Chapter 16: The First Clashes
I woke up, and told Sexi to call the rest to a meeting. After a moment, she said "Everyone except Aunt Whitney is sleeping, I don't think you want to wake them up, they all had a stressful day."
"Ok, thanks Sexi. Where's White?" I asked.
"She is currently at her boat, admiring it, but pointing out things that needed to be done to the boat."
"Thanks Sexi."
"No problem, Dad."
I made my way to where the boat, and deciding to surprise her, came up close quietly, my new wolf powers coming in clutch. I was just behind her, when I said "So what's her name?"
Whitney jumped in surprise, then turned around, and hugged me in relief. I hugged her back, realizing that she was not in the best headspace, and feeling bad for surprising her. "What's wrong, White?" I asked gently, while letting the regret leak into my voice.
"I'm just scared." She said. "They all clearly don't trust me, and want to kill me, which I understand. And this whole time you were sleeping, I realized that the whole time, I was subconsciously depending on you to protect me if anything got out of hand, and when you were asleep, I wasn't near you, and therefore not as safe. So in the end, I just came to the boat, because I felt a little safer with it, but then my paranoia caught up with me, and I started pointing out flaws in the design, how to strengthen the defenses, how to make the boat infallible."
"Hey, White, it's okay." I said reassuringly. "T'Chaka knows better than to attack you, but T'Challa might not, and I'm working on that. They should not want to kill you, and they should only trust you. Even your other version, the one from the show, I would trust her. You're a good person, White, and I can't say it enough. You shouldn't think that you deserve mistrust, you're not the leader, that's something only the leader should think, when he fails. And you're going to come back with me to New York, so you'll be safe. But for now, take this." I took a Parkerwatch out of my utility belt, and gave it to her. "It's a Parkerwatch, but the type I only make for family. It has a super suit that Sexi will activate should you be in danger, and it automatically goes on if you're being accosted by SHIELD. I never liked SHIELD in my old life, and I hate it even more now. They killed Peter's parents, Tess's parents, and are a pain in society. This is a piece of me, for you to keep. It's symbolic to the piece of my soul that you have, got that?" She nodded vigorously, and strapped the watch on. "I made it white, with a touch of golden, specifically for you. When you guys were begging about stopping my playlist, I had it made, and I was waiting for the right moment. And now, how about we make your boat infallible?"
"How, we're not going to steal vibranium, and we don't have any resources?" She said, confused.
"That's what you think." I said, smirking, and I raised my palm in a sort of display, and said "Sexi, blow her mind. Not actually, just literally."
"Of course, but your hands aren't doing the magic, mine are." Sexi said, from the speakers near us, as well as from her own mouth, as she headed our way.
When she came to us two, she raised her hand, and snapped. Then she clapped her hands together, and when she separated her hands, there were layers of nanobots still connecting the distance between her hands. She blew into the nanobots, and they gave some space within them, the blank areas forming the word 'NANOBOTS' I looked at Whitney, and she looked absolutely happy.
She turned to me, excitement in her eyes, and said "What are we waiting for? Let's start!"
We spent the next few hours working on her boat, painting it, putting defenses on it, adding cloaking systems, adding more living quarters, making it three times bigger than it was before, and it was humongous before. All the while, we were talking about her coming to live with us hopefully, and if Uncle Ben and Aunt May didn't want her living in the house, we could have her ship somewhere near, and she could live there. I teased her about having Clint live with her, and she said he would bring grass skirts with him. The three of us just spent the time, bonding and working on the boat.
Finally, we were done. "What's her name?" I asked, all three of us standing outside, and admiring our work.
"I think 'The Masque's Redemption' is a good name, what do you think?" Whitney asked.
"It's not good." I said, much to her surprise. "You don't have anything to redeem yourself for, how about 'The Masque's Home' or 'The Masque's Battleship'?"
"I think she has enough fight in her look, so 'The Masque's Home' is better." Whitney said, then she hugged me. "Thanks for saying that bit about me not needing redemption, I needed that."
I hugged her back. "Anytime, White." We parted, and I looked at where we were going to put the name of the boat, then back at her. "Wanna do the honors?" I said, handing her a paintbrush of nanobots.
She took the brush, and painted the name on, then the nanobots brushed it up, making it perfect.
We stood back, and just looked at our beauty, until Sexi said "While I could totally stay here for the whole day, everyone else is in the hall, and waiting for us."
I tore my gaze from the boat with difficulty, and so did Whitney. "Let's go, we have work to do." I said.
"Yeah," Whitney said regretfully.
We went to the hall, and found everyone there. I looked at the king, and saluted him, and he saluted back. Then I looked at everyone, and saluted them, and that was returned as well.
"So, we're about to fight the Council for the first time." I said, totally giving a speech, and being proud of it. "This is it. No do overs, no mistakes. I may give you contingency plans, but even then, those are limited. We need to nip the problem in the bud, for us to succeed. We won't take the Council down for good, that's not for today. For now, we have our first clashes, the moves that decide the outcome of the war, every mistake we make, we will pay for it, in the form of innocent lives, or our fellow warriors' lives."
