65: Khan
Three days before the incident at the Baxter Foundation science fair.
In Smallville, Central Plaza.
Lena and Carol took a seat at the same spot where they had met the day before. Their second meeting began quite similarly to the first, with Lena arriving to pick Carol up after classes had ended for the day.
Although it was strange to have someone come to get her, Carol didn't think too much about it and simply followed Lena. After all, her goal was to learn more about the woman, and Lena taking the initiative to approach her saved Carol the trouble of figuring out how to get closer without seeming suspicious.
"You seem distracted, are you alright?" Lena asked after they had both finished placing their orders and the waitress had walked away. When she picked her up, she seemed somewhat distant, even more than during their first conversation, making Lena wonder if something was wrong.
Upon hearing her question, Carol took a few more moments before answering, her voice slightly hoarse.
"Yeah, just... thinking about stuff," she said vaguely, her blue eyes looking at Lena for a moment before drifting toward the window overlooking the plaza.
To anyone watching, it would seem like she was simply taking in the rural scenery of the town where she had grown up, but only she knew that her eyes were actually focused on a completely different scene.
Through the lenses of her glasses, an image was being projected thanks to the advanced Kryptonian technology with which her new glasses had been crafted. At first, Carol hadn't quite understood why her mother had gone to the trouble of making something like this for her. But now, as she used them, she understood better—though she doubted this was the use Lara had expected her to give them.
Being able to monitor, in real time, any event happening inside the Fortress regardless of distance, proved far more useful than she'd initially thought — and that was just one of the many features Lara had incorporated into the seemingly simple glasses.
Another feature that was undoubtedly helping Carol a lot at that moment was the glasses' ability to camouflage the involuntary changes in the color of her eyes brought on by her nearly uncontrollable emotions.
To Lena, sitting across from her, Carol's face didn't look much different than usual, with her clear blue eyes looking just as they always did.
But the reality, however, was very different, for now her pupils were a bright red color, with heat beginning to emanate from them.
Carol had to fight hard to keep her eyebrows from furrowing and a grimace from appearing on her face, although, judging by Lena's question, it seemed she hadn't completely hidden her discomfort.
"Well, if something's bothering you, I don't mind listening. Maybe I can help," Lena offered, a friendly smile blooming on her lips. Her hesitation when talking to Carol had decreased considerably compared to the day before.
She seemed to be under the impression that they were now friends or something like that, which didn't bother Carol as much as she had thought it would — maybe because right now her anger was directed elsewhere.
'Is she mocking me?' she wondered, questioning whether her biological mother had some bizarre sense of humor she hadn't been aware of.
When Daniel had given her the glasses, Carol hadn't thought much of them. She hadn't even put them on, simply storing them away in one of her trench coat's pockets until she could get to the Fortress and ask Lara about them in detail.
Carol could almost have forgotten she was carrying them if it hadn't been for the faint beeping they started emitting—undetectable to the human ear—mid-morning.
Not knowing what was happening and unable to leave her classes to go to the Fortress and ask, she had finally decided to put them on, hoping the noise would stop.
The moment she did, she felt her irises being scanned, and then an image of her mother appeared before her eyes, wearing that characteristically kind smile she always gave her. For a second, Carol thought the woman had finally decided to try accompanying her everywhere... and she nearly threw the glasses into the sun.
She might have been her biological mother, but Carol did not want to have her at her side all the time. No sane person would want to have either parent looking over their shoulder all the time.
Fortunately, she realized in time that the image in the glasses wasn't the 'real' Lara—just a simple program using her face and voice to help her navigate the glasses' system.
Over the next few minutes, Carol received a detailed explanation of several of the glasses' features. Many of them seemed pretty unnecessary, while others caught her attention more.
With nothing else to do and her classes being their usual brand of boring, Carol ended up spending almost the entire school day playing around with several of the features — until curiosity led her to explore the long-distance monitoring option.
At first, she hadn't paid much attention. Watching what was happening inside the Fortress didn't seem particularly interesting to her, especially since the place was usually empty most of the time.
On the other hand, Carol seriously doubted that anyone on Earth could break into the place, and even if, through some impossible means, they managed it, with her mother there, any intruder would be easily detected and dealt with. So she had almost dismissed the feature as yet another useless function she didn't think she would ever use.
Until she remembered that Daniel was in the Fortress at that moment — she knew because she had heard him flying away while she was on her way to school, and by following the sound of his heartbeat, she had figured he must be in Antarctica.
