The Jade Empire

Contemporaneous pop culture has placed a great deal of emphasis on the battle prowess of ninjas. Perhaps it was their stealth movements, or the dark and mysterious ways of their clans. Whatever it was, Hollywood, comic books, video games, and every other outlet that the kids plugged into seemed to love the gi wearing warriors. GW Bridge did not share their sentiment. These god-damn pajama-wearing idiots might be able to wield sharp knives, but they sure as hell weren’t as effective as a well trained battalion of SHIELD troopers. And he had every intention of making sure he was right. 

“Circle up! Double layer with suppression fire from the second tier! Do not let them get anywhere near the civilians!” GW barked. The hulking SHIELD general fired off a round from his plasma weapon before taking a precautionary step backwards. The lance of energy struck one of the many emerald-clad ninjas directly in the head, felling the shrouded figure instantly. The battle continued to rage around him, a countless number of similarly clad ninjas attacking Japanese and SHIELD forces from every side.  

GW was proud of his forces. In a world filled with mutants, androids, aliens, and every other sort of enhanced being, SHIELD troops were all too often considered to be useless grunts.  The real-world equivalent of Star Trek “red shirts”, nameless crew members who came along on missions only to fall prey to the threat of the weak. But that wasn’t the case. These men and women were fending off a mystical attack force that had them greatly outnumbered. But the ninjas, each and every one of them clad in the same green cloak and built approximately the same way, continued to pour out from the temples on the surface of the Jade Empire.

The constant onslaught would soon begin to tire his forces. The SHIELD and Japanese troopers had already been forced into a circular perimeter several hundred feet from their transport shuttles.  The Japanese media that had insisted on accompanying the expedition huddled together at the center of the circle, only the bravest of cameramen taping the carnage around them. 

“Agent Brown! Report!” GW shouted over his shoulder to the SHIELD tech working furiously at the oversized laptop sitting on a small boulder. 

“Nothing sir! The mystical barrier is scrambling all communications from the Helicarrier and warding off all attacks from the Japanese jet fighters.” 

“Damnit,” GW cursed. His eyes wandered past the perimeter of his forces to the translucent green barrier that surrounded the floating island, as if the land mass was caught in a giant protective bubble. Even if they were able to reach transport shuttles there was no guarantee that the aircraft could escape the spell placed around the island. 

“Doom assures you, General Bridge, that barrier is impenetrable,” a voice boomed from overhead.  There, several feet above all the commotion, levitated Dr. Victor Von Doom. His own emerald cloak billowed ominously around his steel-armored form. The armor, almost crude in appearance and poxed by the occasional scorch mark, covered the Latverian despot from head to toe.

“Now,” Doom began, any indication of mercy completely gone from his tone, “I offer you one last chance to leave in peace.  Otherwise my newest subjects will slaughter you and every other being on this island that resists me.” 

GW had both of his pistols trained on Doom’s smug form. He did not fire though. He knew that he would be unable to harm the madman. A period of silence ensued between the two men as GW considered his options. Letting the Jade Empire fall into the wrong hands could put the whole world at jeopardy. But needlessly sacrificing his life and the lives of his troops wouldn’t help anyone. At this rate, staying would be tantamount to suicide, a needless loss of lives that would leave Doom just as much in power as if they simply chose to leave. And yet GW Bridge hesitated, knowing there was one factor he hadn’t accounted for. 

A deafening explosion abruptly bloomed on Doom’s back, throwing him across the skyline and through the turret of the nearest temple.  The sound of rocket boosters shrieked in the air around the battle as a crimson and golden figure screamed down from above, the sunlight reflecting magnificently off metallic panels of body armor. Crisp orange columns of energy began to rain down from the outstretched palms of the figure as it dove further towards the battle.  The ninjas cloaked in emerald began to fall under the relentless hail of repulsor blasts, and the subtle rumbling of cheers began to roll into the air from the joint SHIELD and Japanese forces. 

GW holstered his weapons with an unamused expression on his face. “It’s about time you showed up…” 

MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...

