.”

Before Iron Lad could defend himself, Britannia launched herself into battle, coming between the Mandarin and Iron Lad. A full blast of all of the Mandarin’s ten rings spewed from his fingers. The energies cut through Britannia’s lithe body like a scythe. She fell to the ground, bleeding profusely.

Griefstricken, the elder Tony Stark and the younger Jimmy Stark fired repulsor rays at the Mandarin. There was a build-up of energy and the Chinese warlord collapsed.

Jimmy helped Tony up. “Why did she have to do that? We could have handled him.”

Tony sighed. “I don’t know. Maybe she’d rather be a hero than stand idly by. Sometimes in the heat of battle you have to make quick decisions. She made hers. We need to get her some help before she bleeds out.” Tony leaned against his son and the two men walked out of the corridor. “Let’s join Force Guard. I have a feeling that they have something to discuss with you, Jimmy.”

Iron Man walked into the corridor that the Force Guard were waiting for him in; Jimmy Stark, Iron Lad, was right to his side. The Vision looked stern and serious. In fact, they all did, but what did he expect from the people he ran away from?

“Iron Lad, you will have to come back to the future with us,” the Vision said. “You have much to atone for. Your abilities as a hero in this time does not excuse you for that.”

“I’m not going back with you,” Jimmy said, with a heartfelt expression in his voice. “I would like to stay here. I don’t belong in the future. This is my home. I want to be with Tony. He’s the clue to my past. And you can’t force me to go back with you. I will stop you, if I have to.”

Iron Man stepped forward. “I would like to say something before this gets ugly. Jimmy can stay with me and I will give him a stipend until he can find a place of his own. Him staying with me won’t be permanent. But I will keep an eye on him.”

Vagabond smiled. “That does make us feel better. If we can’t guard him, then I guess we can leave knowing that Iron Man will. Don’t make us come back for you, Jimmy.”

Thor Girl spun her hammer in the air creating a vortex between dimensions. The air crackled and lightning flashed all around. Force Guard stepped through the rift.

“What now, Tony?” Jimmy asked. He seemed ready to start his new life, though he couldn't help but be aware that Lin had vanished during the battle. Somewhere out there, she still waited.

“First, I contact SHIELD and turn over this structure to them. Maybe they can decipher all its secrets.”

As Iron Man and Iron Lad gave Bill Foster a ride home, the dragons, now free of the Mandarin’s mind-control flew away to their home. Tony didn’t know what lay ahead for him and Jimmy but it would be a brighter day.

In Iron Man # 40: A new writer. A new beginning!

Author's Notes

First of all, major thanks to to Gregg Epstein for stepping in and scripting the final scenes of this issue. It's always tough to write another author's plot and I think Gregg did a great job.

This issue ends my run on the series and I have to admit that I'll miss the characters quite a bit. When I took on this title, I knew I would never be able to match the incredible work that Russ Anderson did with Iron Man but my goal was to create the next best run in M2K history. Given the fact that several talented men had handled the book since Russ left, this was going to be no easy feat. But in my ten issues (31-39, plus an Annual), I managed to create a new major nemesis (Black Lama), bring back some old favorites and hopefully inject enough new life into the series for the next writer to really run with.

This story was originally supposed to span issues 39-41 so I've obviously had to condense things tremendously. Imagine it all stretched out, with plenty of room to breathe and you'll enjoy it more. :-)

As for Britannia, she's a new character that would have stuck around in the series for awhile. Since I'm leaving, it's very likely she'll fade into obscurity.

Thanks to all the EiCs at Marvel 2000 for giving me this opportunity. I'm off to handle the ongoing Ghost Rider and Daredevil titles for M2K. Who knows? Maybe I'll manage to get a Tony Stark guest appearance into one of them.

It's been fun,

Barry Reese