She still hadn't fine-tuned her hearing enough to pinpoint his exact location, but over time she had gotten a sense of how far Daniel was from her depending on how much she had to strain to keep hearing him.
And it was only when he was in Antarctica, behind the Fortress's crystalline walls, that his heartbeat felt that distant.
'She must have known I wouldn't be able to resist,' she thought as she continued watching the images displayed through the glasses' lenses.
Lara must have also known that Daniel was going to wake Harleen up today — that's why she had made the glasses emit that sound, urging Carol to put them on.
Her mother wanted her to see this, maybe thinking it would motivate her or provoke some kind of reaction.
Carol narrowed her eyes, her teeth clenching as she watched Harleen suddenly appear dressed in 'Her' suit, wearing the symbol that only she and Daniel should be allowed to wear.
Powers — why had she gained powers? What kind of stupid joke was this? How had a mere human gone from being nothing to suddenly being capable of things like what the blonde woman was doing?
It made no sense or logic — it was as if the universe were simply messing with her, as if saying to her face "You're not as special as you thought."
Carol's right eye almost began to twitch, but she managed to control it.
Her mood improved a little when she saw Harleen try to punch Daniel, only to end up with a bruised fist, although that brief spark of amusement almost faded when she saw her kick him in the crotch the next moment.
Fortunately, Daniel was fine and it was Harleen who ended up writhing on the ground — otherwise, Carol might have flown right there to teach her that there were things you just didn't touch without permission.
'She's not that strong.' The thought brought her some comfort—though not as much as she would have liked.
"Carol?" Lena's voice made her return her attention to her surroundings. Observing the frown on her face, Carol knew she had remained silent too long.
Remembering what the woman had said, Carol hesitated for a moment. Normally, she didn't like talking about her problems with others — even less so considering she and Lena barely knew each other.
On the other hand, it wasn't like she had many people she could talk to about these things. Complaining to Chloe was dangerous, because she might end up going to her parents. Talking to Lara, while much easier, also felt uncomfortable in certain ways, considering she was her "mother."
And while she could talk to Daniel about anything else, going to him to talk about himself would be... weird.
She shouldn't do it, but she wanted to hear something other than her own voice complaining inside her head — if only to stop thinking about all the ways she wished she could strangle Harleen.
"Have you ever felt like someone is taking something important from you and you don't know what to do to stop it?" she finally said, not wanting to go into too much detail.
Hearing her, Lena blinked in slight surprise. It wasn't exactly what she had imagined Carol would say, and almost immediately her thoughts returned to Lex and the reason she had ended up in Smallville.
The wound from his betrayal was still fresh, making her clench her fist tightly.
"Yeah... I've felt that," she said through gritted teeth, causing Carol to raise an eyebrow.
Lena sighed and tried to relax before continuing.
"When I was younger, I took a lot of things for granted. I was born with everything a person could want: plenty of money, a good family — things I thought were natural to have and that I'd always have," she scoffed, frowning slightly before going on.
"But then my mother got sick, and I had to watch her die slowly right in front of me, unable to do anything but stay by her side. Suddenly, money stopped being useful, and the family I thought I had started to fall apart. My brother grew distant; my father... I guess he just stopped hiding who he really was. It was like everything was collapsing, and no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't stop it," she said, shaking her head and letting out a dry laugh.
"Sorry, I guess I'm rambling," she didn't know why she had revealed so much about herself so suddenly. Maybe she just wanted to open up to Carol a little, or maybe she simply needed to vent, since her question had struck a sensitive chord without Carol realizing it.
"What I mean is that I've experienced that feeling — I know what it's like..." her voice carried a faint bitterness at the end, a tone Carol immediately recognized, because it was the same kind of bitterness she sometimes felt herself.
It was unexpected to realize that they shared something in common, even if their feelings didn't come from the same experiences.
Lena must have seen something in Carol's eyes, because a soft smile appeared on her face, as if telling her that she understood, even though Carol had barely said anything.
Unable to help herself, Carol smiled faintly for a second before returning to her usual expression. Of course, she was still angry — more than anything, worried and irritated — but not as much as before.
Although the fact that Harleen had gained powers was unexpected, in the grand scheme of things it didn't change much. Even if it was hard, Carol had already decided to stop worrying about how close other women got to Daniel, and instead focus more on herself and on her relationship with him.
As her mother had said in the past, there was no need to pay attention to things that ultimately didn't matter — no matter how annoying, irritating, and unbearable they might be... and now she was back to being just as annoyed as before.
'This is harder than I thought' she reflected, letting out a slight sigh.