I turned to team one. "Team one, you're going to Attilan, The Floating City of The Inhumans. Your objective is to retrieve the last piece of the key. I have already sent them a message, as Shuri, Princess of Wakanda, wishing to discuss a matter of importance to Attilan Royalty. You three will go, and at the meeting, Shuri will discuss the matter of the key. I expect them to refuse, but should they accept, all will be good. When they refuse, Hunter or Shuri should say something to the effect of Shuri not having asked, and Hunter and Tess will stand up. They should get up from the hostility, and the Queen will use her hair against you, which I suggest that Tess grab and rip. That will show power, as her hair is as strong as titanium, and not many can rip it. Should Blackbolt use his voice, Tess should make a magical shield to defend from the attack, make sure Shuri and Hunter are safe as well. You need to use the power displayed, and then you will force them to take you to the catacombs, where the piece is placed. But before you open the door, reassure that everyone is their true selves, not Zanda, as she probably will infiltrate the meeting. Should they not accept, draw a little blood, and place it on your hands, the door doesn't open unless Wakandan royalty holds one of the handles, and an Inhuman holds the other door. Should the blood not work, inject the blood into Tess, but make sure the blood is Medusa's, not Blackbolt's, don't want Tess having to stop talking. Questions?"
"What're their powers, perhaps I can counteract them?" Shuri asked.
"Blackbolt, the king, is super powerful, his voice can level a city, he can fly, an all around superhuman. Medusa, the queen, has hair that she can control that's as strong as titanium. If Carnac is there, do not engage. He can see the weakness in every fighter, just stall or retreat, and I will come as soon as I can. Crystal, the princess, has some sort of energy powers, but I know not if she has been born yet or not. Over all, they are a race with powers, I can't list it all, but they are dangerous. These are the powers you will have to watch out for, but if you invoke the anger of the royal family, you will have to deal with way more, just dodge all the attacks, don't take chances."
"If they're so powerful, why are we engaging them directly, why don't we explain the whole Council thing, and why am I chosen for this team?" Hunter asked.
"I'm not saying not to explain, it's just T'Chanda made them promise to never let anyone have the piece, knowing that should it ever be needed to save the world by anyone, said person would snake his way to get it, which is what we're doing here. And you're on the team in the case that they're hunting after you, your skills will come in clutch, you take charge. But should they come after you, make sure that you jump into the sewers, or the water, to disguise your smell, or Lockjaw, their pitbull thing, will sniff you out. Anything else for team one?"
"No, we're clear." Shuri said.
"Good." I turned to team three. "Team three, you're going to Europe, specific location I don't remember, but Sexi knows. Objective: Retrieve all the information on Zemo's files. T'Challa, you're going in a plane that has cloaking, but the cloaking will be bad, so they'll know you're there. Okoye and Whitney will be following you on The Masque's Home, but their cloaking systems will be on top notch setting. You're going to activate the stealth system I will add to your suit in the next few minutes, and jump off your plane, onto the snow. You will sneak your way in, and fight against Zemo, then with him. You two will find the hidden underground base in the castle, and you will collect the information, then reveal that you knew Zemo was a spy the whole time. Zemo will call for help from whoever is nearby, and once you're deep in the fight, Okoye and Whitney will pull in, and help you take the Councilmen down. Whitney will be air support, and Okoye will join the fight with you. The most probable Councilman there will be Erik, or Tigershark, if it is Erik, don't engage, Erik has outdone even Okoye before. If it is Tigershark, kill him, like there's no tomorrow to kill him again. Any questions?"
"What's the benefit of your stealth system, and why can we not engage Killmonger?" T'Challa asked.
"You want to die a horrible death, be my guest. Killmonger is an enigma you have never seen before, his kills are savage, his mutilations were horrible, his skill was unmatched, and he's a man out for revenge against you. You won't survive, but you will die a slow death. He has thrown you off the waterfall, in combat." At that, he realized he had no chance. "You see him, retreat. If it is Kraven, do not engage until Okoye is with you. And my stealth system will hide you in the snow. Anything else for team three?"
"Nothing else." Okoye said.
"Perfect." I turned to the king, and said "I've given Okoye the list of spies, and she has given it to the Dora Milaje. There are no special instructions, just take them in, and interrogate them. If you fail at interrogation, I'll take care of it when I return, if I return. Clear?" The king nodded, so I turned to Sexi. "Connect the teams to their own comms, but keep an eye on it, so you can tell another team that finished their job, to help a team that needs help."
"Copy that, Dad." She said, and I nodded.
I turned to look at everyone. "Are there any concerns?" I asked. When I got none, just some shaking heads, I said "Good, everyone ready yourself for your mission, and good luck. This meeting is adjourned." And with that, everyone left the hall.
Ten minutes later, I gave T'Challa his upgraded suit and the keys to the ship I prepared for the mission, and headed outside, towards The Masque's Home. Once I got there, I found Sexi, Tess, Shuri, Whitney, and Okoye there, all admiring the beauty of a ship she was. I got to them, and said "Yes, the ship is beautiful, but I'm leaving now, with one last good luck to everyone. Tess and White, keep your masks on."
They all looked at me, then Whitney said "Don't you dare die, Pete. I swear, you want to die. Don't think I didn't notice you say 'if I return' in the meeting."
