Marvel: Playing Iron Man, Falling In and Out of Love with Jinx

"Avatar of the Wind, at your command!"

With her staff in hand and the wind swirling around her, Janna emerged from the void. Her long, flowing hair fluttered past her forehead as a look of sorrow settled over her face.

"You're finally here, Janna!"

Vi seized her Bluebird Charm and stepped forward, falling to her knees before the wind spirit.

"Please help us! Help Vander, help everyone!"

"Brave children will always be favored by the wind."

Janna flicked her staff. The door, which had resisted all their attempts to open, creaked and then, guided by a breeze slipping through its seams, blew open with a loud bang.

Clang!

As the door slammed open, Vi and Powder's eyes lit up with hope. Powder quickly bowed. "Thank you, Janna!"

"You're incredible, no wonder you're Zaun's guardian!"

"Long live Janna!"

Janna smiled warmly at the excited kids. But as memories of what she'd seen on the wind surfaced, her expression turned grave.

The enemy was too powerful.

Could these children really make it in time?

"The wind will guide you forward."

With a heavy heart, Janna turned and vanished into the gusts. From the swirling wind, a sky-blue bluebird emerged and landed gently on Vi's shoulder. She clasped the Bluebird Charm around her neck, then rose to her feet and looked at the now-open doorway.

"Let's go. We're going to save Vander!"

Collin Workshop – Attic

"This part needs tweaking. The weight load can't be too much for the user. Best if it's like Doc Ock's arms, spinal-linked, with the power source fitted at the waist."

"And while we're at it, let's add a kinetic feedback loop to the exoskeleton so the recoil energy boosts the power core again!"

Duke's mind buzzed with ideas, each more brilliant than the last. The more he sketched, the more animated he became. His pencil raced across the blueprint, filling in details of his envisioned clockwork exosuit.

Bang!

A gust of wind burst the window wide open. As the draft swept into the room, Janna appeared from thin air.

"You really shouldn't break into homes in the middle of the night, you know!"

Duke held down the blueprints about to fly off his table. "If you blow these away, I'm not redrawing them."

"Duke, someone needs your help!"

"No time. Busy!"

Without looking up, Duke kept drawing. Janna watched his hunched-over back and sighed quietly, reminded of those artisans who once abandoned her for science.

But this boy, this boy was different.

He hadn't yet been blinded by greed.

"It's about Vi, Powder, and the others."

Snap!

Duke's pencil snapped in half. Slowly, he turned his head.

"Vander's fighting Silco, isn't he?"

"That's right. And it's all because of you."

"Because of me?" Duke tossed the broken pencil into the trash, turned to Janna, and frowned seriously. "Hey, don't slander a good guy, I didn't do anything!"

"You impersonated a member of the Ferros family to deliver intel, but you forgot the most important thing."

"What?"

"Fear."

Janna swept her hand, conjuring wind that morphed into a vivid illusion. Scene after scene played before their eyes.

"After the last uprising, the Ferros clan led a purge in the Undercity. It became a nightmare burned into people's memories. They're still afraid."

"You mean my intel... caused the fighting?"

Duke's eyes widened as flashbacks flooded his mind,

"Vi, come back!!"

"Don't leave me!!"

A little blue-haired girl screamed from within the roaring flames, eyes full of despair and abandonment.

Boom!

Duke slammed a fist onto the table. He grabbed the hooded jacket from his bed and turned to Janna.

"Where are they?"

"Take me to them!"

Janna's eyes softened with a smile. So I wasn't wrong about him after all. She blurred forward in the wind, placing her hands gently on Duke's shoulders.

"Avatar of the Wind, at your command!"

Duke suddenly felt weightless, like gravity no longer applied. With a light tap of his foot, he shot from the attic like a panther.

"Don't forget to close the windows, and the lights too!"

Duke's voice faded into the wind as he leapt through the window. Janna pouted.

"What an ungrateful little brat!"

"That's not ungrateful, it's called being thorough! You know nothing!"

The attic window silently shut, the lights snapped off, and only their voices lingered in the air.

"You better support me! I've never even been in a real fight!"

"The winds of change will guide you!"

"Say it in plain language!"

"Alright, alright! Geez, you're such a nag!"

Zaun Docks – Old Cannery

Cough... cough...

Vander lay sprawled on the blood-soaked floor, vision blurred. Around him, his old comrades were already down, lifeless in pools of crimson.

Thud, thud, thud...

