—
The floating jade couch was stupid comfortable.
I sprawled across it with one arm behind my head. The other held so kind of spirit-fruit that tasted like fizzy electricity and wild honey. Below, two cultivators were locked in what amounted to a really expensive slap-fight with chi blasts.
Boring.
Compared to what I'd just done? This was watching paint dry. Expensive and mystical paint, but still paint.
Charmcaster sat on the railing nearby. Her legs dangled over a hundred-foot drop like it was nothing, silver hair catching the ethereal light as she studied the energy patterns in the arena. Kwannon stood behind Illyana's throne like a statue with hands clasped. Radiating that subtle assassin energy that made the jade guards sweat.
Illyana lounged on her bone-and-shadow throne. She looked like a cat that had just caught the world's most impressive mouse. Her "acquisition" had won his first fight in spectacular fashion, and she was eating up the attention from the other VIPs who kept glancing our way from distant galleries, sothing I only felt thanks to my Chi.
The current match dragged on. More chi blasts and more acrobatic flips. A lot of yelling about honor and technique too.
Illyana yawned.
"This is boring," she announced to no one in particular, her heavy Russian accent making the complaint sound almost regal.
I snorted. "That can't be right. You invited to a martial arts tournant and you're bored of martial arts?"
"I'm bored of diocrity, Benny boy. Hmm…" She sat up. That troublemaker grin spread across her face. The one that ant soone was about to have a very interesting day. "I need better entertainnt."
She snapped her fingers.
The sound cracked through the gallery like a whip. Two jade-armored servants materialized from the shadows, bowing so low their helts nearly touched the floor.
"Go to the Agents of Atlas gallery," Illyana commanded. She waved a gloved hand, the movent fluid and dismissive. "Fetch Luna Snow. Tell her the Queen of Limbo requests her presence." She paused, her smile widening into sothing predatory. "And bring whoever she's with. I want to show off my new pet."
Oh no.
"I'm not a pet," I said around a mouthful of spirit-fruit.
"You won a fight on my sponsorship. That makes you my pet, no?" She looked at with those ice-blue eyes that seed to hold endless winter. I locked eyes with her as I continued eating.
That was a little insulting. Okay, no, it annoyed a lot. I'd get back at her. As if she could see the threat behind my eyes, she added, "Besides, don't you like Luna? Don't pretend you don't want to see her."
"I an, yeah, but maybe warn a guy before you start parading him around?"
"Where's the fun in that?"
The servants vanished in a shimr of light.
I looked at Charmcaster. She was biting her lip, trying very, very hard not to laugh. She found it amusing that I, Ben Tennyson, was being played around for once.
"Wow, Hope," I said.
"I didn't say anything~"
"You were thinking it very loudly."
"Can't prove that," she winked at .
Kwannon remained silent, but I swear I saw the corner of her mouth twitch. What a joke. My entire support crew found this hilarious?
Minutes passed. The match below concluded with so kind of dramatic finishing move that made the crowd roar. I stopped paying attention halfway through. Instead, I focused on the spirit-fruit. It was sohow getting more fizzy the longer I held it.
"They're here," Kwannon said quietly.
I looked up.
The servants had returned. They'd brought company.
Luna Snow walked in first. She paused mid-conversation as she entered, her white and black hair catching the light. She wore a Cheongsam instead of her usual stage outfits.
Behind her ca Lin Lie, the future Iron Fist and current Sword Master I'd t at the tea house. He looked about as comfortable being in the "Demon Queen's territory" as soone walking into a wolf's den. His hand kept drifting toward where his sword would normally be. Nervous habit.
Bringing up the rear was Amadeus Cho, who made sharpen a little. He looked simultaneously excited and terrifying.
Luna's face lit up when she saw Illyana. "Illie~!" She rushed forward, throwing her arms around the Demon Queen in a hug that would have gotten anyone else turned into a decorative ice sculpture.
Illyana tolerated it with the air of soone accepting tribute from a lesser noble. "Luna, my sweet darling. Thank you for coming."
