Chapter 150
Jean Grey led the extraction team by opening a portal and letting several SHIELD strike teams through. Hundreds of soldiers flooded the building through a shimmering hole in space, and Jean made her way to me dressed in the same black ops fatigue that the other soldiers had.
"Like what you see?" she teased.
"As a matter of fact, I do," I said with a smirk. I hadn't taken the time to inspect her ensemble in the closet properly, but now that we're in the open…
"It's streamlined, flexible, and has tons of pockets. I mean they're no good for me, but maybe the new team could use something like this."
"Are you talking about Jean or her clothes," Rin asked.
I raised a brow in faux confusion.
"You two lovebird can flirt later," Natasha said. "We need to lock down this building before the surrounding players get any ideas."
"Right then," I said, pushing Klaue forward. "You're going to want to take him. He knows where everything is. I want to say sorry about the central console in advance. The fight got a little intense."
"You didn't end it immediately?" she asked.
"Believe it or not, the asshole had a full Vibranium body suit that is extremely impact absorbent. Makes him pretty difficult to put down without killing. He also had a strange magic weapon, which I snagged."
Nat frowned. "Fury will want to see it."
"And you can tell him that it's by paycheck for saving me several seal teams and an international incident. You have no idea just how much shit Klaue has packed in there."
"I thought that's why we're paying you 200,000 for this operation."
"It costs extra when you have to deal with bullshit magic," I said. "Besides, you should be over the moon. I'm sure the Vibranium will more than make up for it."
Natasha kept her mind blank now that Jean was here, but she let it slip that the World Council was keeping a closer eye on me now that I was public.
Jean went along with Nat, Klaue, and the extraction team to map out the building and all of the Vibranium depot. Klaue put on a good show, trying to hold on to every ounce of Vibranium by obfuscating and lying.
He even tried to lead them into traps more than once. But after an hour, they discovered details about his hidden warehouses, weapon deposit, and bank account.
Jean played her part as the uninterested Telepath and dictated the information as she received it, leaving them to use the information as they saw fit.
She obviously kept parts of our share of everything but revealed enough to make Fury think he uncovered the motherlode when he went looking.
The information team didn't connect the dots immediately, and when they did, they behaved as we'd predicted and steered clear of Jean.
Work sped up dramatically after the interrogation was done. Dozens of extraction teams mulled through portals with power tools, high-tech lasers, and rifles.
Within hours, Klaue's skyscraper had been stripped of its Vibranium, leaving the surrounding players of Madripoor non the wiser.
Fury didn't reach out until much later that day when I returned home to some beer and my Forge. I had the berserker staff laid out, dozens of paper with designs for weapons and was just about to head out to retrieve the first of the Adamantium in Manhattan.
"Twice in one day?" I asked. "New York is not on fire, is it?"
"Fortunately for us, Domina is taking her sweet time," he said.
"If memory serves, that's not a good thing. How close are you on the bomb project?"
"We decided that a nuclear bomb is far too much or a risk when there are a dozen other explosive options on the table."
"By we you mean the world council," I said. "I'm beginning to wonder. Who actually runs SHIELD. You or them?"
"Oversight exists for a reason, kid," Fury said. "Otherwise, you'll be come a tyrant without even realizing it."
Heh. Fury was subtle.
"You didn't just call me to tell me about the bomb. What do you need Fury?"
"The Inferno Knight."
"Don't tell me one of the reasons why the World Council decided to out me was to broker a peace with Wakanda?" I asked, a bit baffled. "They didn't need to ask. I was always going to be there."
"It was actually me who recommended you be there, not them," Fury said. "I'm not exactly pleased how this entire thing turned out, but it would've been a waste not to use your status to cement the deal. T'Chaka won't hear a proposal from the government and think it's legitimate, but he'll listen to you."
"Will he now?" I asked. "T'Chaka recognizes a figurehead when he sees one. He'll know SHIELD is pulling the strings regardless. Might as well roll in with government SUVs and Quin jets."
"Which is why you're going to be going with Jean by your side and a few other representatives from the Council. A sorcerer, and a representative from Magneto's team should seal the deal. The broad-spectrum approach will work to our advantage as will getting you off house arrest."
"What do you mean?"
"Even though you can handle it, we can't have our most valuable government asset on a hit list. We've used Klaue's contact to put it out there. You're off limits. Anyone who cashes in your bounty gets a bounty on their head for double the price."
I frowned, seeing through Fury's ruse almost immediately. "You do realize that will only provoke her?"
"I've had a team of Psychologists look over her profile and history, and while she likes to make everyone thinks she is neurotic and unstable. She's everything but. She's far too organized and accomplished to lash out as long as we're not too aggressive."
"That's one hell of a gamble at mine and the other mutant's expense. It just means the more dangerous elements will come looking for us." I spoke. It was also a convenient way to side-stop both of his promises.
No bomb or new identity.
Granted, I didn't need it. But it showed me that I should've been scheming against him ages ago.
Still, I wasn't about to agree to anything without sweating him first.
