"Of course, Aunt Tess."
After listening to the recording, Hunter said "Ok, I will just say, if I wasn't already totally fanboying on him beforehand, I would totally fanboy on him listening to that."
Shuri said "For real, bro. This dude, he can be trusted to keep us safe, I don't think that, I know that. He jus made sure Whitney was safe, but it wasn't just about her being safe physically, it was mentally as well. He made sure she trusted him, before even going onto the boat. That day was crazy."
"What actually happened? Like one moment, I was worried for you guys, the next, you're back, with a new sister and ally." Tess asked.
"Sexi, you know the drill." Shuri said.
"No, I don't know which drill you want me to use." Sexi deadpanned. "But for real, I do. Here you go."
For the remaining hour, they shared their interactions of them with their brother, and by the end, they all had a way higher view of him than they had before they got into the ship, and it was already sky high beforehand.
"Ok, while this whole sitting and listening to memories wasn't real humbling and informative, we're here." Shuri said, getting up and stretching.
Both Hunter and Tess got up, and stretched, then activated their suits. "Wait, what happened to my suit?" Hunter exclaimed, surprised.
"I would guess Peter snuck it out of your grasp somehow," Tess said "and just made you a super suit, in every sense of the word."
"Karma, bro, this is crazy." Hunter said to his suit, or Peter, whoever you decided he was talking to. "Like, what? Karma isn't supposed to be good for anyone, and he just literally made sure I couldn't die, even if I tried to." Hunter shook his head, clearing the thoughts. "C'mon, let's go. He sent a message for when I activated my suit, saying that when I took charge, to inform the suit, and it would send the plane into a standby mission setting, going to hide within the distance to reach us in a second, while staying out of the grasp of the Inhumans."
"What didn't he plan for?" Shuri asked, then added "That was a rhetoric question, don't answer that."
"I doubt I could find out what he forgot, if anyone would realize what he forgot, it would be him." Hunter said.
"True, but it's go time, folks." Shuri said, then she pressed a button, opening the plane's entry and exit point. When it opened, they saw the Royal Inhuman Family, with their pitbull thing, and all, waiting for them.
"Welcome to Attilan, Princess Shuri, and welcome to your... Bodyguards as well." Medusa said, taking a second look at the 'bodyguards' as she called them.
"I thank you for the hospitable welcome under such fast notice, I apologize." Shuri said "And these are not my bodyguards, they are family in all but blood. I believe you saw our brother's incident in New York, I request you treat us as if he were here, for your sake."
Medusa looked surprised for a moment, then she nodded. "Very well then, let's head to the meeting room, I believe time is of importance to what you need, and as such, we shall not delay."
"Thank you, your Highness." Shuri said. "We are running out of time as we speak, and we must hurry."
"It's not a problem, Princess." Medusa said.
A minute later, they were all seated in the meeting room, Blackbolt, Medusa, Crystal, and Carnac representing the Inhuman side of the meeting, and with Shuri, White Wolf, and Wolf Spider representing the Wakandan side. Blackbolt nodded his permission to start the meeting.
Immediately, Shuri began. "As I had mentioned in my message to you before coming here, Wakanda is in grave danger. There is a cabal, by the name of The Shadow Council, that aims to bring the strongest countries to its knees. Their main targets are Wakanda, Atlantis, and Attilan, among others. With all due respect, before I continue with this meeting, I must assure you are truly who you say you are, and not a mimic. I will begin. I have no true powers to prove my point, just skills,and the power that is passed down our lineage, which can be mimicked. What I do have, is knowledge. Spider-Man hadn't slept for several days, while managing this war, and thinking it was only one day. We had just managed to get him to bed yesterday."
Wolf Spider stood up next. "I shall display my power next. Blackbolt, your Highness, how about you direct your voice at me?"
Everyone looked surprised at that, even Shuri, but she trusted Tess, so she didn't say anything. After a moment, Blackbolt nodded, and said "Okay." The force of his voice broke the walls behind Wolf Spider, and it had everyone else clapping their ears in pain, but Wolf Spider just stood there, unaffected.