"Of course! The guards said it was important but..." Luna pulled back. She finally noticed the rest of us. Her eyes landed on . "Ben? What are you doing here?"
I raised my spirit-fruit in greeting. "Hey, Luna. Fancy eting you here."
"I..." She looked confused. Glanced between Illyana and . "I'm surprised to see Illyana here, but you also sohow found your way into this heavenly tournant?"
"Much thanks to my Charmcaster and Psylocke here," I said casually. "They helped find the entrance, although I helped too. As for eting Illyana, that part was a total coincidence. Or fate."
Illyana's smile sharpened. "Be careful around this one, Luna. He's not a good man."
I laughed, unable to help it.
"Coming from the literal Queen of Hell, that's rich."
"Limbo is a dinsion of exile, not hell. There's a difference."
"Semantics."
Luna looked between us, clearly trying to figure out the dynamic. Lin Lie and Amadeus hung back near the entrance, both watching the exchange with fascination.
"So," Luna said slowly. She sat down on the couch next to without invitation. "I know I teased you about Illyana before, but I seriously thought it was nothing. But you're such a close friend of Illyana? Since when?"
"Since I invaded Limbo to save soone and didn't imdiately die," I replied. "Apparently that impressed her."
"Oh yeah! She did tell that."
"Oh, she did?" I looked at Illyana. "What a surprise, she must really love you," I said while staring at Illyana, who scowled at . "Yeah. It's a long story that involved a lot of demons and so very angry henchn. Good tis."
Oh, I know what to do to get back at this Russian.
Illyana leaned forward on her throne, eager to change the subject. "Benjamin has proven surprisingly resilient. Which is why I sponsored him for the tournant."
Luna blinked, turning to look at the Queen. "You sponsored him…? Wasn't so demon fighting for you in an earlier match, or am I going crazy? When is Ben's fight?"
"Well..." Illyana's grin went full Cheshire cat. "In fact, you've already seen him fight. Tell , Luna, what did you think of Tetra-Man's performance?"
I bit the fruit.
Oh, here we go.
Luna's brow furrowed. "Tetra-Man? That four-ard red demon who just..." She trailed off and looked at . Looked at Illyana and then back at . "No way."
"Yes," Illyana purred.
"No WAY!"
"Yes way."
It was strange how excited she was getting, and I wondered how much of that was herself and how much a 'performance'. Luna's voice sohow climbed even higher. "Wait, BEN?! THAT FOUR-ARD RED DEMON WAS YOU?!"
The entire gallery went silent, and every conversation stopped. Even nearby floating galleries turned their eyes to our little corner of chaos. "Don't worry, it's soundproof," Illyana said. "But you're right. That was him."
I took another bite of my spirit-fruit, slowly eating it. "Guilty as charged."
"That's impressive! I didn't know your aliens were so strong. No wait, was it an alien or a demon? Tell , tell !"
"Alien."
"Whoa… that's so cool…" Luna grabbed my arm, her eyes glinting. I noticed Illyana's growing concern seeing this, and that made things much more enjoyable.
Before any of us could continue speaking, Amadeus Cho pushed past Lin Lie. He was practically vibrating with excitent.
"Sorry to interrupt but…" He pulled out his phone, fingers already flying across the screen. "I've been a fan of yours since you stopped the Hulk and Abomination in Harlem! The energy readings from that fight were insane. I've been theorizing ever since about your transformation capabilities!" He looked up at with stars in his eyes. "You're a Tetramand! From the desert planet of Khoros! It was a little difficult to get information on them, but I'm right, aren't I?"
"Uh…"
"What fascinating species. Whereas Hulk needs doses of gamma radiation to exert the level of strength he does, Tetramands do so naturally! The muscle-to-body-mass ratio alone should be thermodynamically impossible, but sohow you're making it work. Which ans there's so kind of exotic matter conversion happening at the cellular level. Or maybe quantum entanglent between your human and alien forms that prevents..."
He kept talking.
The words just kept coming. Rapid-fire scientific jargon mixed with fanboy enthusiasm.