Maybe she should stop watching the images projected onto her lenses, but for some reason, she couldn't. It was painful, but at the same time, she had a morbid curiosity to observe how the relationship between Daniel and Harleen was unfolding.
"Know your enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in danger," was a phrase she had read in one of the books her history teacher had insisted all the students study.
Before, she hadn't paid much attention to it, but now she felt it was quite accurate.
As annoying as Harleen was, Carol couldn't help but think there were also things she could learn from her. If nothing else, if she could manage to get Daniel to treat her the same way he treated the blonde woman, it would already be a big win.
With that thought lingering in the back of her mind, Carol continued chatting casually with Lena while at the same time keeping an eye on the situation in the Fortress — unaware that soon, she would have more than just a blonde woman to learn from.
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That same day, in another part of the world, far from America, hidden deep within the Wuling Mountains of China.
wrapped in mist and sheltered beneath the canopy of ancient forests, stood a majestic dark temple with centuries of existence. Around it, pavilions and halls intertwined like a silent labyrinth, along whose corridors figures dressed in black glided, all moving with an unknown purpose and their eyes fixed on the long stepped path that led to the temple's imposing main gates.
The dry tapping of a cane against the stone echoed throughout the place, marking a solemn rhythm, as a group of individuals dressed in red ascended the ancient steps with measured steps.
Leading the group marched a hunched old woman, frail and docile in appearance, leaning on a slender cane. Her dark eyes, almost hidden beneath the weight of her eyelids, solemnly observed the ten great golden pillars that held up the temple's structure.
Soon, the group finished traversing the long path and, with a slight gesture of her hand, the woman halted her companions' march. Then she stepped forward a few paces alone and, with her hands joined in a gesture of greeting, respectfully bowed before the closed doors of the temple.
"Great conqueror of the celestial cities," she pronounced with reverence, "I request an audience."
Her voice, though low, seemed to travel deep into the temple, reaching the ears of an imposing figure seated upon a metallic throne.
A pair of eyes with bright green irises snapped open; their gaze seemed to pierce through every obstacle, fixing itself upon the old woman and her entourage.
"Gao…" he whispered before raising his hand and, with a simple gesture, causing the temple's gigantic doors to open for them.
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"Your visit is unexpected," said the man on the throne.
The woman, named Gao, smiled faintly at his words. Of all those present, she was the only one permitted to remain standing before him.
"Times have changed, Master Khan. The Hand has faced... difficulties. I have no other choice but to come to you in search of new opportunities," she admitted, with a reluctance in her voice that she could not hide. Clearly, this had not been her ideal choice, and the man knew it perfectly well.
"It seems your little plans have been thwarted. No surprise there; though skilled, your men are still mere humans. Against a false god, they are nothing but cannon fodder."
"It was not the God in the heavens who interfered," Gao said through gritted teeth, her anger evident.
"Oh? If not him, who could have forced you to come to me?" Khan asked with genuine curiosity.
"The Devil," Gao replied, offering no further explanation, causing Khan to let out a dry huff.
Sighing, Gao could only swallow her shame and continue speaking.
"Our control over New York is unstable. Graviton's attack severely damaged our infrastructure. The destined date is approaching, and we can no longer afford to waste resources trying to reclaim the city or what lies within it. That is why I am here: only with your help can the Hand return to its sacred lands."
"You want me to conquer K'un-Lun for you..." There was a slight note of surprise in Khan's voice.
Gao nodded slowly.
"Its gates will soon reopen. If we don't act now, we may never get another chance. With the Hand's current strength, it is impossible to overcome their defenses," she sighed, before lifting her head and looking at him with conflicting emotions that ultimately settled into a reluctant hope.
"That is why we need you: only he who once conquered three of the seven celestial cities, defeated their champions, and killed the Iron Fist once, can do it again! Can break through their gates and return to us what rightfully belongs to us!"
Gao's voice grew stronger, her body trembling with emotion, as if she could already picture herself entering once more the lands of her former home.
But her daydreams were soon interrupted by Khan's cold snort.
"Grand empty words. Though I appreciate the flattery, we both know I would gain nothing by attacking K'un-Lun. Why should I help you?"
Of course, Gao had already anticipated his refusal. A conqueror like Khan did not act in the interests of others.
They both knew it, just as they both knew that if Gao's offer did not satisfy him, she would leave empty-handed.
Fortunately, she had come prepared.
"I know your price is high, Master Khan, and I would not have dared come here without the means to pay it," she said, slipping her hand into the long sleeve of her red robe and pulling out an ancient scroll.
