Inside the lab, Shuri continued her pitch for the new Black Panther suit, dripping with her usual sarcasm.
"Brother, forget your antiques. Take a look at these."
Before them stood two full-sized mannequins. They were muscular, shirtless, and adorned with Wakandan-style panther tooth necklaces—one set in gold, the other in silver.
Shuri looked back and forth between them, weighing the options. After a moment, she pointed to the gold set. "Do you like that one?"
T'Challa stepped closer to inspect it. A satisfied smile played on his lips, but he eventually shook his head. "It looks cool, but my style can't be too flashy."
He had no desire to be like Tony Stark, parading around in a metal suit and becoming an instant celebrity. Wakanda's policy was isolationist, and he wasn't ready to step into the world's spotlight just yet. However, he knew deep down that if they actually wiped out the Joker Organization, hiding would become impossible. The greedy superpowers would do anything to seize Wakanda's Vibranium. At that point, the only choices would be surrender or war.
Wakanda has developed in peace for a thousand years, T'Challa thought, a trace of irritation crossing his mind. I don't want to be the first King to start a global conflict.
He cleared his head and pointed to the other necklace. "The silver one is good."
Shuri didn't argue. She manipulated her Kimoyo beads, bringing them close to T'Challa's neck to bind the silver suit to his DNA. Once bound, the suit would be useless to anyone else if stolen.
"Brother, try to activate it," Shuri said.
T'Challa focused his mind on the mannequin. Suddenly, dense waves of black nanites surged from the necklace, swarming over the mannequin's body. In less than a second, the bare doll was fully encased in the Black Panther habit.
Shuri beamed with pride. "I've hidden the entire suit within the necklace's teeth. Ready to deploy or retract at a thought."
T'Challa marveled at the tech, his eyes burning with excitement. No more struggling with layers of clothing. But the suit's wonders didn't stop there.
"Brother, try hitting it a few times," Shuri challenged.
"As hard as I want?"
"Exactly!"
T'Challa limbered up, took a breath, and delivered a kick that sent the mannequin flying over ten meters away.
"Not that hard!" Shuri snapped, running over to haul the mannequin back.
"You said 'as hard as I want,'" T'Challa countered, feeling a bit framed. "You didn't say there was a limit."
Shuri glared at him. "I invited you to my lab, not a demolition derby."
"Maybe you should make it sturdier then," T'Challa quipped. He paused, squinting. "Wait... what are those patterns?"
On the parts of the suit T'Challa had struck, glowing lines of violet-blue light had appeared.
"The nanites in the suit can absorb kinetic energy," Shuri explained. "It stores it and can release it later—up to ten million joules."
Absorb and release. T'Challa was genuinely impressed. "Very good!" This feature would take his combat effectiveness to a whole new level.
"Brother, hit the same spot again!" Shuri backed away several paces and activated a recording mode on her beads.
"Why are you recording?" T'Challa asked, suspicious.
"To record experimental data, obviously," Shuri replied naturally.
T'Challa doubted that was the only reason, but he complied, kicking the same spot. To keep the mannequin from flying away again, he pulled his power back. But the moment his shin touched the glowing violet area, Shuri triggered the suit to release the stored energy.
BANG!
T'Challa was blasted backward, hitting the floor and rolling twice.
"Hahahaha!" Shuri doubled over, clutching her stomach. Making her brother look like a fool was one of her few true joys.
Before he even got up, T'Challa pointed a finger at her. "Delete that video!"
If that footage ever got out, his dignity as King would be non-existent.
"No way! I'm saving this for my personal collection," Shuri refused, hitting the save button right in his face.
T'Challa scrambled up. "Shuri, delete it now. I am the King!"
"And you're still my brother!" Shuri giggled and bolted.
"Don't run!"
The siblings chased each other through the lab, Shuri's bell-like laughter echoing through the halls.
Buzz! Buzz!
Suddenly, the beads on T'Challa's wrist vibrated. He stopped the chase, gave Shuri a final "I'm watching you" look, and answered the video call. A hologram of General Okoye appeared.
"Your Majesty... Princess... The ships are ready. Per your orders, this mission will be entirely remote-controlled."
T'Challa's expression turned stern. "Order the fleet to move out. Conduct a thorough reconnaissance over the target area."
"Understood!" Okoye disconnected.