"ISLAND OF DOOM"

Part Two

Written by Ben Wolfert

“So… shouldn’t you be in Japan?” Pepper asked as the newly appeared Jimmy Stark leaned over the two felled Stockpile members, Unicorn and Sunstreak. 

“I was. Tony and I were examining the Jade Empire when your distress signal came through. We were returning to the Helicarrier when that big light show appeared right in front of me. My armor shut down for a split second and the next thing I knew I was sharing an intimate moment with these two,” Jimmy commented. He pulled out a strand of heat-resistant polymer from the gauntlet of his armor and used it to bind Sunstreak’s hands before turning his attention to Unicorn. He bound the Australian’s hands as well, but the more important precaution here was to remove the green cowl that held the horn through which Unicorn channeled his energy. 

“You have Calico all wrapped up over there?” Jimmy asked. 

“Affirmative,” Jocasta responded, her systems having recovered from the damage inflicted by Sunstreak. “I have bound her hands and disabled her armor’s ability to cloak. I have also notified the surrounding security officials that we will need a transport for three super-powered criminals.” 

“Too bad there’s four of them,” Pepper shouted pointing towards the end of the hall. The lime-green tiled floor shuddered underneath their feet as the massive form of Brass turned the corner. Another member of the Stockpile, Brass was more of a “what” than a “who”, a mammoth android covered with dull orange plates and, at least in previous incarnations, controlled remotely by none other than Morgan Stark. 

“I’ve got him,” Jimmy called out.  His propulsion systems hummed to life and he hovered in midair for a split second before reorienting his body horizontally and took off towards the nine foot tall robot.

The young man’s confidence got the better of him though and he wound up greatly underestimating Brass’s speed. The android brought both fists crashing down onto Jimmy’s back with a vicious haymaker before the hero could strike. The floor buckled and cracked beneath Jimmy’s crimson armor before giving way completely, sending his armored form crashing to the level below.

Brass continued forward, its disproportionately smaller legs carrying it over the newly-made hole in the floor with ease. Jocasta rose to engage the robotic monstrosity, but not before hulking android could fire two miniature buzz saw blades from its right gauntlet. The blades buzzed through the air before ripping through the bindings Jimmy had previously applied to Sunstreak and Unicorn. 

“Pepper. Evacuate the doctor from this wing. Immediately,” Jocasta commanded in a hollow tone. Pepper didn’t need to be told twice, hooking the speechless doctor underneath his shoulder and hoisting him to his feet with one clean jerk.

She dragged the two of them down the hall, shoving David back towards the entrance just before she heard a faint whisper.  It was barely audible, and in a chilling voice. The words were indecipherable, but the voice recognizable. It chilled her bones and resonated in her soul, as if the whispers were going directly into her mind. She recognized the voice, beckoning her elsewhere. She could hear Morgan Stark. 

The Jade Empire

“You and your boys set up shop and see what you can do about taking down this barrier. I’ll try and find Doom and ask him nicely about doing it for us,” Tony instructed GW as they approached the collection of SHIELD and Japanese shuttles.

“And if he says no?” GW responded while directing a battalion of his troopers to set up a perimeter around their location.

“Then I’ll convince him that was a poor decision,” Tony shot back as his repulsor boots carried him up and away from the armed forces. Relative silence filled his helmet as the sound of the troops faded behind him and failed to be replaced by the buzz of activity in his suit’s communication systems.

The barrier Doom had erected was blocking out any transmissions Bill may have been sending from the Helicarrier. Diagnostics of the landscape flashed before Tony’s eyes on his HUD as he did a surface scan of the rubble that Doom had landed in.

There was no surprise when the search came up empty; Doom’s armor was too sophisticated and himself too intelligent to give off traces of his location. A subtle shifting of debris off to the side drew Tony’s attention, but it was only one of Doom’s ninja clad flunkies. The momentary distraction was costly though; a heap of stones mere meters from Iron Man’s position exploded in every direction, forcing the armored Avenger into evasive maneuvers as the Latverian emerged from hiding.

“Insolent fool! Doom will not suffer this affront!” Doom spat as green energy blasts exploded from both of his palms.