"And let's not forget the kids. They'll be defenseless if the situation devolves further."
"Nobody knows the location of your compounds except the sorcerers, you saw to that. And you were already in the crossfire of the 'big players' after New York. This tactic discourages the amateurs and buys you legitimacy with T'Chaka, the Ten Rings, and any other major organization moving forward. We need them to fear you if we're ever going to make this alliance work."
"I'll admit it's a half-decent strategy if you admit that you've inadvertently put the kids in more danger. We're going to need better defenses. I want motion-seeking machine guns on the perimeter, turrets, mines, and dozens of motion detectors, all without any form of tracking."
Silence.
"Don't you think that's a bit excessive."
"You outed me for a second time, painted an even bigger target on my back, and tried to convince me it's for my own good, I should've asked you for more," I said in a scathing tone. "Our relationship only works if we trust each other, Fury. Don't pull something like this again, for all of our sakes."
I cut the call and stared at the phone for a long moment before a smirk wormed itself on my face.
Fury was trying to exert even more control over my life. The pressure from the World Council must've been more serious than I anticipated, but I suspected it might've not been that simple.
This was the biggest chunk of refined Vibranium SHIELD has ever found. And even the ineffable Nick Fury is a bit stumped about what to do with that much power. Sure, he had other powerful secrets and means in his little treasure chest, but none of them were so pliable.
A chunk of Vibranium gave Cap the SHIELD he used to win World War II. What could he accomplish with an entire complement of SHIELD's best scientists?
Two days later, I stood beside Rin and Jean on an open field a few miles away from the village we'd face the demons all those months ago. Natasha, Coulson, and Fury stood behind me, and behind them were several crates of Vibranium Ore, Ulysses Klaue, Fury's Mutant strike team, and a Quinjet with a Strike team.
A small smile adorned my face when I noticed that I was unable to scan their minds. They were all wearing protection devices that kept me out of their heads.
They wouldn't try so hard to keep me out if there was nothing to hide.
The devices they wore was fare more elegant than Klaue's and wrapped around their necks instead of sitting on their heads like crowns.
Luckily, no one saw just how excited I was, my face hidden by a new metal half mask, and I switched out my barebones armor for a Trench coat with dozens of metal plates strapped on, each carrying the protection runes.
I also had a new Twilight Sentinel armor sitting in my Dimensional vault just in case. It was to be my public facing armor for mission with the Wakandans or anybody that could identify Vibranium or Adamantium.
It carried 15 protection runes scattered throughout the body, half a dozen energy cores, several impact runes on my gauntlets, and precision runes on my knuckles.
Rin got the same treatment, but he wore an upgrade of the casual armor I wore to fight Domina Hoard. It was made from metal really tough leather and 10 Protection runes. That freed up the gauntlets on his hands to take more combat runes like Precision, Impact, and Storage. Fully empowered with Burst, I was certain the kid could flip over a car.
Jean had gotten the most love out of all three of us. She'd gotten the Trench coat treatment. Except hers used raw materials from my first Trench coat on top of a corset-like armor. Overall, she had 20 Protection runes. She also had a short sword by her side packed with precision runes.
All of that practice even netted me a fresh new upgrade in my class, bringing me to level four and bathing me with a lot of stat points.
And while my fresh set of armor looked impressive on the outside, they pushed the limits of what I could get away with using regular Infernal Metal. With Vibranium and Adamantium, my weapons will be practically indestructible and will endure just about any offensive rune I could cook up and so would my armor.
"How long do you think they're going to keep staring at us like that?" I said to Jean with my eyes glowing red. I saw through the energy barrier camouflaging and protecting Wakanda.
"Not long. They're waiting on their Champion and King," She explained. "I can't imagine they feel very safe. It's not every day a small army of mutants and half-demons show up at your country's invisible border."
"All the more reason why I think the kiddy club shouldn't be here," I said loudly into the comms. "I can feel the little girl squirming all the way from here, and Lauren seems far too comfortable, considering the situation."
"Eat a dick, you white-haired prick," Lauren said. "It's her first mission, any my hundredth. Cut her some slack."
"That's enough," Fury said. "This is neither the time nor place for this."
"The wall is about to come down," I said. "The Black Panther has arrived."
The landscape in front of us suddenly shifted, transforming from a dense African Jungle to a plane occupied by hundreds of Wakandan soldiers. They wore colorful robes with Vibranium sown into them, and the backline rode =Rhinos and carried Vibranium weapons that hummed with a strange power.
The Black Panther stood at the head, dressed in what I could best describe as flexible composite armor fabric that covered all of his features. His hand ended in claws, and he had a helmet shaped in the form of a Panther.
He was enormous, easily over 240 pounds, and he had a bit of bulk in his middle section. I'd expected a lot of things from T'Chaka, but I did not expect the Black Panther to be a beefcake. I wondered how that transferred over to his strength, athleticism, and fighting ability.
"Wakanda does not take outsiders approaching its borders likely. What do you want Dante Sparda?"
