Chapter 129: Idols, Agents, and Bad Decisions
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The floating jade couch was stupid comfortable.
I sprawled across it with one arm behind my head. The other held some 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, something 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 me to a martial arts tournament and you're bored of martial arts?"
"I'm bored of mediocrity, Benny boy. Hmm…" She sat up. That troublemaker grin spread across her face. The one that meant someone was about to have a very interesting day. "I need better entertainment."
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 helmets nearly touched the floor.
"Go to the Agents of Atlas gallery," Illyana commanded. She waved a gloved hand, the movement fluid and dismissive. "Fetch Luna Snow. Tell her the Queen of Limbo requests her presence." She paused, her smile widening into something 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 me with those ice-blue eyes that seemed to hold endless winter. I locked eyes with her as I continued eating.
That was a little insulting. Okay, no, it annoyed me 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 mean, yeah, but maybe warn a guy before you start parading him around?"
"Where's the fun in that?"
The servants vanished in a shimmer 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 me.
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 some 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 somehow 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 came Lin Lie, the future Iron Fist and current Sword Master I'd met at the tea house. He looked about as comfortable being in the "Demon Queen's territory" as someone 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 me 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 someone 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 me. "Ben? What are you doing here?"
I raised my spirit-fruit in greeting. "Hey, Luna. Fancy meeting you here."
"I..." She looked confused. Glanced between Illyana and me. "I'm surprised to see Illyana here, but you also somehow found your way into this heavenly tournament?"
"Much thanks to my Charmcaster and Psylocke here," I said casually. "They helped me find the entrance, although I helped too. As for meeting 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 dimension 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 me 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 someone and didn't immediately die," I replied. "Apparently that impressed her."
"Oh yeah! She did tell me 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 me. "Yeah. It's a long story that involved a lot of demons and some very angry henchmen. Good times."
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 tournament."
Luna blinked, turning to look at the Queen. "You sponsored him…? Wasn't some 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 me, 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-armed red demon who just..." She trailed off and looked at me. Looked at Illyana and then back at me. "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 somehow climbed even higher. "Wait, BEN?! THAT FOUR-ARMED 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 me, tell me!"
"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 excitement.
"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 me 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 somehow you're making it work. Which means there's some kind of exotic matter conversion happening at the cellular level. Or maybe quantum entanglement 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... come 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 became a thing. In the comics, Amadeus becomes the new Hulk after Bruce, taking on the "Totally Awesome Hulk" mantle. But this was the MCU-adjacent timeline…
Mental 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… sometimes 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. "Sometimes I feel maybe I should just stick to singing and dancing."
"Oh, come on," I said in a soothing voice. "I've heard some 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 metal 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 game?!
"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 someone trained in ancient traditions. "Allow me to share some words too, Queen of Limbo," he waited until Illyana nodded. He looked at me. "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 amusement, 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 something," 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 some 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 come with benefits. Plus, I knew things about him that he didn't know I knew.
Comic book meta-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 Prime. 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 mean to insult you, but he's about… hundred times 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 fundamentally flawed. The synaptic density would have to be orders of magnitude higher. Which just means..." He looked up at me. "You just broke theoretical biology."
"I do that sometimes, but that's not me, 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 America. 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 someone trying to kidnap me for my DNA."
"Too late for that," Illyana said cheerfully. "Every major power in this tournament now knows you exist. Good luck."
"Thanks for that, by the way."
"You're welcome."
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 me 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 someone."
"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 me, 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 meeting 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 tournament 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 me. 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 some air."
Illyana's eyes narrowed. "Going where, Champion?"
"Just stretching my legs. Too much perfume 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 me move through her world with confidence. Like she was waiting for the moment I'd slip so she could devour me.
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 geometrical 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 me 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 hummed 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 geometry. Lights flickered like earthbound stars, casting long and strange shadows against the mountain rock. The air smelled like incense and clouds, heavy with the weight of centuries.
I leaned against the railing, feeling the cool stone beneath my palms.
The tournament wasn't just a sport. It was a ritual. It was power made manifest. And somewhere in all this, hidden beneath layers of tradition and secrecy, was the Iron Fist spirit. The thing we'd come here to find.
I wondered where this tournament was truly leading me.
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