Tony, already turned onto his side and picking up speed to avoid the debris that had flown outward, was forced into a downward corkscrew that carried him dangerously closer to the angry villain. Doom swung a gauntlet-clad fist at the incoming Avenger and just barely missed catching Tony right on the forehead. But Iron Man soared right past Doom, who could be heard cursing angrily as he nearly toppled into the pile of stone blocks he had just emerged from.

“This island is Doom’s to command! You will not be able to evade my wrath forever!” Doom howled as he turned to regain view of his armored adversary. Watching Iron Man fly away from him, Doom raised his arms into the air and began to mutter under his breath, sickly green orbs of light growing to surround his fists. Tony smiled inside of his helmet, a rear-view image of Doom projected on his HUD.

“Who said I was trying to evade you?” Iron Man called out as he did a U-turn in the air, his gauntlets spitting bursts of energy as he was momentarily looking up at the sky, his body upside down. Once he was sure he had squeezed off the first volley of shots he spun around to orient his body in the proper direction. The first volley would be sufficient though, as the short lancelets of energy exploded against Doom’s arms, chest, and legs, dropping the dictator to his knees.

“You should really pick better moments to spit your mystical mumbo jumbo Victor. Now I’ll only say this once,” Tony said as he opened his palm inches away from Doom’s faceplate. The hum of generators kicking to life filled the air and the circle at the center of Iron Man’s open hand glowed hot-white. “Take down that barrier. Now.”

Looming there in the rubble, standing upright and leaning forward on two legs as thick as small tree trunks, was a dragon. It didn’t take Tony long to realize that it was one of the statues that had formerly stood at the sentry positions outside the various temples of the Jade Empire. Except this creature did not appear to be made of stone; thick, leathery scales of a dark green shade ran from head to toe with a pale yellow underbelly that looked equally fortified.

Mammoth green claws ending with five sickly curled yellow talons sat at the end of each arm, hanging limply in the air until they were called upon to do its masters bidding. The dragon did not have a snout so much as it had a disproportionately large mouth, filled exclusively with teeth that were sharpened to a point. Amphibious, fin-like ears flared out from the creature’s head and tremored as it roared, crimson eyes flaring. And this living, breathing monster was nearly ten feet tall, seething dangerously and creeping towards the armored Avenger.

“Doom is the lord and master of the Jade Empire now. To defy me is to defy this island and all of its guardians,” Doom boasted, now back on his feet and crossing his arms triumphantly. He stood at a safe distance behind the hulking creature that he now claimed to control, watching as the dragon took slow, ominous steps forward.

Tony no longer felt the need to banter with the Latverian despot. No, his actions would do the talking now. His gauntlet stilled hummed with the energy he had threatened Victor with, and he now turned that energy on oversized reptile drawing closer and closer. A repulsor blast shot from the palm of his gauntlet only to splash harmlessly over the leathery underbelly of the creature. The energy rolled off to either side of the monster’s body, dissipating harmlessly into the air shortly thereafter.

The dragon retaliated, leaning forward and opening its maw wide. A soft glow grew from the back of the creature’s throat before it spat out a spiraling column of red flames. Iron Man rose easily above the flames, but he could feel the air round him beginning to grow warmer. The dragon was quick to respond, craning its stump of a neck upwards and swinging the endless fiery beam up towards Tony. The flames crackled and moved in a predictable pattern though, giving Stark more than enough time to rise higher into the air before swinging down and to the side, coming in underneath the inferno.

Seeing this as a possible opening, Tony increased the strength of his boot propulsion systems and shot off towards the stationary monster. He led with his fists, letting his repulsor beams have another shot at the creature’s underside. The bright yellow projections splashed harmlessly away once again, and the dragon was now attempting to bring the beam of flames crashing down from above.

Doom’s sentry would strike before Tony could get to it. He needed to pull out, and quickly. A sharp barrel roll to the side allowed him to avoid the downward slicing column of flames, which left a sharply defined line of singed top soil in its wake. There was little time to celebrate though, as Tony quickly felt the roasting air surround his new trajectory.

The dragon’s reaction times were decreasing, leaving him little room for error and even less time to calculate his next move. Tony shot high into the air, hoping the sunlight would blind his opponent. The flames continued to chase him like a hound dog, and the sun’s rays did nothing to slow down their pursuit.