"I said that, because I'm going to Atlantis, the one world I don't know exactly how it should be. I chose the job with the most unknowns, and the most danger. I want to prepare you guys for me not coming back. I'm new to this shit in the end, and I can mess up."
"You're a self sacrificial shit, Peter." Hunter said, walking up to us.
"Right back at you." I said, smirking. Then I stretched. "Anyways, gotta go, good luck y'all. Don't do any stupid shit, if you're in a spot I didn't tell y'all about, do a tactical retreat."
Tess hugged me "Keep your promise to me, Pete."
I hugged her back. "I will. But promise me you'll do your best to stay safe too."
She hugged me tighter. "I promise. Unlike you, I know the self sacrifice is not always one of the top options."
We parted, and I hugged Whitney tightly. Whitney hugged me back, and I said "I'd rather you weren't in such a big fight yet. With Tess and Shuri, they have experience, so I'm really worried, but I know they can do this. I know you can do this too, which is why I am letting you go, but promise me that you'll listen to Okoye, whatever she tells you to do."
"I can't promise you that, Pete. Okoye will tell me to leave, if it turns out Erik is there, and you know that. I can't leave them to their deaths. But I can promise that unless it contradicts good judgement, I will listen to Okoye." Whitney said.
"Good." I said. "If you didn't contradict me, I would have been worried even more, because that would mean you never meant the promise to me. Thanks for telling the truth, and stay safe."
"Right back at you." Whitney said, and we parted.
I looked at Shuri, then gave her a hug. "I trust both Hunter and Tess to keep you safe, and I know you trust them too. Stay safe, and if you can find a way to counteract a power of theirs without hurting them, do it when they attack you. Keep some vibranium blades on you, so if Medusa catches you, you can cut her hair off. Aim at getting her hair as ugly as possible, and stay safe, Dudette."
"Worry about yourself, Dude. I got two super siblings with me, I'll be fine. But seriously though, stay safe. I don't want to have to amputate your arm or some shit when you come back."
"Of course, Dudette." I said, then we parted. I turned to Okoye, and punched her shoulder, and said "Stay safe, Okoye. I'm sending you to keep T'Challa safe, as much as I hate to admit it, he is vital to Wakandan safety. But if it is between you and T'Challa, save yourself. We still need to have a rematch."
She punched me back, but in the stomach, knowing no matter how hard she hit, I wouldn't get hurt. " I'm not the one saying 'if I return' Get some practice fighting N'Jadaka, then come back, and we will kick each other's asses." Then out of nowhere, to my surprise, she hugged me. She never did that in other universes. "Stay safe, Peter. We still have a lot more fights to fight, this isn't the major fight, please, stay alive."
I hugged her back. "Of course, Okoye. But I suspect something else going on in Atlantis, and if my suspicions are proven correct, it will probably be my final fight." I rubbed her back reassuringly. "Good luck, Okoye, and bye, possibly for the last time." She hugged me even tighter. "Bye, Pete."
I parted from Okoye, then I looked at Hunter, and gave him a bro hug, which he returned. "Keep them safe, but don't do stupid shit. I don't want to hear you're dead if I come back. You're the point man, when things go bad. Before that it's Shuri, but even when things get bad, listen to her if she sternly says something, unless said something is not wanting to jump in sewer water, just push her in." We both gave a light laugh at that. "Stay safe, Wolf."
"You too, Karma." I nodded, then said "Karma is the sweetest form of revenge, and N'Jadaka is about to get some." Then I activated my suit, and jetted away, into the sky.
I had been flying for two hours when Sexi screamed into my ear "DAD!" She sounded worried
"What's wrong, sunshine?" I said. "Did anyone get hurt? No one should have even arrived at their destinations yet, what happened?"
"It's you, Dad!" She said. "I just intercepted a communication from N'Jadaka, he just added Doom to the Council, and Doom is headed to Atlantis, and he should be there around the same time as you!" So my suspicions were proven correct.
"And so, my plans change, before I could even put them in action. Sexi, where is Tigershark? Is he in Germany, or Atlantis?"
"My scans show he is in Atlantis."
"Who is the current ruler of Atlantis? Namor, or Attuma?"
"Namor, Attuma is a neighboring warlord."
"Thank god they have some tech, or you wouldn't know this stuff."
"Yeah."
"Ok, Sexi, I've got a plan, no need to worry about me, hun."
"If you say so, Dad."
I jetted with full power, aiming to get there twice as fast as I originally had planned, wanting to get there before Doom.
Fourty five minutes later, I arrived at Atlantis. I got to the front entrance, and the guards there all stiffened up, and aimed their spears at me. I said "You guys are mere nuisances, and I have to speak to Namor, now. So you can either stay in my way, and get several broken bones, or you can take me to Namor."
Several of the guards lunged at me, and I took them out expediently, appearing as a blur to them, just taking them out. I looked at the remaining guards expectantly, and said "Well boys, what's it going to be? Want to end out like your friends, or will you take me to your king?"