T'Challa sighed and waved his sister over. "Shuri, come on. Time to get to work."
Instantly, the playfulness vanished. Shuri transformed back into a brilliant scientist. She stepped into a workspace and activated the remote interface. Nanites surged from the floor, forming the shape of a cockpit.
"Get in, Brother," Shuri said, gripping the controls with eager anticipation. Under their father, she had been confined to the lab while T'Challa trained. Now, the old rules are gone.
T'Challa sat in the co-pilot seat as a virtual screen flickered to life, showing the Wakandan hangar. The cockpit would mimic every movement of the actual ship in real-time.
"Let's go," T'Challa said. "But when this is over, that video gets deleted!"
Shuri smirked and throttled up.
In the hangar outside the capital, the ceiling opened. Over a hundred sleek ships surged into the sky. T'Challa had divided the target area into ten zones; the ships were organized into ten squads to perform a cross-patrol, ensuring no inch was missed. They activated their cloaking, vanishing from sight and even the most advanced US satellites.
*
Three hours of low-speed cruising yielded nothing.
"Any results?" T'Challa asked.
Shuri shook her head. "Zero anomalies."
T'Challa's disappointment was palpable. He hadn't expected an instant win—SHIELD had taken three years just to find a lead—but finding nothing at all felt wrong. This area was wilderness; a massive organization should leave a footprint.
He checked with Okoye, but the answer was the same. According to classified SHIELD intel, the Joker Organization had over 100,000 members. With only 20,000 captured in the last three years, that meant 80,000 people were hiding somewhere in this region. A base for 80,000 people should be the size of a town.
T'Challa unbuckled and walked to the lab's glass window. He stared out into the dark, cavernous mining pit where high-speed carts transported Vibranium to factories. This lab was in the most secure part of the mines.
Mines... pits...
T'Challa's brow furrowed as an idea sparked.
"Shuri," He turned around, excited. "What if they're like us? What if the base is underground? Harley Quinn can manipulate space; hiding a base hundreds of meters down shouldn't be hard for her."
Underground? Shuri realized it made perfect sense. It was the only way to dodge satellite surveillance 24/7.
"Don't worry, Brother," She said confidently, tapping her controls. "I can find them if they're buried a thousand meters deep."
She contacted Okoye, telling the fleet to activate their ultrasonic sensors at maximum power and perform a ground-hugging sweep.
*
An hour later, Shuri cried out, "Found them!"
T'Challa sprinted back to the screen. A massive 3D structural map was being rendered in real-time. The location was a desolate rainforest 300 kilometers from the capital—a place filled with predators and toxic insects.
The scan revealed a massive architectural complex nearly 100,000 square kilometers in size, buried a kilometer beneath the earth. It looked like a grand subterranean city.
"Finally!" T'Challa balled his fists.
But the map also showed countless thin lines radiating outward from the city. "Shuri, what are those?"
"Let's see." Shuri piloted a ship toward a nearby mountain range, only to find the interior of the mountains had been completely hollowed out.
"They're mine shafts," T'Challa whispered. A chill ran down their spines.
Why was the Joker Organization hollowing out mountains? The answer hit T'Challa instantly. These mountains were rich in minerals, but the most precious was...
"They're looking for Vibranium!"
The nearest hollowed mountain was less than fifty kilometers from the Wakandan capital. In another six months, the Joker Organization would have found them.
"Majesty," Okoye's voice came through. "Should we recall the fleet?"
T'Challa closed his eyes, thinking. "Shuri, does every ship have radio shielding?"
"Of course," She replied. "I hacked SHIELD's database for Franklin's power profile. We're shielded against his specific frequency."
"Good." T'Challa opened his eyes, a cold light within them. "Okoye, I want a surprise attack. Let's test their reaction and their true strength."
His plan was simple: use a hundred Vibranium ships to rain fire on the underground city. If the Joker Organization wasn't as strong as rumored, the matter would end there. If they wiped out the fleet, Wakanda would at least know exactly what they were up against without risking a single life.
Okoye checked with the generals. "Your Majesty, we are in agreement."
T'Challa stared at the screen, his voice low and dangerous. "Let's blow these sons of bitches to hell."
.
.
.
.
You can read advance chapters and view R-18 images of the characters on pat reon page.
pat reon.com/GreenBlue17
500 power stones.
Top 100. All time.