"My brother's screams are stronger than that." Wolf Spider said casually, then she sat back down. All of the Inhumans look surprised, and in fear, of such power, but Shuri just smirked. What Tess did was good, She thought. Displaying a high amount of power before it was needed, making them already thinking of backing down, knowing they were facing strong opponents.
White Wolf stood up next. "My powers can be mimicked, so I shall share something I believe none know of, except our brother, and it's that HYDRA is still awake, and preparing to rise."
Shuri was surprised at that revelation, she didn't know that. Tess just nodded, knowing of this beforehand, from Peter. But she was surprised that Hunter knew of HYDRA.
"Very well. Blackbolt has already displayed his power, so I shall display my powers next." Medusa said after a moment of hesitation. She waved her hair around. "As you can see, I can control my hair as though it were part of my body. It is as strong as titanium, and cannot be ripped without difficulty."
Carnac stepped forward, then said "I would need someone to demonstrate my power."
White Wolf stepped up. "Why not?" He said, then took a fighting stance, much to the Inhumans surprise. He saw their surprise, and said "What, you're surprised? You think our brother didn't tell us what we were going to face when we were coming here?"
After the momentary surprise, Carnac said "Shall you attack first, or shall I?"
"I will." White Wolf said, and he attacked, but to Tess, it was clear he wasn't putting his A game in the fight. When he hit Carnac, it became apparent why. He was giving a sense of weakness, so that Carnac couldn't see the trap. Carnac stumbled several feet back from White Wolf's attack, then said "My turn."
The White Wolf nodded, and Carnac charged at him. White Wolf left his right side slightly open, and Carnac took advantage of that, much to his own regret, as immediately, an electric shock erupted from that section, knocking him out.
"Well, Karma, this suit is just awesome." White Wolf said, then he picked Carnac up, and placed him on his chair, then went back, and sat on his own chair, next to Shuri.
"What are you?" Medusa asked, surprised at such a show of power.
"Ehh, we're a lot of things really." Wolf Spider said. "But really, we're students of our brother, Spider-Man. He has taught us much of what we know, and he could possibly be the strongest person on Earth, even with all the Inhumans and Mutants. But we don't have enough time to discuss this, we have to return to the topic. Princess Crystal, you are the only one remaining to prove that you aren't being mimicked."
Crystal said nothing, but she just shapeshifted into a cheetah, and bounded towards the doors. Carnac, who had just awakened, aimed to lunge at the shapeshifter, but Tess put a hand up, telling everyone to stand down. The moment the cheetah made her way out of the room, a web fell from above, ensnaring her and preventing her escape. Everyone turned to look at Wolf Spider, and she said "My brother once told me to prepare for all possibilities. As such, I placed traps outside the room, so that should Zanda have infiltrated the meeting, she would not be able to escape." Tess walked up to the web, where the cheetah had shapeshifted into her original state, as Princess Zanda. "Well, princess, we can do two things." Wolf Spider said, bending down to be eye-to-eye with the princess. "One, you can tell me exactly where Princess Crystal is, and no one gets hurt, and we just take you back to Wakanda. Two, you don't tell at first, and I activate the interrogation system in my suit, which was designed by my brother, who is so good at interrogation, SHIELD won't dare to send agents his way, for fear of losing agents, and information being revealed. So what will it be?"
"She's in the catacombs, several feet away from what you were aiming to get." Zanda said, scared out of her life.
"Good choice." Wolf Spider said, then she webbed Zanda up even more securely, then said "Well, guess we're going to the catacombs ahead of schedule."
"No, we are not." Medusa said sternly. "First we are going back in, and you are explaining what you wish for, then we will go to the catacombs, should we accept that which you suggest. If we don't agree, you will return to Wakanda, and we will rescue our sister."
Wolf Spider and White Wolf looked at Shuri, asking for her decision. She thought for a moment, then said "We will finish this conversation after we ensure the safety of your sister, her safety is imperative in the moment, we have an hour or two before we are late."