They all looked at each other, than one of them said "Follow me." I followed him, and he took me to the great hall, where Namor was sitting expectantly. I nodded at him, and he nodded back, then said to the guard, "Leave us." The guard left, and the moment he left, Namor lunged at me. I used my jets to dodge the attack, then when he charged again, I used magic to bind him down. He raised his hands in surrender, and said "Well done. I had to make sure you were actually the new person on the street, and not some pretender. Now can you release me, and tell me why you came?"
I released him, then said "I assume you know Doom is coming to visit you, but I doubt you know his true reason for his visit."
He nodded, and said "I suspected you might have something to do with it, considering your altercation happened merely days ago, but it was mere speculation. Care to explain the reason for his, and your, visits?"
"I actually have no direct connection to what's happening, but Atlantis does." At that, Namor leaned forward, interested. "Tigershark, one of your major lieutenants, is a traitor, he is part of a Council that calls themselves the Shadow Council, their aim is to bring the strongest countries of the world down, and create a new order from the ashes. N'Jadaka, the Wakandan ambassador in Atlantis, is one of the two leaders of the Council. Doom is coming here, to Atlantis, to talk with the two of them, and discuss matters of the Council. What the exact matters are, I know not. I originally was not involved in this, but I had gone to Wakanda several days ago, for a personal reason, when I uncovered the plot. I had been operating from Wakanda for the past few days, and I came to ask for your help."
"I will," he said, but I sensed an if on the way. "if you tell me the full story. I can hear some words being unsaid, and I would rather know what, or who, I'm dealing with."
I sighed. "This'll take a minute, but I'm not surprised." I took my mask off. "It all started with an itsy bitsy spider..."
After fifteen minutes, I explained everything. "So I'm not really who I say I am, but I am at the same time. Don't bother trying to make sense of what I'm saying on this topic, I barely understand it myself." I thought for a second, then said. "You know, you were one of my favorite characters in the comics. You, like me, knew that you'd do what you have to do, and you did it. Most people would be enraged with the amount of savagery I show when my people or family are in danger, but I know you'd do the same. It's an honor to meet you, and work with you, should you help me. This isn't really my problem, I could have taken care of this alone if Doom wasn't around, but even then I would have talked to you beforehand. So, now, I ask you the question that doesn't need to be asked, are you in?"
"I'm in, we'll do this perfectly. But there are several problems I believe you are unaware of. The first is this person that is with N'Jadaka. His name is Erik Stevens, and I believe he is involved in this cabal. The other is that if Tigershark is a member of the Council, then that means he already knows of your presence here, which means Doom knows as well. The last is what we're going to do with them. What do you suggest?"
"So first up, Erik. I thought Killmonger would be here, but I couldn't have been sure. He is the second leader of the Council, and he is a savage killer. You can take him on alone, but not with ease. Even with your powers. Be careful, I don't want to lose a fellow anti-hero after my first day working with him. Tigershark has infiltrated even your guards so some of them are loyal to him, which I knew before I entered, but I entered the right way anyways." He looked weirdly at me, as if to say, you think that's the right way, bruh. "Don't look at me like that, the guards I took out were just to make a point, everyone knows that is the right way to enter." He smirked at that. "See, I knew you'd know what I'm talking about. But back to point, they definitely know I am here, but I doubt they know I know of them, but I wouldn't be surprised if they knew. I won't hide, I will just have my mask on, and voice disguised. We need to have a room which can have both water and no water, so we can disorient them. And it needs to be somewhere, if we destroy the room, we don't risk Atlantis' safety."
"I got just the place." He said, grinning. "Now, what're we going to do when we take care of them?"
I matched his grin with one of my own. "Lots of things."
"That's the spirit."
Twenty minutes later, Doom arrived, and there was a party prepared for his presence, at which both N'Jadakas and Tigershark were present, Tigershark was there as a guard for Namor, and the N'Jadakas were invited from their quarters for the party... thing. There were several other ambassadors from other places, even one from SHIELD, and I made a point out of quietly threatening the dude, and making sure the happenings of today made its way to Fury. I was honestly having fun playing with Fury, making him confused as to what I was, sending his best agents on my ass, and losing those agents. After I threatened the guy, I don't even know his name, wait, I just threatened a dude from Rumlow's team! Awesome! I made my way to the main table, and glared at Doom, who was sitting across from me, and sat down. The other Councilmen were there too.
He glared back, his mask was off, so I could see his glare, and said "Will you not remove your mask?"
"Don't you want that, Victor." I spat out with anger. "You touched my sister, and I'm respecting what his Highness wills, and I am not attacking you, for now, but beware, Doom, Karma is the sweetest form of revenge, and I'm sure your still healing body can attest to that."
His glare weakened slightly, but said "Coward. You should face me, in battle, and not hide behind Atlantis' protection."
I tilted my head dangerously. "If you think I'm hiding, you definitely don't know what I am. I am here, because I wanted to make sure that midday was upon us. I was chosen as the protector of the universe, and you're a danger to this universe, so I have to keep an eye out for you. Fury may slack, he doesn't understand, but I do. So unless you want to die, we're not fighting temporarily."
I used every single thing I learned from Natasha when talking to Doom, and he shrunk in fear, so I straightened my head, and said to Namor "Apologies, your highness. That was uncalled for."
