"Stop complaining, there are two choices now," Lin Mei said, her voice cold as she glared at the terrorists surrounding her. Her eyes flickered with a dangerous, unreadable glint, reflecting a quiet confidence that left no room for doubt. "The first is that I leave here with people I'm familiar with. With my strength, it's still no problem to leave with Tony and my mom."
The harsh light in the room flickered off her face as the tension in the air thickened, and Tony Stark, visibly not impressed, raised an eyebrow. He didn't want to leave so easily. The past three months of captivity at the hands of the Ten Rings had left him seething with hatred for them. "And what's the second option?" he asked, his voice tinged with the frustration and anger that had built up over his time in captivity.
Lin Mei turned to him, her expression softening ever so slightly, but her resolve remained unshaken. "The second is that I expose my abilities and kill all these terrorists." She paused, her gaze sweeping across the room, the terror of the terrorists palpable in the air. "However," she continued, her voice lowering, "the exposure of my abilities will bring unwanted attention, and you'll have to help me settle the fallout. The most important thing is that I cannot reveal my identity."
Tony leaned back, arms crossed, a calculating look on his face. His mind was already working through the possible outcomes. "No problem, little wizard. I'm in. Kill these guys. As for the aftermath, leave that to me," Tony declared confidently, though the smirk on his face never quite reached his eyes.
Lin Mei rolled her eyes at him, clearly not impressed with his eagerness. "I said these words to Agent Colson, not you," she snapped. "You're going to be a playboy being shot at by Obadiah, so don't make this about you."
Tony's expression froze, his playful demeanor slipping for a moment as Lin Mei's words hit home. The casual tone in her voice only made it more impactful. Lin Mei wasn't one for games, and the words she spoke carried weight—far more than Tony had initially realized. As her gaze fell on Colson, she felt the subtle shift in the air; the terrorists around them were clearly in the midst of searching for someone, probably their target, which gave them the advantage.
Colson was holding his earpiece, listening intently as he processed the information coming through. His eyes flickered toward Lin Mei, then toward Tony, before he spoke with a calm professionalism that seemed out of place given the chaotic surroundings. "No problem. Our director said that he'll cover it for you."
Lin Mei's eyes narrowed, a smirk playing at the corner of her lips. She could see through Colson's placid exterior. Nick Fury was clearly interested in her. She had no doubt that Fury's involvement wasn't purely out of the goodness of his heart. The idea of pulling her into the Avengers initiative, though unspoken, lingered between them. But Lin Mei wasn't interested. She could almost hear Fury's voice in her head, eager to recruit anyone with power, no matter how young or unconventional.
"I'll pass," Lin Mei muttered inwardly, her eyes still locked on Colson. Outwardly, she was calm, but the thoughts racing in her mind reflected a deeper unease.
Lin Mei wasn't here to play superhero. She was here to take care of business, and she had her own ways of dealing with situations. With the Ten Rings involved, there was little room for negotiation or mercy.
Her thoughts quickly shifted back to the present. Time was of the essence, and the terrorists were too focused on securing their position to notice what was happening around them. Lin Mei closed her eyes for a split second, gathering her magical energy. She could feel the familiar pulse of the Dragon Destroying Magic surge through her. It had a unique property—the light attribute.
She channeled her power, focused it into her hands, and with a whisper of intention, she shaped it into a small orb of radiant light. "Super White Star!" she murmured under her breath. The orb flared to life, pulsing with raw energy as she carefully threw it into the air.
The moment the orb left her hand, the entire room seemed to come alive with light. It wasn't the explosive burst of fire or the destructive wave of magic most people expected. No, this was different. The orb emitted a brilliant glow, so dazzling that it made the room feel as though it had been set alight with the sun itself. The terrorists around her, who had been tense and alert moments before, were caught off guard by the blinding flash.