Footsteps echoed closer. Silco stepped through the carnage, blood sloshing underfoot. He kicked Vander's side, rolling him over.

"You're old, Vander."

Silco sneered. "You're no longer the Black Wolf who fought like hell. You've become a dog."

"Cough..." Vander spat blood. "Silco... You'll bring ruin to Zaun... Please, stop."

"Stop?" Silco crouched down, staring at his former brother's bloodied face.

"I don't see it that way.

I'm giving Zaun a rebirth."

"Those people up there? They've never cared whether we live or die. We're dirt under their boots. They were born above us, but why should they stay above us?"

Silco's shout shook the air.

"Why can't we fight back?!"

Rage-filled, he wiped his face and regained composure.

"It doesn't matter now.

I have the power.

I have the weapon to challenge Topside.

And the voice to demand respect."

"You've seen it for yourself, haven't you?"

"You don't understand Topside's depth, Silco... you don't..." Blood streamed from Vander's eyes. His chest heaved like a broken bellows.

"Then let it all burn."

Silco rose and called over to Sevika. "Let it all be reborn in fire. That's your way... and mine."

"Give him to Singed.

He's always wanted a live subject."

Silco chuckled. Mutated Sevika grunted and lumbered forward, yanking Vander up by the collar.

"Vander!!!"

A piercing cry made Silco pause. He turned, and saw a little girl with pink hair and blue eyes, a bluebird perched on her shoulder, sweat dripping down her forehead.

"We're here to save you!"

"No... Vi, run!"

Vander forced the words out. Silco chuckled lowly.

"So that's why you went soft."

He pointed at Vi and the others, then turned toward the lab.

"Take care of them."

His goons sneered and advanced.

"Ahhh!!"

Seeing the mutated soldiers approaching, Vi roared and charged forward. Powder shouted, panicking, "Vi, don't!!"

But Vi was no match. The mutant swatted her like a fly.

Boom!

Vi crashed into the wall and slid to the ground.

"Guh!"

Blood gushed from her mouth. Mylo and Claggor grabbed weapons and charged in vain.

The Shimmer mutants were no longer human. Their strength far surpassed ordinary limits.

"Mylo! Claggor!!"

Vi barely looked up in time to see them hurled through the air, bouncing off the ground like rag dolls.

Claggor's chest caved in. Blood and organ fragments spilled from his mouth.

"Mylo!!!"

Vi tried to stand, her body refused. She could only watch helplessly as her friends were torn apart.

"They look up to you as their leader."

Vander's voice echoed in her mind.

"When people count on you, you can't just think about yourself.

If you say run, they run.

If you say fight, they fight.

So you have to be responsible.

You hear me? Responsible!!"

"I have to take responsibility!"

Vi forced herself to stand. The mutant approached Powder, arms crossed smugly. Powder fumbled in her pouch and pulled out a handmade bomb.

"Stay back! I've got explosives!"

She tossed the bomb. It hissed, then did nothing.

"Hah!"

The lead mutant laughed, cracking his neck. He loomed over Powder, casting a massive shadow.

"Explosives..."

Vi froze. Duke's voice rang in her ears:

"If those bombs take a hard hit, a third of Zaun's going sky-high."

"You're braver than I thought."

"Wait... those blue glass orbs!"

Vi reached into her pouch. The mutant raised his fist over Powder's head.

"Stop!!"

Vi's shout made him pause.

She held up two glowing Hex Crystals and picked up a hammer.

"If I hit this, Zaun goes sky-high.

You touch her, and we all go together!"

Blood ran down her face, adding to her furious glare.

The mutants laughed.

"Hahahaha..."

"You bastards!!"

Vi placed one gem on the ground, raised her hammer high.

"Run, Powder!"

"No, Vi, don't! You can't!"

"Duke said it's dangerous!"

"And I said I'd protect you."

Vi's voice softened. "Please... just go."

"You're all I have left."

Tears filled Powder's eyes. She clenched her fists, fingernails digging into her palms, then turned and ran.

"Good. Don't look back."

Vi clenched her teeth, and brought the hammer down.

The glowing Hex Crystal lay quietly on the floor as the brass hammer descended.

Whoosh!

A gust of wind blew through the factory. Even Powder, already running, was blown back.

The mutants shielded their eyes.

Clack!

Vi froze. The hammer had been caught, by a firm hand.

She looked up in disbelief at the black-haired boy crouched before her.

Duke gently took the hammer and rapped her on the head.

"Kids shouldn't play with firecrackers.

It's dangerous."

(End of chapter)

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