Selene glared up at the red-and-gold figure hovering just out of reach, a dark silhouette against the smoky sky. Her jaw was tight, fury burning in her chest.
She felt completely restricted. Not that her strength was inferior to Iron Man's, but he refused to come down and fight properly. She couldn't leverage her advantages against an airborne target.
Her evolution hadn't given her a second form. She remained human-shaped, lacking the leathery wings Elder Marcus possessed. Flight was impossible.
She needed to lure him down somehow.
Selene pulled a gold coin from her belt. It glinted in the light of the fires Tony had started. "Tony, if you want this, come down and take it yourself."
She pocketed the coin and sprinted into the dark forest, a blur of motion.
"Sir, she's attempting to flee."
Tony accelerated, the sound of his repulsors cracking through the air. While pursuing, he launched high-explosive bombs from his back-mounted launchers.
The ordnance rained down ahead of Selene's projected path.
Explosions erupted in a deafening, rolling sequence, creating a wall of fire and concussive force. Tony had predicted her route and delivered the payload accordingly, boxing her inside the blast radius.
When the thick, acrid smoke cleared, Tony's sensors spotted Selene lying in a freshly made crater. Her clothes were shredded, her body curled protectively. She wasn't moving, but her chest rose and fell. Even from his altitude, he could see dark wounds visibly knitting themselves back together.
Seriously injured, but alive.
"The feeling of overwhelming firepower is incredibly satisfying," Tony mused. "I should design a support satellite for equipment and ammunition resupply."
He descended slowly, landing with a soft whump of metal on dirt beside the crater. "JARVIS, add that to my project list."
"Already recorded, sir."
Tony stepped down to Selene and reached for her lower back where she'd stored the coin. "I remember she kept it here. Hope the explosion didn't knock it away."
In the viewing stands, everyone assumed Tony had won his first ticket.
Before Tony's gauntlet could touch Selene's belt, she exploded into motion. Her eyes snapped open, blazing. An alloy dagger materialized in her hand and drove toward Tony's abdomen.
Metal struck metal with a high-pitched SCREEECH and a shower of sparks.
The impact sent Tony stumbling backward a step. Selene's blade, a moment before a lethal weapon, had shattered completely.
"How did it not penetrate?"
Selene stared at the broken hilt in disbelief. That dagger could cut through stone like butter. With her enhanced strength behind it, the attack should have pierced his armor.
She threw the useless hilt aside and charged again, her hands now claws.
The sudden reversal shocked the audience. Selene had deliberately taken the injuries to lure Tony close, but she'd underestimated the armor's defensive capabilities.
Before Tony could fully recover his balance, Selene reached him. Her fist drove toward the glowing arc reactor in his chest.
"I'm going to destroy your power source and let's see you fly."
Before her knuckles connected, the arc reactor flared, a high-pitched whine building and releasing in an instant. A solid beam of blue-white energy erupted from Tony's chest, punching clean through Selene's abdomen.
Selene stopped. She looked down. A smoking, cauterized, fist-sized hole had been burned through her torso. She could see the burning trees behind her through her own body.
Selene's legs gave out. She collapsed sideways onto the dirt.
Tony stood, his own chest plate smoking slightly. He checked his armor for damage. "With that dagger attack," he said, his voice amplified, "you should have aimed for the reactor directly. Shame."
In the stands, Betty and Pepper both gasped and covered their eyes at the gruesome injury.
Marcus and the other vampires looked disappointed but not defeated. Selene would lose one coin, but she still had a second chance. Hope remained.
On the battlefield, Tony didn't press his advantage. "This time, I should be declared the winner."
Smith's voice came from directly above. "Selene versus Tony Stark. Winner: Tony Stark. He claims the second ticket."
Smith descended, landing silently between them. He announced Tony's victory formally, retrieved a gold coin from Selene's belt, and handed it to Tony. Then he gently scooped Selene into his arms and launched skyward.
A massive transport aircraft hovered above the island, hidden by cloaking technology. Smith flew through the open cargo bay.
"Put her in the medical pod. Ten minutes of treatment, then drop her back into the no-man's land to continue."
Staff members immediately took Selene and placed her in the cylindrical healing chamber. With a hiss, the pod sealed and regenerative fluids flooded the chamber.
Selene remained conscious, watching the wound in her abdomen. It was already closing on its own, but this medical pod accelerated the healing dramatically.
Tony watched Smith depart without attempting conversation. He turned his attention to finding his second target. One more ticket and he'd reach the finals.
Elsewhere on the island, Bruce Banner jogged through the dark forest, his heart rate monitor glowing steadily. He hadn't seen Tony and Selene's battle, but he'd definitely heard it. The explosions had echoed across the entire island for minutes, a rolling thunder that vibrated in his chest.
How could one person cause that much sustained detonation? Did someone bring an entire artillery battery?
"What kind of contestant brings that much explosion?" Banner muttered, slowing his pace. "Did they pack a weapons depot?"
The realization settled over him, cold and heavy. The Dragon Ball tournament contestants were definitely not ordinary people. Everyone except him likely had superhuman capabilities or advanced technology.
At the designated meeting point, a small clearing by a stream, Xu Xialing and Xu Shang Chi had successfully rendezvoused.
Shang Chi spoke first, his voice low. "Xialing, did you hear those continuous explosions?"
Xialing rolled her eyes, checking the edge of her rope dart. "I think everyone on the entire island heard them."
Shang Chi spread his hands helplessly. "I can't imagine what kind of enemy that is."
He looked at his sister. "Do you think our bodies could survive explosions like that?"
Xialing fell silent. She was self-aware enough not to pretend otherwise.
"With multiple contestants," she said finally, her voice tight, "I refuse to believe they're all at that combat level."
She checked her watch. "As long as we win one ticket, we reach the finals."
"Who we face there, we'll deal with when it happens."
"The second position update happens soon. Be ready for combat."
Both siblings checked their weapons and found positions of cover, waiting for the watch to update their tactical map.