I held up a hand. "Hey man. Let's breathe together."
Amadeus sucked in air. "Right! Sorry. It's just... co on, man. You have alien DNA!"
I stared at the decently muscular dude. He had a device strapped to his wrist which I recalled controlled his Hulk transformation at will. I wondered how this Amadeus got Hulk's power since it hadn't been long since Bruce Banner's Hulk beca a thing. In the comics, Amadeus becos the new Hulk after Bruce, taking on the "Totally Aweso Hulk" mantle. But this was the MCU-adjacent tiline…
ntal note: ask about that later.
Also note: Amadeus Cho is dangerous. Seventh-smartest person on Earth. Tactician. Capable of out-thinking gods.
Don't underestimate the friendly face.
Luna was still processing, her hand still gripping my arm. "Wow… sotis I feel so left out. Amadeus is super strong himself and a genius, and now there's another person who can match the real Hulk in strength," she shook her head. "Sotis I feel maybe I should just stick to singing and dancing."
"Oh, co on," I said in a soothing voice. "I've heard so of your heroic reports. You and your group do fantastic work. Don't underestimate yourself. You're a good counter to many big villains, such as Magneto for example. Well, he's not a villain anymore but still. You can free the tal so that he can't control them anymore. "
Charmcaster spoke up from her perch on the railing. She didn't even turn around. "Don't let his sweet talk get to you, he's just an idiot with a rapidly building god-complex and a watch that turns him into monsters. He's a cheater!"
"Hey!"
Why's she ruining my ga?!
"Am I wrong?"
"I don't have a god-complex."
"Yeah? Clock-what?"
I scowled. "That's different."
"Is it, though?"
Luna looked between us, clearly trying to keep up with the dynamic. "Um, what's this about?"
"Different story. Much longer, can't say," I patted her hand. "I'll tell you later."
Lin Lie finally spoke up from near the entrance. His voice carried that formal edge of soone trained in ancient traditions. "Allow to share so words too, Queen of Limbo," he waited until Illyana nodded. He looked at . "The rich boy from the tea house is a monster-class fighter." He shook his head slowly. "I should have seen the signs. Your stance and your confidence. As well as the way you moved."
I shrugged. "I'm good at hiding it."
"Clearly."
Illyana was watching all this with undisguised amusent, her chin resting on her hand. Although she was surely hiding the annoyance she felt with Luna touching my arm. "See, Luna? Isn't he delightful? So full of surprises."
"Oh, he sure is full of sothing," Luna muttered, and she was smiling. She hit my arm. Not hard. More playful. "You're so ridiculous. A walking special effect, aren't you? How many forms do you have?"
Whoa, she's making fast moves. I wasn't complaining. "Enough to keep things interesting."
"That's not an answer!"
"It's the only answer you're getting."
Amadeus had his phone out again, typing frantically. "If I could just run so tests on your transformation matrix, I could probably reverse-engineer the energy conversion algorithms..."
I cut him off with a look. "Not happening. Last person who tried to study this thing almost blew up a city," I lied.
"I'm much more careful than..."
"Still no."
He deflated slightly, but rallied quickly. "Can I at least ask questions? Like, do you retain full consciousness during transformation? What's the psychological adaptation process? How does your neural architecture handle the biomass differential?"
I leaned back, considering this.
This was Amadeus Cho. Certified genius. Very dangerous mind. But also endearing in his enthusiasm. Befriending him would co with benefits. Plus, I knew things about him that he didn't know I knew.
Comic book ta-knowledge was weird like that.
"Tell you what," I said. "You can ask three questions. But I'm not answering anything that would let you build your own crazy watch, that's a no-no."
His face lit up. "Deal! Okay, first question: what's a Galvan?"
I smiled. Hook, line, sinker.
"I'm surprised you don't know that. They're a species of hyper-intelligent beings from the planet Galvan Pri. About two inches tall. Genius-level intellect as their baseline. They invented most of the advanced technology in the nearby galaxies." I paused for effect. "The one who made this watch? He's considered the smartest being in five galaxies. I don't an to insult you, but he's about… hundred tis smarter?"