“Yes, run. Run as much as you like. But you cannot escape Doom’s judgment. No one can!” Doom cackled, pointing vengefully upwards at the floating Avenger. It was an ultimately useless gesture; his newly animated servant was already craning its head towards Iron Man’s position.

Tony was running out of time, and he knew it. Eventually Doom’s ninjas would wear down GW’s forces. There was no telling when Doom would decide to actually re-enter the fray himself. And as long as that barrier surrounded the Jade Empire, he couldn’t expect any help from the outside. A decision had to be made.

“I’m not running, Doom. Just giving myself some room,” Tony replied, waiting until the last possible moment before moving away from the flames and swooping down through the air, dipping underneath the fiery beam once again.

Tony pressed his boosters as hard as he could. He kept his arms at his side and flattened all extraneous portions of his armor, hoping to decrease the amount of wind resistance he faced. Even then, he could hear the wind howling around his armor as he jettisoned toward the green-scaled beast, who was quickly adjusting. That oversized head was coming around even as Tony leveled out, now parallel with the ground and headed straight for the beasts’ stomach.

Tony was still a few feet away when he felt the heat of the beast’s flames permeating his armor and splashing against his back. This was going to hurt. The blast connected with his right boot, causing a minor explosion in his propulsion systems and causing Tony to careen off curse. He cursed to himself but continued forward, so proficient in guiding his armor that he was able to do so with only one functional boot jet. At the last moment his armor bucked a bit, swerving to the right of the creature and causing Tony’s left arm to slap harmlessly against that leathery stomach.

It all happened so fast, and a second later Tony slammed to the ground, bouncing roughly back into the air before crashing down again and sliding to a painful halt against a pile of rubble.

“I do hope that wasn’t all you had to offer Iron Man. If so, I would say the years have been unkind to you,” Doom boasted.

“Don’t worry, Victor,” Tony gasped, taking in a deep breath of air as he tried to categorize the aches and pains that now sprung up all over his body. “I left your big friend there… a present…” he replied, smirking a bit.

Doom turned, his frayed cape whipping in the air as he examined his reptilian guardian. The creature actually looked pathetic; a confused look spread on its scaly face as it considered the device that had been planted on its stomach. A steel outer ring with a flashing red light in the middle was stuck to its scaly center. The diode flashed with a greater and greater frequency until the device constantly shimmered red. Doom threw his cape over his body just as the device detonated with a bright explosion that engulfed the creature and caused the ground to quake.

The smoke was slow to settle, but as it did it became painfully clear that the dragon had not survived. In death the creature had reverted to its stone form, and all that remained was what existed from the torso down. The dragon’s upper body was simply gone.

Jimmy groaned with his body splayed in a prone position three levels below the psych ward he had originated in. The braver hospital orderlies drew around his armored form, attempting to brush off the debris and prop up the time-displaced armored warrior. That movement alone was enough to send a dull throbbing up and down his spine. The haymaker delivered by the hulking robot known as Brass was strong enough to bruise the flesh beneath Jimmy’s crimson armor, making each movement a painful reminder of his brashness.

“Thanks guys…” Jimmy grunted, waving off some of the orderlies and propping himself up from behind. His arms ached from the extra strain of pushing his arms backwards and keeping his back off of the ground. But the thought of Brass and the other members of the Stockpile running free up above, with Pepper at risk, made the pain seem trivial.

Soon Jimmy was standing on his own two feet, and moments later he was rising up through the holes he himself had created when falling downwards after Brass’s strike. As Jimmy returned to the psych ward he noticed Unicorn and Sunstreak slowly returning to consciousness, with the orange Brass lumbering down towards a defensively positioned Jocasta.

“Hey, ugly,” Jimmy seethed, partially in pain and partially out of anger, motivated entirely by the need to draw the robot’s attention away from Jocasta. Jocasta had established herself exactly where Tony’s directives would have instructed her to; directly in front of Morgan Stark’s cell. Brass paused, the rotors in its neck spinning furiously as its head to examine the new challenger. The tremendous robot stalled, as if calculating various options and the associated odds and probabilities inside of its advanced CPU.