"Centuries ago, when you marched with your army and invaded the Divine Realm of Ta Lo to battle the gods, you lost four of the Makluan Rings inherited from your father, the first Mandarin. At that time, you had managed to find only five of the ten rings he had hidden around the world, and in the end, you were able to keep just one: a loss from which, even today, you have not fully recovered."
At the mention of his greatest failure, Zheng Khan abruptly stood up, his fists clenched and his eyes narrowing dangerously behind the visor of his helmet.
Gao almost took a step back, but managed to hold her ground. Despite the growing fear inside her, she continued speaking, lifting the scroll up toward him.
"Over these past centuries, you have managed to find and recover another three rings, bringing you closer once again to your former glory, but still not fully restored to it... That is why I offer you this: the location of the ninth ring!"
Before Gao could even finish her words, the scroll had already been snatched from her hands.
The Mandarin did not hesitate to unfold it, reading its contents in mere moments, his eyes immediately recognizing the familiar ancient script on the paper—the same handwriting with which his father had written the other eight scrolls that had once passed through his hands.
There was no doubt: it was real. But...
"Where is the other half?" he asked, his voice tense and guttural.
The scroll had been cut; the fragment that should have indicated the exact location of the ninth ring was missing, and that simple fact ignited his fury.
Gao swallowed hard as she felt the air thicken around her, a heavy killing intent striking against her bones like an icy wind.
"I-it will be yours... once you deliver K'un-Lun to the Hand," she said with effort, while hearing the men who had accompanied her collapse unconscious behind her.
The hall fell into a deep silence.
The Mandarin stared at her intensely for several seconds before sitting back down on his throne and slowly rolling up the scroll, a low laugh escaping from his throat.
"I admire your courage. You know well that I could crush all of you and obtain the missing half by force, and yet you come here and try to negotiate with me. Some would call it recklessness, but I know better..." His fingers drummed on the throne's armrest, each tap echoing like Gao's own heartbeat hammering in her ears.
Then he stopped, causing her heart to freeze for an instant.
"Very well. I will do it. When the time comes and the gates of K'un-Lun open, I will go in person, kill the Iron Fist, and conquer the city for you," he promised, causing a smile to begin forming on Gao's face.
But Khan was not finished yet.
"However, once I deliver K'un-Lun to you and obtain the location of the ninth ring, the Hand will become part of my forces. You and your four comrades will serve me for three hundred years and march with me back to Ta Lo."
"T-that's—!" Gao exclaimed, stepping back as her face paled.
"It is the offer you will accept... or I will kill you right here, and then destroy everyone who serves you in search of my ring."
Gao knew there was no more room for negotiation. Khan had dictated his terms, and the only option left was to accept or risk facing the full weight of his wrath—a weight she knew well the Hand could not withstand.
"I understand..." she finally replied, her voice muted. "I will inform them."
The other four would not be pleased, but like her, they would have no choice but to lower their heads and accept.
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Seated on his throne, the Mandarin watched impassively as Gao's entourage departed, the great doors of his temple closing behind them and plunging the place into a dim gloom, barely pushed back by the fire of the torches on the walls.
"We should kill her," a female voice came from the shadows. With a sharp thud, two figures—one female and one male—descended from the ceiling, landing respectfully before Khan.
The Mandarin's eyes fixed on them for a moment before he slowly shook his head.
"You must learn to be patient, Xialing. Gao and the Hand are tools that can still be useful; killing them now would serve us no purpose," he said in a calm and patient tone, like a master instructing a student.
"But she insulted you, father!" the girl exclaimed with clear indignation, as if the offense had been directed at her personally.
"Many have done so. Many have died for it, just as others remain alive. Killing every person who tries to wound your ego only proves how fragile it truly is. You must learn to see beyond that vanity."
The girl furrowed her brow, clearly still unconvinced, but she knew better than to argue further, for her father had made his decision, and that was something that could not be changed.
However, she still had something else to say.
"I understand that Gao and her group may still be useful... but what about Tony Stark?" she asked, spitting out the name as if it were poison.
At her words, the Mandarin let out a small laugh. Then he moved his hand, causing a projected screen to appear before him, playing a video that had been flooding the news broadcasts of every major country.
"This pathetic attempt to kill me and steal my technology has exhausted my patience, and I want to take this moment to send a message to your leader. I don't know who you are, nor do I care, but one thing I am certain of is that you are a coward," Tony Stark's voice filled the hall, making Xialing's shoulders tense.
Her eyes, sharp as blades, fixed on the man's face on the screen with clear murderous intent, while at the same time a burning yellow glow began to flood her pupils.