I just made that number up, I have zero idea.
Amadeus went very still. "Two inches tall."
"Yep."
"Smarter than Reed Richards?"
"Oh, hmm... Different specializations, but I'll say yes."
"That's… oh wow." He sat down hard on the nearest available surface. "That changes a lot of things. If intelligence can scale independent of brain mass, then… then the entire neurological model I've been working under is fundantally flawed. The synaptic density would have to be orders of magnitude higher. Which just ans..." He looked up at . "You just broke theoretical biology."
"I do that sotis, but that's not , that's the creator of the watch."
Lin Lie spoke up again, tone respectful but curious. "If you're this powerful, why hide it? Why not declare yourself openly and keep the world safe?"
"Huh? I am keeping the world safe, but I don't need to declare myself openly for that. Too much trouble with that in Arica. Besides I'm eighteen and I don't want a target on my back twenty-four-seven," I replied honestly. "Power draws attention. Attention draws problems. I like being able to walk down the street without soone trying to kidnap for my DNA."
"Too late for that," Illyana said cheerfully. "Every major power in this tournant now knows you exist. Good luck."
"Thanks for that, by the way."
"You're welco."
Luna squeezed my arm. "Okay, but seriously. How many forms do you actually have?" Wasn't she a bit too interested?
I thought about telling the truth, that it was about a million, but decided against it. They won't believe plus I can't actually transform into that many. "About like twenty now…? I don't know, I forgot to count."
"Wow, twenty like that…? Unfair." Luna's voice cracked.
Charmcaster finally turned around, a smirk on her face. "And this is why traveling with him is exhausting. Every day is a new existential crisis for soone."
"You love it," I shot back.
"No? I enjoy it. There's a difference."
Luna looked at all of us, then burst out laughing. "You guys are so insane. Hah, what an unfair society the Hero Society is," she leaned into , familiar and comfortable. "Do you have any that can use ice powers? I wanna test myself against it."
"You're in bad luck, not yet."
Illyana stood from her throne, stretching like a cat. "As touching as this eting is, I do believe the next match is about to start. And Benjamin, you have another fight coming up soon. You should rest."
I checked the jade screen floating nearby. It showed the tournant bracket. She was right. Two more prelims, then I was up again.
The social energy in the VIP box was getting thick. Too many eyes on . Too many questions I didn't want to answer. I needed space to think. To breathe. Not to be on for a bit.
I stood up, stretching.
"I'm gonna take a walk. Get so air."
Illyana's eyes narrowed. "Going where, Champion?"
"Just stretching my legs. Too much perfu in here." I winked at her. "Don't worry, Your Majesty. I'll be back for my next fight."
"See that you are." But she was smiling. She must be happy I was leaving Luna alone and maybe she just enjoyed whatever I did. Watching move through her world with confidence. Like she was waiting for the mont I'd slip so she could devour .
Good luck with that.
I left the VIP section, walking out into the corridor.
The architecture of the Heavenly City looked impossible. Walls curved upward into infinity, twisting in odd geotrical angles that made my eyes roam. Stairs led sideways. Doors opened onto courtyards three stories below.
I passed ancient statues of warriors frozen in eternal combat. Nervous guards who recognized leaving the Demon Queen's gallery but didn't know what to do about it since I looked like a regular teenager in jeans and a t-shirt.
The Omnitrix humd quietly on my wrist as if it were aware of where we were.
Eventually, I found myself on a quieter terrace overlooking the lower districts. The city sprawled out below in impossible geotry. Lights flickered like earthbound stars, casting long and strange shadows against the mountain rock. The air slled like incense and clouds, heavy with the weight of centuries.
I leaned against the railing, feeling the cool stone beneath my palms.
The tournant wasn't just a sport. It was a ritual. It was power made manifest. And sowhere in all this, hidden beneath layers of tradition and secrecy, was the Iron Fist spirit. The thing we'd co here to find.
I wondered where this tournant was truly leading .
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