"It's all right." Namor said. "If one attacked my family, I would do the same, but in this war, I will stand on the side, until I am brought into it." I nodded, I had sent a message in between my words, and he responded in like.
I turned to N'Jadaka senior. "N'Jadaka, ambassador of Wakanda. How does Wakanda fare? I am one of the few that know the truth, so be honest."
He nodded, then said "Wakanda fares as well as it can. We are above everyone, and will be such for the rest of time."
I nodded. "Of course. But what is the state of the case against Klau? I understand he left his smuggling of Wakandan metal without an arm, and he has returned with a bionic arm. Does Wakanda have him in their sights, and when shall they make a move against him?"
"It has honestly been a while since I last went home, so I am not sure of the dealings with Klau. But I believe he is under tight scrutiny from the royal family." N'Jadaka said.
"Very well, your country is a beautiful place, I visited it several days ago, then left, because of a danger to Wakandan safety. The royal family was immersed in it, so I took my leave."
At my words, N'Jadaka gave an expression of surprise, it was clearly exaggerated, but there was some actual surprise behind it, but he could have faked that little bit as well.
"Do you know of the exact nature of the danger?" N'Jadaka asked, feigning concern. "I was not informed of this, how large is the threat?"
"I do not know the exact nature of the threat. I am trusted by the Royal family, but matters of State do not have the same nature as personal matters." N'Jadaka nodded at that. "But as far as I was told, it was very large. They were considering telling you to inform his Highness, and then coming back yourself, you're trusted in matters of State."
"Very well, I will contact my king, and offer my aid in the matter, thank you for informing me." N'Jadaka said, and I nodded.
Then I turned to Erik. "Erik Stevens, used to be in Spec Ops. Was known for his savagery, such to the point he was given the name Killmonger, which he wore with pride. It's an honor, to meet a fellow person with instincts. What Doom received the other day," I gestured in Doom's direction. "was me tired out of my brains, and I respect, and have, the notion of savagery within me."
"Nice, but you don't have any weapons on your person, simple skills are the sign of the weak, and that's all you have." He said, in a challenging manner.
I smirked, but he couldn't see it. "That's what you think, N'Jadaka." At his true name, he stiffened. "Don't worry, I know that you're the threat to Wakanda, but I won't attack you, not until we are out of Atlantis, Namor has you under his protection, while you are here, but for now," I pulled out my bows, and shot arrows at every pillar, hitting the center of the designs on every pillar. "Those are some of my many weapons, but you don't see them coming." I replaced my bows. "You won't see them, because I operate in the night, in the dark. And in the night, no one can see me, because the Shadows are everywhere."
As soon as I said 'Shadows' Namor jumped, and knocked out Tigershark, who was acting as his guard, standing behind Namor. All the others activated their suits, but I punched Erik before he could get his weapons out, and the force of the punch threw him into a pillar, knocking him out.
I turned to N'Jadaka, with him suited up, and I cracked my neck, then said "Give me what you got, N'Jadaka."
He charged at me, stingers out, and he aimed the point at my chest. I drew the Ebony Blade, and cut the point off before he could get a chance at hitting me. He backed down in shock, and quickly took the defensive side of the fight, letting me make the moves. I wasn't going to fall into a trap, so I sheathed my blade, then shot a web at him, hitting his legs, while taking a bow and shooting an electric arrow at Doom, who was gaining the advantage against Namor.
The webs stuck N'Jadaka to his position, and the arrow shortcircuited some of Doom's suit, letting Namor regain the advantage. I webbed N'Jadaka fully, and then said "Well, N'Jadaka, what's the move?" I pretended to not know that Erik was back in the fight, and creeping up behind me.
N'Jadaka said "Now you die, you never should have messed with the Shadow Council, it was your last mistake." My spider sense gave me the last blare, and I back flipped, landing behind Erik, who had meant to chop my head off, instead slicing air. I landed behind him, and grabbed his neck with my fingers, not needing to use my full hand to choke him.
"Look man, I'm a man on a mission for revenge as well, but I don't get it. Why are you taking it out on Wakanda? On your people? You're a prince of Wakanda, maybe not the crown prince, but they are your people. I'm sorry that I have to kill you, you're an honorable man, but I'll do what I have to." I was about to snap his neck, when I sensed Tigershark attempt to attack me. I jumped up, Erik still in my grasp, and shot a web with my free hand, at Tigershark. It hit him, and I swung him at Doom, who was about to shoot the finishing shot at Namor. Tigershark flew into Doom, making him miss the shot, and they both landed in a pillar, crashing the pillar. They both groaned, and Namor shot an energy blast from his trident at them, knocking them out. I tightened my grasp on Erik's neck, and he started frothing at his mouth. "Bye, Killmonger." I said, then snapped his neck, and dropped the body, then stepped over it, walking towards N'Jadaka. "Who made the mistake, I couldn't catch that part. Could you repeat that bit for me?" I said. The other guests were all at the sides, watching the whole thing unfold, too scared for their life to do anything.
"You." N'Jadaka insisted. "This is not all of the Council, there are more of us, and they will finish the mission, if we don't make it out, and you will be the main target."