"A deal, King T'Chaka," I said, banishing my half-mask.
"Wakanda does not involve itself with the outside world," T'Chaka pronounced. "It's has been that for hundreds of years, and it will not change today. I will only warn you once. Leave."
My brows hiked up. Wow. 'I guess getting the bounty lifted only counted for so much,' I telepathically sent to Jean, who scrunched her face.
'I'm still upset that he did that to you without your permission.'
"We went through a lot of trouble to set up this meeting," I said. "Stormed Klaue's impenetrable tower, stole all of his Vibranium, all for the chance to negotiate with you and save our world."
"You would use what is rightfully ours as a bargaining chip to force cooperation?"
"Fuck yeah," I said, hands stuffed in my Trench coat pockets. "You would've raised hell if we kept your precious Vibranium, and in case you've not been watching the news, we have bigger things to worry about than fantasy metal we can't even process properly."
"You hide behind your words, but your intentions are plain to see," he said, scanning the entire team. "You all hunger for power, most of all, him." He pointed at Fury. "Wakanda has always protected its people against all manner of threats. These 'demons' have never breached our border. We are safe and will continue to remain that way long after your war with them is over."
"I know we have our differences, T'Chaka," Fury spoke up from the back, "but I've always known you to be a fair and sensible man. The demons are on every continent. And they don't care about your border. You can't bury your head in the sand and hope they go away."
A Wakanda on a Rhino huffed at the insult and spat to the side. "Hide? Wakandans do not hide. You insult us Colonizer."
I chuckled at the exchange, and T'Chaka ignored me, seemingly satisfied to talk to Fury for now.
"This is not the first time the Western world have claimed the world is about to end. It survived the First and Second world wars without Wakanda's interference, and it will do so again."
"Except we're not dealing with some Nazi who discovered an artefact that he doesn't really understand," I said. "The demons are the real deal. I should know. I'm part demon. The strongest among us can move faster than a fighter jet, manipulate gravity, fire, and other fundamental aspects of reality, and let's not forget our runic magic, and our endless hordes. Vibranium tech or not, you're fucked if they turn their attention on you."
"So, the rumors are true," A teenager about Jean's age said from the top of his Rhino. He was T'Challa, and his mind buzzed with a thousand questions, but he knew better than to speak out of turn.
I didn't need to see T'Chaka's face to know he was seriously considering our offer. He'd seen the reports. The demons' abilities flew in the face of everything they knew. It was like we were empowered by a god or something far more insidious.
Still, T'Chaka was not convinced, nor could he make this decision lightly and without the support of the council.
"The head of the tribes must convene on your request, but I have a few conditions."
"You want Klaue, the Vibranium, and see what I can do," I answered.
"How did you…" he began.
"Because it's the same thing I would've asked for, which is why you're not going to get it," I said. "I'll agree to the spar, but nothing else."
T'Chaka frowned behind his mask and looked at Fury.
"Does he speak for you?"
Fury looked my way before he shrugged. "It's his call. His team caught Klaue and retrieved the Vibranium."
I grinned, folding my arms.
"Don't be shy, Fury. You did handle transportation," I said as Jean scanned Fury's mind. It'd taken some time to bypass his device, but she had experience with mental inhibiters. She could've gotten through immediately, frying his device, but I'd wanted to play it smooth.
Predictably, Fury had double dipped. Not only did he not deliver all of the Vibranium, he also kept Klaue's remote sites a secret.
She pried the answers I was looking for out of him without alerting the paranoid director.
He'd delivered nearly all of the Vibranium we recovered but was keeping quiet about the remote caches. Only a handful of people were aware of them.
"We cannot allow you to depart with what is rightfully Wakanda's," he said, his muscles shifting slightly as he prepared himself to fight.
I raised a hand, scanning the small army in front of us. In the distance, the King had already scrambled a few jets with guns at the ready. Some were aimed directly at me.
"Tell you what? I will fight you for it," I said.
"What?" The tension fled from T'Chaka's body. "We both feel very strongly about keeping the Vibranium and Klaue, and You're the Black Panther and King. Isn't that what your superpowers are for?"
"We could simply just take the Vibranium and prisoner," T'Chaka pointed out. "Our customs don't require us to extend dueling privileges to outsiders."
"You're right on both fronts, but what other options do you have? You may have Jets and Rhinos in the back, but between the mutants here and my team, you'd be surprised how little of an advantage that actually is. Besides, can you really afford a war with the rest of the world when the demons are literarily at your doors," I said.
T'Chaka grumbled, and his eyes narrowed as he considered my offer.
"I thought you said the Black Panther was one of the best fighters on the continent?" Rin spoke up, eying the older man up and down. "I didn't think he'd scare easily."
"How dare you!" A bald spear woman standing some paces behind the King raised her voice, and T'Chaka raised his hand to quell any more protests.
"I will battle the outsider," he said, "But be warned, do not fight me with any weapon you're not prepared to part with."
I laughed. "It's funny you'd say that. I have an entire arsenal I've been meaning to try."