"Keep sacrificing your men like pawns, send as many as you want, but rest assured—you will never get what you're after. And if you're brave enough, I dare you to come out of your hiding place and try it yourself. You know where I live. But… I know you won't."
Beside Xialing, the young man who had accompanied her—who until now had remained silent—watched the video impassively, his eyes barely showing any emotion or thought at all.
"So keep hiding. It won't last. I will find you—sooner or later. I promise."
With those words echoing through the hall, the projection vanished, and silence once again took hold of the room.
A silence soon broken by the sound of grinding teeth.
Even though she had already seen the footage once before, Zheng Xialing still felt the same boiling rage flooding her veins upon hearing it again.
Her body, wrapped in dark robes, began to glow—an orange light rising from deep within her, dyeing her skin with an unnatural radiance, while heat poured furiously from every one of her pores.
"How dare he!" she growled, but before her fury could fully ignite, Khan spoke.
"Enough..." He didn't shout or exclaim, his voice might almost have been a whisper, yet it struck Zheng Xialing's ears like thunder, making her body tremble as the scorching heat within her began to dissipate.
The girl lowered her head, shame staining her cheeks.
"I'm sorry, father."
"Although anger is a powerful driving force, it can also turn against you if you're not careful. You must learn when to use it—and when it's just a useless tantrum. I thought I had already taught you this." The slight tone of disappointment in his voice made Xialing clench her fists, her shoulders slumping slightly.
Turning his gaze away from her, Khan focused on the young man who had remained calm until now.
"Unlike your sister, I know you can see things more clearly, Shang-Chi. Tell me—what do you think of this situation?"
Feeling the weight of his father's gaze on him and hearing the question, the young man barely flinched, answering clearly:
"A challenge like this cannot go unanswered, Father. Tony Stark has done more than insult you: he has killed our men, disrupted our businesses, and weakened part of our forces in Central Asia, as well as our influence."
He spoke, measuring each word carefully.
"If we allow this to continue, it could affect how our enemies perceive us, give them the illusion that we are weakened—or that we are afraid to face him," Which, of course, was not true.
"An insult is something empty, like trying to block a great river by throwing a small stone. But when a man does more than insult you, when his actions threaten what is yours—that is when a response is demanded," Khan pronounced gravely, his voice filling the hall. Then he nodded toward his son with approval and continued:
"Tony Stark is a problem that must be dealt with—but not one that justifies my personal intervention. For now, I must prepare to fulfill my part of the deal with Gao... Thus, I have decided to leave this matter in your hands."
Hearing this, both tensed and looked up with slight surprise.
"The time has come for you to prove your worth. Go—kill him and bring me his armor. If you manage to do so before the gates of K'un-Lun open, I will grant you command of your own armies, your own domains under my banner." He declared solemnly, causing Zheng Xialing's eyes to light up with excitement.
For his part, Zheng Shang-Chi could only swallow in silence and try to keep his expression as neutral as possible. Only he knew that, inside, there was no greed, but urgency.
It seemed that the moment for him to act had finally arrived.
"Understood, Father," they both replied in unison, accepting the command without hesitation.
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Note:
You know, I always found that MCU meme funny where it shows that somewhere on Earth something super serious and dramatic is happening, while somewhere else in the universe we have a humanoid duck sailing through space…
I guess this chapter is something like that. It was pretty fun to write the part about the Mandarin; on the other hand, Carol's part was a bit more complicated, but in a way, I also enjoyed it.
Both parts contrast because one is more slice of life while the other is an event I've been preparing for many chapters now, meaning Khan, or the Mandarin, as one of the story's first major enemies.
In case anyone is wondering, this version of the Mandarin is almost original; I'm building it by taking many elements from different media—comics, animated series, live-action movies—you'll find familiar things in his story but also very different ones that I hope will make him unique in a certain sense.
As always, I look forward to your thoughts and comments; I'll be happy to read them and see what you think.
As an extra note: the kingdom of Ta Lo, mentioned in this chapter, is not exactly the Ta Lo from the Shang-Chi movie, but rather the celestial kingdom of Ta Lo (Daluo Tian) from the Marvel comics, where the gods of Chinese mythology are found/live.
So yeah, Zheng Khan tried to pull a 'Kratos' against all of Chinese mythology and, well, it didn't go very well for him, but he survived and now he's waiting for the right moment to try again.
Remember that You can already find the next chapter of this story on Patreon ( patreon.com/EmmaCruzader ) All the support received is appreciated ;D