"You really think that? N'Jadaka, you're a smart man. Tell me, who was the master planner for the Council? I can answer that, it was you, and N'Jadaka. One N'Jadaka down, one to go down in a moment." I drew the Ebony Blade out, and I was going to do the finishing move, when Doombots blasted their way in, and started attacking us. I kept my blade in my hand, using my legs to shoot webs and fight, while simply slicing the bots with my blade in my hands. I threw an EMP grenade on the floor, and all the bots went down, but my suit was made to resist such a pulse. When all the bots fell down, I could see several Doombots in the distance, carrying Tigershark, N'Jadaka, and Doom away.
I looked at Namor. "Want to let them go, or should we give chase?"
"Let's leave it for now, then we can attack as an army in few days, you, me, my lieutenants, the Wakandans, and whoever you have on this thing. They're cowering in fear, and you got a kill. Thanks for saving my life that time, by the way."
I picked up Killmonger's body, and hoisted it on my shoulder. "My first kill." I said. "I don't kill unless I must, or should, and I should have killed him, I have no regrets. And it's not a problem, that's what badass teamups are for."
"You basically did all the hard work, I just stood around, chipping in. I owe you one for Atlantis' safety, thank you."
"This is what I'm here for, I'm protecting the universe, and no person is too small for the universe, and you were distracting Doom, I needed that, or I would be overwhelmed."
"That sentiment is admirable. What now, Spider?"
I looked at the crowd, until I caught the guy from Rumlow's team. I told Namor "That guy is important, he's a SHIELD agent. I need to make sure they don't put their noses in this, then we can head to whichever team needs help."
"Fine by me." Namor said.
I walked up to the dude, and said "Tell Fury and Pierce that I said not to touch my business, they've no place in it. And HYDRA's getting their Karma soon, just you wait." At that, his finger twitched. "Stand down, both of your organizations. You won't like me when I'm angry, and this," I gestured to the body on my shoulder, "was me in a chill mood."
He nodded, and I turned around and went back to Namor, then I told him "Let's go." I made a portal to Wakanda, and we stepped through it.
Team Three
After Peter left, everyone went onto their ships, Team One on one ship, and Okoye and Whitney on The Masque's Home. A minute later, a message came from a small Wakandan ship, saying that it was T'Challa, and this was the ship that Peter had prepared for the mission. Whitney sent a confirmation in return, and they went on their way.
As they sat around, the ship automatically going the right way after Whitney inputted the coordinates given by given by Sexi, Whitney asked "I'm honestly confused, what was Peter's reasons to make us the team for this mission?"
Okoye answered "This was the least dangerous mission, and he knew you'd want to go on one of the teams, so he gave you this one. He put T'Challa on this team, because he doesn't trust T'Challa to not mess things up, probably because of how things went down the other time. And I believe he expects T'Challa to get in trouble, and for you to save him, leading to T'Challa trusting you a little more, and in extension, T'Chaka. I'm here, to keep both of you safe, and to make sure that T'Challa doesn't decide to betray you out of distrust, or anything. He doesn't like T'Challa as a person, but he respects him, and he doesn't want anyone to die."
"Except for the people that hurt us." Whitney added.
"Except for the people that hurt us." Okoye confirmed, then she added "His persona is very admirable, the idea of taking whatever you are being dished, and making it sparkly clean. I know he won't admit it, but he thinks he is failing his job by being willing to kill, something the other Peters never do. He didn't admit it, but I heard it in between the words."
"He really wormed his way into your soul, didn't he?" Whitney said.
"He did it to everyone, even the king. If it was anyone else was talking the way Peter does in front of the king, he would get angry, even if it was his own children talking to him in that manner. But when it comes to Peter, he just accepts it, and likes it, and that was honestly what surprised me the most."
"Does Peter know that's how the king feels?" Whitney asked.
"I would suppose so, Peter knows exactly where the line is, and he placed it himself. I don't know what he does, or how he does it, but it's nice."
"Yeah." Whitney lowered her mask, then after a moment she lifted it and said "We'll be there in twenty minutes, let's get ready."
"Copy that." Okoye said.
T'Challa activated the stealth on his suit, and dropped from the cloaked plane, landing more quietly than he had ever landed. It seemed that Peter had added some more than just the colors on his suit, he thought. He crept into the castle, and his HUD was giving him information it never used to, catching the single heartbeat in the castle and its rhythm, catching the signal that had just been sent from the room with the heartbeat, catching the different possible booby traps and how to avoid them, catching the integrity of the walls, its weakest points, and the fastest way to bring the room down, while staying safe, and a million other things. He didn't just update the suit, T'Challa thought, he made it a whole new thing. Ignoring the thoughts, he went to the study of the palace, where Zemo was, seemingly looking for something. T'Challa jumped out of the shadows, and jumped at Zemo, who dodged the attack, saying "Don't attack me! What do you think I've done? I've done nothing!" What Zemo said was believable, had it not been for the HUD pointing out a heartbeat missing in his rhythm, signifying a lie.
T'Challa was about to call him out on the lie, but then remembered the plan, and so he said "You're involved with The Shadow Council, and I need to take care of the threat before it rears its head." That was an ugly line, he thought, but he still charged at Zemo.
