"I knew it!" Steve muttered. The confirmation of his lingering suspicion weighed heavily on his heart.
Would the power of Kuuga eventually turn me into a being like the Gurongi?
"So, how exactly did Kuuga and the Gurongi come to be?" Tony asked, unable to remain silent while Steve stood brooding. "From my research into the Gurongi cell samples, I've found that they share highly similar genetic sequences with humans."
Tony stepped closer, his scientific curiosity piqued. "Is it because the Gurongi tribe were originally human? Did something happen to transform them into monsters that hunt their own kind?"
The Gurongi avatar smiled noncommittally. "Perhaps. But that is no longer important. Regardless of how the tribe originated, it changes nothing now. Once the Gurongi's Game has begun, it cannot be stopped."
"For a Gurongi, you're surprisingly easy to talk to," Tony remarked, nodding toward the avatar. "Tell you what—just cooperate. Give us the full breakdown on the Gurongi and this 'Gegel' game. Turn over a new leaf. I can guarantee your safety."
The Gurongi avatar looked at Tony with an expression that said, quite clearly, that he was looking at an idiot. At least, that was exactly how Tony interpreted the gaze.
"What's that look for?!" Tony snapped.
The avatar shook his head. "It's nothing. I only wanted to tell you: the only reason I am here talking to you is because of Kuuga. Kuuga has the potential to engage in the Ultimate Game and the final battle with Daguva. As for you..."
He didn't finish the sentence, but the implication hung heavy in the air.
"Meaning I'm irrelevant? You're not even considering me?" Tony let out a dangerous, dry chuckle.
The avatar spread his hands innocently. "Your words, not mine."
"Fine. Then I'll start by restraining you, so you can see exactly how this 'irrelevant' person teaches you a lesson," Tony growled.
The thrusters on his suit ignited, propelling him instantly in front of the avatar. The rear elbows of the suit flared with extra output, driving an armored fist forward with immense force. Tony had decided to capture this first-ever "communicative" Gurongi alive, so he opted for close-quarters combat.
The avatar had already shown he could block repulsors, and since they were on a public street, Tony wanted to subdue him without the collateral damage of missiles.
The avatar effortlessly dodged the heavy blow and caught the suit's right arm. Tony prepared to fire a point-blank repulsor, but suddenly, he felt something wrong. He looked down.
The armor plating on the suit's arm was twisting as if it were alive. It warped into a bizarre, tangled mass of rebar-like steel, completely seizing up and losing all function.
Tony's heart hammered against his ribs. The Gurongi had transmuted the metal of his suit. If he could do that, he could theoretically turn the armor into a spike and drive it through Tony's chest.
"What kind of ability is this?!" Tony shouted, backing away.
The avatar stepped back to avoid a follow-up strike from Kent, who had moved in to support Tony. The avatar casually clapped his hands. "Don't be so surprised. High-level Gurongi all possess this ability. Even Kuuga can change the form of his weapons. This little trick is nothing compared to what Daguva can do."
"JARVIS, what happened?" Tony asked, his voice shaking.
"Sir, I completely lost control of the left arm's actuators during the event. I could not detect the cause of the transformation," JARVIS replied. "However, scans show the warped armor has no signs of mechanical stress or forced deformation. It is as if it was naturally manufactured in that shape."
Tony's eyes narrowed. Direct atomic manipulation?
"I am not participating in the Gegel, nor do I intend to fight Kuuga today, so I shall take my leave," the avatar said with an air of feigned helplessness.
With a wave of his hand, a thick black mist appeared out of thin air, shrouding his figure. By the time the mist dissipated, the avatar was gone.
"He's gone. I didn't see anything leave that mist," Kent said, stunned. With his enhanced vision, he should have seen a blur if the creature had simply moved fast.
"JARVIS, full infrared scan!" Tony commanded.
Nothing vanishes into thin air. Even if it was faster than the human eye, the suit's sensors should have picked up a heat signature or a displacement of air.
"Sir, no target found within a several-hundred-meter radius," JARVIS reported.
"Dammit! How did he get away?" Tony cursed under his breath.
Later, at the SHIELD Gurongi Task Force base, Tony was acting as a technical consultant, studying Steve's abilities in his transformed state.
"Every time I see this, it's unbelievable," Tony said, marveling as Steve manipulated a simple object into different weapon forms. "The ability to rearrange atoms and molecules at will... how do you do it?"
Steve shook his head helplessly. "Tony, you've asked me a thousand times. I've shown you a thousand times. I don't know the principle. I just know that in a specific form, if I want a weapon, the Amadam stone in the belt allows me to turn whatever I'm holding into the corresponding tool."
Tony nodded thoughtfully. "Maybe this Amadam stone contains a high-level AI that receives your... thoughts, or neural intent, and executes a corresponding molecular-rearrangement program. It's a shame it's fused to your nervous system, otherwise I'd love to take it out and study it."
Steve's jaw tightened slightly, and he took a subtle step back.
"Captain, Mr. Stark!" Coulson suddenly rushed into the room. "We might have found him—the Gurongi you met, the one who speaks our language."
"Where is he?" Tony asked immediately, his tone bordering on impatient.
Coulson wore a look of utter bewilderment. "He doesn't seem to be hiding at all. He's opened a bookstore in Chinatown quite openly. SHIELD agents found him almost immediately."
"Are we sure it's the same guy?" Tony asked, finding the situation incredibly suspicious.