“Take the boy…” Unicorn muttered as he positioned his hand on the nearby wall to help pull himself up.

Its orders now clear, Brass turned its body to face Jimmy completely. The construct didn’t waste any time, using the propulsion unit on its back to soar directly at Jimmy. Knowing that he couldn’t continue this battle inside the confines of the hospital, Jimmy turned perpendicular to the hallway housing Morgan Stark and fled towards the nearest window, the glass pane shattering into a thousand shards a few seconds later as he crashed through it. Additional shards and chunks of wall exploded outwards as the much larger Brass continued its pursuit, chasing Jimmy into the mid-morning sky.

Back in the psych ward, Unicorn had gained his footing and was doing his best to fend off a distance attack from Jocasta. The female android maintained a steady, calculated stream of optic blasts from her eyes, attempting to drive the two members of the Stockpile back towards a more recessed position. This would make it easier for the additional security forces that were en route to apprehend the criminals with minimal cost. But Unicorn wasn’t making things easy; the Australian criminal was dodging some of the blasts and blocking or absorbing the blasts meant for Sunstreak with his own armored hide.

Sunstreak was having a more difficult time recovering from her collision with Unicorn. The fiery veil that had masked her facial features had died away, revealing a pale white face with sharp features and short, spiky blonde hair.

Standing up required more concentration than she could muster; at the moment she was still laying on the ground, leaning heavily on her right forearm. But through the groggy haze in her mind she was able to observe her partner, doing his best to maintain their position under the duress of laser fire. Teamwork had never really been a hallmark of the Stockpile, and Sunstreak had very little desire to start that trend. But neither of them could stand up to Jocasta on their own, and if they didn’t fulfill their objective than they wouldn’t get paid.

“Nnnghh…” Sunstreak grunted as she lifted her left arm into the air and opened her palm to face towards Jocasta. A jet of flames combusted outwards, forming a swirling wall of flames directly between Jocasta and Unicorn. The temperature in the hallway shot up dramatically, and within moments the sprinkler systems had activated. Ceiling-mounted sprinklers whirred to life, spinning around and expelling droplets of water with a steady “click-click-click”ing noise. Sunstreak maintained the fiery barrier, using it to block them from Jocasta’s assault.

Jocasta, re-evaluating the situation, ceased her attack, letting her eye-slits cool off from the deluge of electro-magnetic energy they had been emitting. Piercing Sunstreak’s wall of flame and catching the now hidden Stockpile members would have required more energy and a wider beam. This certainly wasn’t a problem, save for the fact that they were still in the populated psych ward of the hospital.

Realizing that the time to strike was now, Jocasta took off in a dead sprint for the red and orange inferno standing between her and her enemies. They thought themselves safe; they were wrong. On the other side of the wall, Unicorn and Sunstreak recoiled in surprise as Jocasta’s now-glowing titanium form emerged from the firestorm, heading right for them.

Pepper watched from the other hallway as Jocasta left her post, leaving Morgan Stark’s room completely unguarded. The faint whispering in the back of her mind had vanished. The prone form of Calico remained slumped against the wall, unconscious.

Pepper craned her head and peered down the corridor. Jocasta was engaged in close-quarters combat with Unicorn and Sunstreak. Iron Lad had left the building, trying to draw Brass away from the innocents. Just like his father would have done, Pepper mused before glancing back in the direction of the only remaining Stark in the building. Behind the reinforced and electronically locked door lay Morgan Stark, evil villain and completely vegetable. Except he couldn’t be a complete fruit; otherwise why would the Stockpile mount a rescue mission?

Once she had determined that the coast was clear, Pepper tiptoed across the hall, a sense of urgency keeping her up on her toes. Upon reaching the motionless Calico she reached down and confiscated the woman’s fire arm, a bulky pistol with a laser sight beneath the barrel. Pepper turned the weapon over in her hand, examining it closely. Happy had taught her how properly to use a gun; he had insisted on it, surprised that she hadn’t picked up any weapons training after working with Tony for so long.