Zemo dodged again, and said "I'm not! My father was! And the Council is after the information my father left in the palace, but I must destroy it before the Council comes across it, but I don't know where it's hidden! I need your help, please! Before the Council finds the information!"
The skips in his rhythm revealed that he was lying, but T'Challa didn't call him out. He just stopped attacking, and said "How can I trust you?"
All of a sudden, something charged at Zemo, and Zemo got into a tussle against it. After a moment, Zemo got out of the tussle, and backed up. The thing said "Zemo, you have gone against the Council, and I, Kraven the Hunter, will kill you for your betrayal!"
So this was Kraven, huh. What he said was believable, had it not been for the suit already catching Kraven's heartbeat rhythm, and the skipping of a beat when he said he would kill Zemo, and at the mention of betrayal. But T'Challa wasn't supposed to know that, so he charged at Kraven, and punched him, throwing Kraven off his feet, into a wall, which he used as a springboard, and landed several feet away from T'Challa. His HUD told him that both Kraven and Zemo were super soldiers, judging from their tussle, and the punch that T'Challa landed on Kraven. It gave him their weak spots, the positions where if hit with the right amount of force, they would be incapacitated. When Kraven charged at him again, knives out, chest bare, (it was snowing here, how was this man doing that?) T'Challa slid down, passing Kraven, and hitting a pressure point while passing him. Kraven fell down, and T'Challa stood up, and looked at Zemo, and said "Guess I can trust you now." That was a lie, but Zemo didn't know that.
Zemo looked surprised for a moment, then he said "Thank you for believing me, and saving me, I couldn't have made it out if you weren't there." (Lies, T'Challa thought.)
"We both have a mutual enemy, and for now, we're working together towards the end goal of keeping the information away from the Council." T'Challa said. "Do you have an idea of where the information could be?"
"I don't know where my father's hidden base was," Lies, "But I believe it was down this hallway," Zemo gestured to a hallway to his left, "Whenever my father went down that hallway, he didn't come until several hours later."
"Then let's go that way." T'Challa said, and went first, giving the idea that he trusted Zemo.
As they went down the hallway, they reached a fork, where the hallway went two directions, and his HUD picked up a path behind the painting that was placed at the end of the original hallway, so he said "My suit is picking up something behind this painting, it's possible this is the entrance to the base." He went to the painting, and felt the sides of it, finding a switch. He activated it, and then the painting slid to the side, revealing a path. "Let's follow the path." T'Challa said, then he walked down the path, Zemo following.
They stopped at a door, which had no key, or handle, it only had the Zemo family seal, and a thin hole, which, according to his HUD, was the keyhole. He heard a sound behind him, and he turned to see Zemo unsheathing his sword. "Zemo..." T'Challa growled. This wasn't part of the plan! What was happening!?
"Don't get in a twist, I thought you trusted me, this isn't for you." He stuck the sword in the keyhole, and twisted the sword. The door started to open, and T'Challa understood. Peter hadn't told him of this, because the surprise he showed had to be real, otherwise his cover would be revealed. Peter was honestly so good, it was irritating.
Then he remembered that he had to show surprise at the sword key, so he said "How did you know that?"
"I saw the family seal, and the hole looked like my sheath, so I supposed it would be the key." Zemo responded, and the HUD didn't pick up any skips, so it was probably half-truths.
T'Challa followed Zemo into the base, and they saw a large computer, that seemed to have the information. "I have to delete the information..." Zemo said to himself, but he was lying. Now was when the action started, T'Challa thought. He dug his claws into the computer, and his suit automatically hacked the computer, and sucked the information, while deleting the original, making his copy the only copy, other than the ones probably in the Shadow Council's base. "What are you doing!" Zemo screamed at him. "That wasn't the plan!" But his heartbeat told T'Challa, that this was the plan.
"I need the information." T'Challa said honestly. "We can use it to defeat the Council." Then he realized that Zemo didn't know he knew that Zemo was a spy, and he could use that to his advantage. Zemo lunged at him, saying "I need to delete every form of the information!"
T'Challa dodged the attacks, and said "We need every single thing we can use against the Council, Zemo! This us information we can use against them!"
Then out of nowhere, Kraven blasted his way in, and attacked them. Totally coincidence, T'Challa sarcastically thought. Then he said "Take care of Kraven first, discuss the information later!"
Zemo kicked Kraven, and then said "For once, I agree with you." But that was a lie.
Together they fought Kraven, then Whitney's voice came on his comms. "T'Challa, there is an avalanche coming your way, you have T-minus two minutes to get out."
"Copy that." He said, surprised. Then he kicked Kraven, and said "Zemo, follow me!"
"My Prince, why are you telling him to follow you? You are supposed to leave him here!" Okoye said.
"I have a plan, trust me. Just get the ship ready to pick both of us up."
"If you are sure, ok." Okoye said.
