The Exorcist

You really knew exactly where I was vulnerable. You knew I'd never turn down this mask. Guan Heng held it, looking a little awkward.

The mask Fury had given Guan Heng was a red opera mask of Guan Gong, with openings for the nose and mouth. It covered most of his face.

Fury grinned smugly and shrugged. "Once I found out you're both surnamed Guan, picking this mask wasn't hard. Listen up: from today on, your codename is the Exorcist. Understood, Agent Guan Heng?"

"Yes, sir." Guan Heng grimaced helplessly. There was no way he could refuse something connected to his ancestor. Besides, according to ancient tradition, Second Master Guan was a righteous and upright War God, a revered deity to all Huaxian exorcists and cultivators. He warded off misfortune and evil spirits alike.

Oh, well. Wearing Second Master Guan's mask isn't so bad. The more gods you worship, the more protection you get. Second Brother, look out for me from now on. Guan Heng thought as he carefully put away the mask. Then he suddenly turned to Fury. "Hey, boss, can I also get an Adamantium mask? What if someone tries to hit me in the face?"

"I don't need to wait for someone else. I want to hit you in the face right now!" Fury was so furious he looked ready to explode. He grabbed a cup and raised it to throw.

"Haha! I'll be off, then. See you later!" Guan Heng teased Fury one last time and hurried out, slamming the door behind him.

"The Exorcist—that's a pretty awesome hero codename," Peter Parker said, his head bent over his writing.

By then, Peter was already collecting a S.H.I.E.L.D. paycheck. But to keep Uncle Ben and Aunt Mei from finding out, he'd also gotten a part-time job at a newspaper, taking photos and writing stories.

"And Spider-Man and the Exorcist—the New York City hero duo. Doesn't that sound amazing?" Peter said wistfully. "We could fight crime together and protect the citizens. That'd be awesome, man!"

"Yeah." Guan Heng casually picked up a newspaper. "You're the big news in town right now, of course. I'm just some unknown hero. I only just got the codename Exorcist."

"And take a look at these pictures in the paper," Guan Heng added, disgruntled. "Spider-Man gets close-ups, but all the photos of me, the unknown hero, are blurry shots from behind. You didn't pull strings for yourself when you took them, did you? All the girls know Spider-Man now, but who knows me, Guan? It's so frustrating just thinking about it."

"Hahaha! That's what you get for going off to fight monsters in a dungeon without me last time!" Peter laughed.

"You're still holding a grudge over me taking on that big guy by myself?" Guan Heng sighed. "Fine. I'll bring you along next time we fight monsters."

The top floor of the Stark Enterprises Building, in Tony Stark's lab.

"Hmm, the Arc Reactor's finer components need to be modified like this." Tony tapped away at his computer, then scribbled notes and sketches on the blueprints spread across his desk.

"Hey, Tony." Guan Heng suddenly appeared in the chair across from him, startling Tony badly.

"Good grief! Guan Heng, where did you pop out from this time?" Tony nearly had a heart attack. He clutched his chest and rubbed it.

"Hey, have you seen my guardian, Aunt Kou? I haven't seen him in ages. Aunt Kou's always disappearing lately. I'm so lonely." Guan Heng spread his hands.

"I asked you first. How did you get in here? Can you actually walk through walls? Where'd you learn that? Teach me!" Tony pressed on, curious.

I'm not telling you the truth, Guan Heng thought. What am I supposed to say, that I summoned Er Ni and had her take me through the wall? You might not believe me. Besides, Er Ni's ability takes too much out of her. She's completely wiped out now. Still, nearly scaring Iron Man half to death feels great.

"You were so focused on work that you didn't notice me coming in through the front door," Guan Heng said with a shrug. "Also, I knocked, but you didn't hear me." He was completely making it up. "Is that so? Maybe I really was too focused on my work." Tony rubbed his aching, throbbing forehead, then perked up and excitedly said to Guan Heng, "But all my hard work day and night has finally paid off. Come with me. I want to show you something cool."

Tony rose from his desk and led Guan Heng to the other end of the room, where a cylindrical glass case stood. He pressed a button, and a startup sound rang out as a brand-new red-and-gold suit of armor rose inside. "I worked day and night, wore myself out, and finally developed the Third Generation!"

Tony explained, "Look, the entire suit is made from titanium alloy used in military satellites. It has a shotgun in the shoulder and an anti-tank missile launcher on the arm—some seriously badass designs. The red and gold came from my favorite sports car. Impressive, right?"

Guan Heng pursed his lips, unimpressed. I've seen this in the movies. This Third Generation design is still pretty lousy—not nearly perfect enough.

"Listen, Tony," Guan Heng said, stroking his chin. "We all know how heavy your armor is. You can't have someone carrying it around behind you all day. That's not practical. I suggest designing another, portable suit of armor. The armor plating doesn't need to be too thick, and it doesn't have to fly. It just needs a standard weapon. Hmm, and it should fit in a case you can carry around. If something urgent comes up, you could suit up in no time."

"My God, that's a brilliant idea!" Tony hurried over to his desk and jotted down Guan Heng's main points. Without even looking up, he praised him. "Guan Heng, you're practically an armor designer even more talented than I am. Such an ingenious idea is truly astounding!"

"Not at all. I only come up with a decent idea once in a while," Guan Heng said modestly. I'm just telling you about your own M5 design ahead of time.

"Oh, by the way, there's something I want to tell you." Guan Heng said to Tony, "I've got a new codename. It's the Exorcist. Use that when you contact me from now on."

As he spoke, Guan Heng swept his arm across his face, and a red opera mask of Guan Gong covered it.

Tony looked up. "Uh, well, to be honest, I think you're better off wearing the mask. That face on it looks much more serious than you do."

Guan Heng waved his arm, and the mask vanished from his face. "You're right. This solemn mask represents Guan Yu, the ancient Huaxian War God and a great warrior from the Three Kingdoms period. He's been worshipped as a deity by later generations in Huaxia. When I'm not wearing the mask, I can joke around, curse, and act irreverently. But once I put it on, I become the representative of the War God Guan Yu, with only one duty: to drive out evil and uphold justice. I have to be solemn and serious."

Guan Heng sighed. "Wearing this mask weighs heavily on me, but it also fills me with pride as a Huaxian."

"I see. Then when you wear the mask, I'll make sure to show you the respect you deserve. Every tradition carries the weight of history, and deserves to be respected and preserved."

Then Guan Heng went back to his usual smile. "All right, now that I've taken off the mask, let's talk about something fun. You've been holed up in your office too long. Aren't you worried you'll rust? Why don't we all go out and have some fun together?"