Symbiote 0234: First Contact

The negative fifth floor was much more like the main warehouse than the other four floors. The whole floor was one giant room that reminded Gwen of a gym considering what she first noticed. A muffled thud pulled her attention away from the room and to the single person in the room. He had a hooded robe on him and was calmly practicing his moves on a thick wooden stake. Gwen noticed a light depression having formed on the stake that was increasing with each hit that the man threw at it and showed an impressed expression.

[You weren't kidding, he's pretty strong.] Gwen said to Alex just as her Spider-Sense started flaring crazily.

[Yeah, we need to get out of here …] Alex said to her as the man she was observing turned to look directly at her. Where Shang-Shi should've seen nothing but the empty wall, he narrowed his eyes as if he was able to see Gwen directly. He extended his arms in both directions, causing multiple sets of rings to fly to him. [That's why he took the moniker of the Mandarin …] Alex realized as he formed a mystic arts portal right behind Gwen, trying to get her to step through it. She slowly stepped back without hesitation, ready to get away.

Sadly, the man seemed ready for the action as Gwen collided with an invisible wall instead of stepping through the portal that Alex had created. Shang-Chi had already donned two different sets of ten rings — The divine weapon from Ta Lo, which was on a similar level as Mjolnir which Gwen had already talked to Alex about. And another set of rings that went on his fingers, each of them showcasing a unique and different design.

[The Remaker, fuck.] Alex cursed as he released a wave of lightning to surround Gwen's form, preventing the matter manipulation ability of the Remaker ring from affecting her directly. Unfortunately, the release of the lightning in such a manner caused Gwen's glowing visage to be revealed from the camouflage, allowing Shang-Chi to gauge her location accurately.

[What's going on, Alex?] Gwen asked as she realized that she was very low on information about this Shang-Chi. The man had not only detected her through her camouflage but also used some kind of special ability to solidify the air behind her. [I thought we were just going to fight a strong martial artist.]

[So did I Gwen … In hindsight, I should've expected him to have some kind of connection with the Mandarin.] Alex told her, [But even I didn't think he would have taken those rings for himself.]

"Spider-woman," Shang-Chi spoke, his tone elegant and controlled as if he was a high-born noble. "What a surprise."

Gwen wanted to get more information out of Alex, but Shang-Chi's words interrupted him, "Nice stash of Uranium you've got up there." Distracted, she said the first thing that came to her mind.

It took Shang-Chi a few seconds to reply as he processed her words, "Yes," He spoke measuredly, "it was quite a challenge, getting so much nuclear material. But there are things we all must do to further our goals."

[Tell me what's going on, Alex? Why does he seem much more dangerous than we initially talked about?] She asked him.

[It's a long story, but all you need to know for now is that he has two sets of ten rings. One, we've already talked about, the other set comprises actual rings for each of his fingers. These are the Mandarin's rings, which are alien artifacts, each with its own unique ability. The ring that stopped us from leaving is the Remaker ring. It can manipulate matter to take any shape or form spontaneously. This lightning field counteracts the ring's effects and makes sure that Shang-Chi isn't able to spontaneously solidify your blood or something, or liquify your brain. You get the point.]

[And there's ten of those rings?] Gwen asked with disbelief, [What are the other nine abilities?]

[Better to let you know as they come. Explaining the abilities of each ring in depth will take some time.] Alex told her, [But yes, this man has gone much higher on the scale of danger.]

"Why are you doing all this?" Gwen asked Shang-Chi, ready to react to any move that the man could make.

"I think I made myself clear in the broadcast," He answered, "I don't like how the government is operating, completely ignoring any dangers that might come upon us at any moment from the myriad planets hovering in our skies. I will take over the world to protect it. But I must say, Spider-Woman, you have surprised me."

"How so?" Gwen asked.

"I never expected you to be well versed not only in the Mystic Arts but also have innate magical powers," He said. "Without the faint traces of magic around your camouflage field, I never would've sensed you."

[Is there one of those rings too?] Gwen asked Alex, [That could allow him to sense me through your magic.]

[He's lying.] Alex told her, [He most likely sensed us through The Liar ring. It can enhance a person's psionic powers and upgrade their mental abilities. He already has heightened psionic abilities — having inherited them from his mother. With The Liar in his hand, his ability should've gotten much stronger, allowing him to detect your mental presence.]

"Hmm …" Gwen tilted her head, expressing her thoughtfulness, "You're lying. You don't have any way to detect magical abilities. Especially since I wasn't using any in the first place."

"You speak the truth," Shang-Chi said, furrowing his brows. "How peculiar. It seems that I cannot reliably read your words and actions. So be it. Why have you come here? Are you here for a bout against me? Or is it because you wish to join my cause?"

"Neither really," Gwen said, "I just wanted to see what you have going on for yourself. You know, gauge your chances of success. As you probably recall, I was just about to leave."

"My apologies, but I cannot let you do any such thing," Shang-Chi said. "You know too much and can disrupt our plans if you release this information."

Without waiting for Gwen's reply, Shang-Chi aimed his fist in her direction and punched the air. Gwen's Spider-Sense flared and she sidestepped the shockwave that was released from the man's move. Just as she stepped on the floor, she was forced to duck as a glowing yellow-gold whip whizzed past her, a hair's breadth away from her head. She was quick to shoot her web at Shang-Chi to propel herself toward him as he shot his other set of bracelets at her like a spear.

Just as her web attached to the man's leg, she was about to yank him, but a single bracelet flew independently through the air, slicing her web in half as she was forced to sidestep Shang-Chi's spear made of four bracelets. They stabbed into the wall behind her, embedding themselves into it, but he just made a motion with his fist, calling them all back to himself.

[Some lightning empowerment would serve very well right about now.] Gwen said to Alex.

[Yeah, just give me a second. I'm already working on it.] Alex told her, [We're underground, it's not exactly easy to pull lightning down from the atmosphere. I need to charge it up through another body.]

As Gwen was forced to duck under another gold whip made of five of the ten rings, her eyes narrowed as she channeled her own bio-electricity alongside Alex's support and focused the expulsion on the soles of her feet. Before the man could even pull back his rings, she had charged up to him and had her leg extended in a kicking motion, using the electric discharge to empower her attack.

Shang-Chi reacted quickly enough and raised his other arm in such a way that Gwen's empowered kick collided with the five rings that were still on his wrist, neutralizing the huge force that she had attacked him with. She was quick to punch him as her foot planted on the ground, but Shang-Chi redirected her punch to the side and palmed her shoulder, attempting to disbalance her with a mild amount of force. With Alex spreading that force all over the suit, she was unaffected as she pulled back her redirected fist and punched her other fist at the man with lightning-fast speed.

The punch connected, but Gwen felt as if she had hit nothing but his robe as Shang-Chi turned his body while pushing his palm under her fist, destroying her momentum once again as she was forced to balance herself.

[You weren't wrong about him being a good melee fighter, I'll say that.] Gwen said, [Really could use that lightning empowerment right about now.]

Without any words, Alex answered her call with a huge influx of lightning that instantly recharged her bio-electricity and spread all across her suit, going from arcs of lightning that flickered over the surface to pure blue streaks comprised of compressed lightning that enhanced her speed and power by multiple times. The effect was instantly shown when Shang-Chi, who was just about to redirect Gwen's knee to the side and push her back, was forced to jump back to protect himself from being electrocuted by the raw energy coursing through her.

***

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