T'Challa and Zemo got out, being stalled by Kraven the whole time. By the time they were able to get to the study, where Kraven had originally blasted his way in from, the avalanche was only a hundred feet away. Thinking quickly, he grabbed a whiteboard of the study's walls, then grabbed Zemo, and jumped out, using the whiteboard as a ski board. "Let down the ropes!" He screamed into his comms, sliding down all the while, with Zemo asking if he was crazy the whole time. Two ropes came down, but before he could put Zemo on it, Kraven managed to come out of nowhere, and cut the rope. Quickly, he swerved away from Kraven, while grabbing the last rope, and said "Pull it!" Immediately, the rope started pulling him up extremely fast, and before he knew it, he was on the ship.
After he was in and the ships bottom was closed, he sat down on the floor, dropping Zemo on the floor, and took a few deep breaths. He looked at Whitney, who was standing there with her mask down. She lifted her mask, and glared at T'Challa, then said "Care to explain your plan, T'Challa?"
He took off his own mask, displaying his grin, and said "Does your ship have a brig?"
She looked confused for a second, then she smirked back when she realized his plan. "Why, yes, we do, and it could use a guest." They both looked at Zemo, who gulped, and said "Why am I going to the brig? I didn't do anything!"
"We knew you were meant to be the Council's inside man all along, Zemo." T'Challa said, and he jumped at Zemo, and restrained his arms.
Zemo struggled to resist, but when he couldn't get out, he did something with his hands, and said "I've just alerted the rest of the Council that my cover was blown, and Kraven will come for you right now."
T'Challa was worried for a second, but then Sexi's voice came on "That would be a problem if I wasn't around, but I made sure the signal didn't go out. Sorry, not sorry."
T'Challa threw Zemo into one of the cells, then when he closed the door, it locked, and T'Challa said "Thanks, Sexi." Then he turned to Whitney. "Let's go back."
"You said it first." She said, then she lowered her mask, then a moment later, she lifted it again. "Our path is set."
"Let's hope the others have the same luck that we did." T'Challa said.
"I agree. Peter expected something, not even Sexi knew what it was. I hope he is ok, and Shuri's team is in danger as well." Okoye said.
"Let's not think too much about it, it's not going to do us, or them, any good." Whitney said.
Team One
Hunter, Shuri, and Tess all loaded onto their assigned ship, and after Sexi inputted the coordinates, they were on their way.
"We will arrive in an hour." Shuri announced from where she was sitting, then she added "How does Peter do this stuff, I didn't even know he assigned us a ship until Ayo told us a ship was waiting for us. Like, where does he get the time, he is literally with us the whole time, and then we all go to sleep, and when we wake up, we find out he made The Masque's Home three times bigger than it originally was, and got us all this stuff, everything prepared, has a plan in place, contingencies as well, and the headspace to think of our safety first, and his last. Like, how?"
Hunter said in a sagely voice "Karma never sleeps, he just rears his vengeful head on his targets."
Tess pointed at Hunter. "What he said. I doubt Pete really does what we consider sleep, what he considers sleep is just letting his body rest, while his mind works just as fast as usual, if not faster. And should his mind rest, it's not real rest, what with all the nightmares and everything."
"Nightmares?" Shuri asked.
"He has multiversal knowledge of his counterparts, Shuri, and as he told me, Peter Parker was meant to suffer. He said that he was made to be a person that would feel every loss, but not grieve, that as a person, he would feel loss from the bottom of his soul, but mourning was a foreign concept, one that he wished for."
"I can't imagine the life he had as a kid, in that universe." Hunter said, much to the other's surprise, but he was so immensed into what he was saying, he didn't notice. "I studied him carefully, when the wolf wanted him. I'm pretty sure he had a time like mine when I was away. A really good time, but a really bad time, he probably had family problems too, he definitely fought in gangs, or with a group of friends that didn't consider themselves strong enough to be a gang. If he could go back in time and redo the experience, he would do it willingly and happily, but if he could go back in time to before those days, he would make those days never happen. I don't know how to help him, because I don't know how to help me."
"He told you?" Tess asked.
"Yeah, before he went and got Whitney, I confronted him, and he explained everything. He also told me that he used to fanboy over me, and still does, and that's so funny, because I totally fanboy over him, so we decided to be the fanboying duo."
"You guys are so similar." Shuri said. "Both of you are self sacrificial, and you're both colonizers by blood, and something else by personality. You guys both think that others being happy means you are happy, and don't know what makes you happy. It's so nice, it's nice to a fault."
"For real." Tess said. "I couldn't get Peter to think about staying alive, until I got him to realize that him dying would ruin my life, and he practically swore on everything in the world, I don't even know one tenth of what he swore on, that he would do his best to stay alive." Tess shook her head. "It's nice till it's not."
"I want to hear what he said." Shuri said. "Sexi, can you play a recording of his oath?"
"Of course, Aunt Shuri." Sexi said, then she played the recording.
"Wow." Shuri commented. "Just, wow. Like, he clearly knows so much, he doesn't know what not to know. Like, hell? Asgard? What the fuck is Xandar? I'm just gonna ignore all the comments running through my mind, and say no comment."
"What I want to know, is what called for such a promise." Hunter said. "This is the type of promise, he wouldn't give unless the moment called for no less. So I know this is going to be hard for you to answer, but what did you tell him?"
Tess sighed. "Sexi, play the memory directly before this."