The moment Smith's signal went off, the courtyard erupted.
Wesley, John, and Eddie hit the base of the tower almost simultaneously, all three dropping into their symbiote states without breaking stride. The black material surged across their bodies and they went vertical, hands finding purchase on the tower's exterior at speeds that made it look easy.
The werewolves shifted. All of them, at once, which produced a sound that rolled across the compound like a wave — the deep percussive crack of mass and structure changing rapidly. They went from human to giant wolf in seconds, and the size advantage translated immediately into reach and speed. They covered the first hundred meters of the climb before most of the vampires had started.
Marcus was the exception. His transformation opened wings, and he simply lifted off and angled upward, leaving the ground-bound scramble behind entirely. Beside him, the ancient form of William expanded to something that dwarfed every other wolf in the yard — twice their size, the original template from which all of them were derived — and began hauling itself up the tower's face with the methodical power of something that didn't need to hurry.
Wenwu didn't climb. He pressed the Ten Rings against the ground, let the energy build, and launched himself upward in a single controlled arc, adjusting course mid-flight with practiced ease. He had his eyes on the highest visible gift package. The Senzu Bean, by Smith's description, was at the top. That was where he was going.
Wanda rose beside him on a current of chaos energy, red light curling around her hands, lifting her with the particular quality of someone who was still learning how far her abilities extended and was genuinely surprised each time by the answer.
On the ground, Ivan Vanko shook his head. Without the armor, his baseline was ordinary — he'd outpace the normal staff, but against this field, he had no realistic path to the upper sections. He redirected toward the gift boxes stacked at the base.
Eddie, partway up the tower, called across his bond to Venom.
"Super divine water. We go for it."
"You have no martial arts talent," Venom said flatly. "If you drink that, the more likely outcome is that you die."
"You could help me survive it."
"Or," Venom said, "you could accept that you're going to come home with gold bars, which is still a good outcome."
Eddie's grip tightened on the tower exterior. "We're going for the water."
"I want to note my objection for the record."
"Noted. Keep climbing."
Alexei had already started and was moving with the unhurried confidence of someone who had done this before. He turned to Yelena before he began. "I've been up this tower a dozen times. Watch and learn."
Yelena looked at him. "I hope your luck holds."
He went up.
At the top of the tower, Korin sat on the edge of his platform and watched the tide of enhanced beings ascending from below with the expression of someone revising their structural estimates in real time.
"It will hold," Smith said, not looking up.
Korin turned to him. "You don't know that."
"It will hold."
The old cat returned his attention to the tower and chose to believe him.
Smith watched the climb for a moment, then turned to Bulma and Fox, who had not moved from beside him.
"The gift boxes under the tower are right there," he said.
Bulma crossed her arms. "I told you. I'm waiting for mine."
Fox smiled. "Same."
Smith reached into the space at his side and withdrew two boxes. One pink. One blue. He handed them over.
Bulma opened hers first. A necklace, heart-shaped pendant, pink diamond, set simply and well. She turned it in her fingers.
Fox opened the blue box beside her. The same design, blue diamond, same quality, same thought behind it.
Bulma looked at Fox's necklace. Fox looked at Bulma's. A brief, complicated moment passed between them — the acknowledgment that they were sharing something, and the decision about how to hold that.
Fox's smile widened by a fraction. He hadn't favored one over the other. That was its own kind of statement.
Bulma set the necklace down with the care of someone who intended to wear it, and then both women reached into the bags they'd each brought and produced their own gift boxes, extending them to Smith at the same moment.
Smith looked at the two boxes in front of him, then at the two of them.
"Together?" he said.
"Just open them," Bulma said.
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