“What are you doing?” David whispered, not realizing that Pepper could barely hear him over the din of the battle taking place just down the hall. The young doctor had crept up alongside Pepper, and she nearly accidentally discharged the weapon in her hands as a result. Her stare shot daggers at Dr. Goetz, and he scooted backwards a few inches to make sure he wasn’t pistol whipped.

“What does it look like I’m doing,” Pepper hissed, waving the gun in front of his face. “I’m disarming the woman that tried to kill you. You know, the one trying to release the psychopath on the other side of this door.”

“Misty would never do that,” David muttered, staring helplessly at the unconscious face of his coworker, who after a few weeks of trying to treat Morgan Stark had suddenly become a costume-wearing villainess.

“You’re a doctor, aren’t you supposed to be smart? I would say it’s pretty obvious that your friend Misty here isn’t in her right mind. She needs help, and we can’t get it for her if we’re dead. So for the time being we just have to hold tight and wait for Jocasta to finish wiping the floor with Morgan’s friends,” Pepper said, returning to her eyes to the battle down the hall.

“Are you sure?” David asked with a sincere twang of uncertainty in his voice.

Pepper turned back to the young doctor and paused. Truth be told, she wasn’t sure. Jimmy was out of the picture, and while Jocasta had the upper hand at the moment, there was no guarantee that she would maintain it. Pepper had learned some time ago that nothing should be taken for granted when it came to super-powered men and women running around in costumes. And while she wasn’t some hero, like Tony or Rhodey or Bill or Jimmy, she certainly wasn’t helpless.

“Unlock the door,” Pepper instructed, gesturing towards the door to Morgan’s room.

“What?” David asked in disbelief.

“The only way we’re going to get out of here is if we take control of what they came for. And they came for Morgan Stark. Open the door,” Pepper instructed, trying to add a sense of urgency to her voice and casting a nervous glance to the battle down at the end of the hall. It was hard to tell who had the upper hand.

“You’re nuts lady. As long as that door remains locked, Stark stays in a padded cell and we’re not in the line of fire. If you open that door you’re just putting a huge target on your back and giving those creeps an open invitation!” David insisted, an even more panicked glimmer in his eyes. The pistol barrel staring him right in the face might have been a contributing factor.

Pepper gripped the laser tightly. “Open the door. Now.” 

The Jade Empire

“If you yield now, perhaps I will show mercy,” Doom offered.

Tony grimaced. The idea of giving in to Doom was sickening. But even more painful at the moment was the burning sensation surrounding his right foot. The dragon’s flames had severely damaged his armor and burnt the flesh underneath. His armor’s systems had been quick to act, firing antiseptic foam around the wounded foot to stabilize and prevent any infection. But that didn’t mean there wasn’t a constant burning sensation shooting up his leg, making concentration incredibly difficult. For better or worse, he wouldn’t have to answer Doom.

Another strong wave of tremors shook the island, and a few meters away the ground broke upwards as a new, massive temple pierced the surface and drove upwards into the air. The temple, formed from the same yellow stone blocks as the island’s other structures, was a mixture of Japanese and Gothic architectures, with numerous pagodas and large, sprawling arches. All was silent once the temple finished its unearthing, at least until Doom’s dragon guardians turned and began to lumber towards the building’s open arches.

“Cretins! Return to your master at this moment,” Doom bellowed. And for a moment, the dragon guardians paused. The two ten foot reptiles, approximately halfway between Doom and the ominous temple, turned unhurriedly to face the Latverian dictator. Another moment of extended silence passed they considered the man before them with gleaming crimson eyes. And without any further provocation or warning they roared columns of fire at the man who moments earlier had been their master. Doom was too slow to respond, managing only to throw his cape over his shoulder and turn his body away from the impending attack. The flames buffeted his back and splashed outwards. Doom was muttering frantically, trying to raise a mystical shield to his defense. But the heat was too much, and his armor began to glow white-hot. It wasn’t long before Victor Von Doom succumbed, dropping to his knees before slumping to the side, unconscious and smoldering.

“All bow before the king of the Jade Empire…” a booming voice echoed from within the temple, before the voice’s foreboding owner emerged from the shadows.

TO BE CONTINUED...