Their eyes squeezed shut as the light overwhelmed them. Tears streamed from their faces as the sudden brilliance seemed to burn their very retinas. Some tried to shield their eyes with their arms, but it was futile. The light pierced through their defenses as though the very air was alive with it. The once-chaotic din of gunfire was replaced by frantic screams and panicked wails.
The light didn't just blind them—it incapacitated them, rendering them helpless, unable to fight back or even see. Lin Mei's heart beat faster, but she didn't hesitate. The moment the light faded, she was already moving toward the terrorists. They were disoriented, stumbling around, trying to regain their bearings, but it was too late.
Lin Mei moved through them like a shadow, her military dagger flashing as it cut through the air. One by one, the terrorists fell, silenced before they even had a chance to react. In her left hand, she held a homemade nitroglycerin bomb wrapped in tin foil, a weapon that would ensure her victory. The power of the bomb was immense, and she needed it to secure her safety and ensure the mission's success.
Ten terrorists. Ten lives snuffed out in an instant. Lin Mei, temporarily blinded by her own attack, moved with unerring precision, each step calculated. By the time the light had faded and the agents in SHIELD recovered from their brief blindness, the terrorists were already dead. Lin Mei's actions had left them no chance to fight back, and their reign of terror had ended as abruptly as it had begun.
"Well, that was certainly one way to do it," Tony said under his breath, though the pride in his voice was undeniable. He had witnessed the power Lin Mei possessed firsthand. There would be no turning back from this moment, but Lin Mei didn't care. She wasn't in this for recognition or glory. She had her own path, and it was one she would walk alone.
The original target of the Ten Rings had always been Lin Mei, and now, someone had finally uncovered her identity. The terrorists, aware of Lin Mei's special abilities, had come prepared, including with nitroglycerin intended specifically for her. However, Lin Mei knew from the moment the shooting started, from her conversation with Colson, and from the actions that followed, that the ten terrorists had been compromised from the very beginning.
It took less than five minutes for Lin Mei to neutralize all the terrorists, her actions swift and decisive. As the dust settled, those remaining in the venue, who had been temporarily blinded by the intense light, slowly began to recover. They exchanged glances, a mix of disbelief and horror in their eyes, as if they had just emerged from a terrifying nightmare.
Tony Stark's eyes followed Lin Mei's every movement, his feelings complicated. He had always prided himself on his intellect and his own prowess, but this seemingly ordinary child had displayed a power that left him both amazed and uneasy. If Lin Mei knew what was going through Tony's mind, she would have laughed. She knew Tony well enough to suspect he would secretly work on creating an anti-Lin Mei suit in the future.
Colson, ever the professional, quickly took charge, organizing security personnel to evacuate the crowd and contacting outside support to ensure the incident did not escalate. Meanwhile, Kate, the one who had helped save everyone, had quietly returned to her mother's side, playing the role of a good child.
Though most people had been temporarily blinded, Lin Mei believed that SHIELD would handle them without issue. As she surveyed the scene, she heard her mother's voice calling out in distress. "Son, son! Where are you?" The sudden flash had left Melissa briefly disoriented. Lin Mei's heart skipped a beat as she rushed to her mother's side, catching her before she could fall.
Lin Mei had been careful with her magic, aware that it would leave everyone temporarily blind for up to an hour, though their vision would eventually return to normal. Unfortunately, without the power of the sky-attributed dragon, Lin Mei couldn't use her abilities to instantly heal Melissa's sight.
"I'm here, mom," Lin Mei reassured her, steadying her mother as she helped her regain her balance.
Once Melissa confirmed that Lin Mei was unharmed, she finally relaxed. Many of the affected people would likely go to private hospitals for checkups on their eyes, but Melissa felt secure in knowing her son was by her side.
With a simple gesture from Lin Mei, Melissa chose not to go with her son to further investigate the scene. After exchanging a brief farewell with Tony Stark, they followed the crowd out of the Disney Concert Hall. On the way back, Melissa's vision slowly began to recover, and she felt grateful to be with her son, knowing they had both made it out unscathed.
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