"No, we will not allow you to be near that which you search for," Medusa said, "unless we, as Attilan, approve of giving whatever it's you're looking for to you."
"I wasn't asking." Shuri said, and immediately, a suit formed around her, made of nanobots, with a blurple and black combination, and blades and repulsors like Hunter's. Hunter's suit also upgraded, making him larger, and much more like a wolf, with more highlighted fur everywhere, and beautiful black streaks within his fur. Wolf Spider's suit immediately had vibranium knives all over her spider legs, and one of her hands had a magical shield, while the other had a vibranium shield, conforming to her purple and black colors, with her spider logo in the center.
Immediately Wolf Spider threw her vibranium shield at Medusa, while jumping in front of Shuri and Hunter, using her magical shield to defend against Blackbolt's voice, as he shouted "Treachery!" The magical shield defended all of them against the power of the voice, and the vibranium shield knocked Medusa out, while drawing some blood out of her body, then it returned to Wolf Spider. She threw it again, this time at Carnac, and he didn't look worried, he just put two of his fingers out, in the way of the shield. Once the shield made contact with his fingers, it broke, but instead of just breaking, it broke into nanobots, all of them enveloping and controlling his arm, which they used to knock him out. When he was knocked out, the bots returned to being a shield, and went to Wolf Spider.
"I think we should leave now." Hunter said. He opened his claws, and started making a hole in the ground, while Wolf Spider defended them against Blackbolt's assault. The moment a large enough hole was made, he threw Shuri in, then said "Spider, the hole is made!"
"Get in! I'm backing up slowly into the hole, you need to get in first! You won't survive his voice, and the shield is breaking down! I can survive, it'll barely hurt! Get your ass in, now!" Wolf Spider shouted at him. "That's an order! I'm not going back home, to tell Karma you sacrificed yourself! Please! Just do it! I am at the end of my shield's blast resistance, get in, now!"
Hunter jumped in, knowing he could do nothing to convince her to go in first, and that she would die, if it meant he would live. The moment he was in, Tess was thrown into the hole, and landed roughly. "Tess!" He screamed. He quickly jetted to her, and picked her up, then him and Shuri were jetting down the catacombs they found themselves in. When they were far enough, he gently put Tess down, and her mask deactivated, to reveal her closed eyes. He said "C'mon Tess, wake up! Please! I'm sorry I took so long! I won't do it again! Just wake up! I'll listen to you all you want! I can't do this! I can't let this happen! What can I tell Peter! He won't be happy ever again, Tess! Just wake up, please! For both of us! Far all of us! For me! Please! Just wake up!" He broke into sobs, and Shuri hugged him, crying quietly herself.
After several moments, Sexi said "She will be okay, I think, the concussion she received was major, but she should be fine. I'm doing whatever I can, but it may not be enough. I have just informed Peter, he just arrived in Wakanda. He is on his way to you, along with an ally. Please," Sexi's voice broke down slightly. "just, please, make sure she is ok, please."
Hunter couldn't bring himself to say something, but he nodded, and Shuri said "We will, Sexi."
The next moment, A portal opened, revealing a rage filled Peter, with something on his arm, and someone else next to him. He quickly made his way to them, dropping whatever he had in his hand down, and Hunter carefully handed her to him. He held her for a moment, then he kissed her forehead, then carefully gave her back to Hunter. "Keep her safe." He said softly. Hunter nodded, then Peter said "I don't mean just for now, I mean for good. Don't think I haven't noticed." He winked, then rage filled his face again. "Now, Blackbolt will get his ass handed to him." He jetted away.
The thing he had in his arm, was a body.
One minute ago.
Me and Namor walked into the portal, and found ourselves in Wakanda. The moment I stepped in, Sexi came running to me, tears running down her face. "Dad! Aunt Tess got hurt! She's knocked out, and could die!"
Immediately, rage filled my features, and my body. "Who did it?" I asked, venom filling my tone.
"Blackbolt." She responded. "She's fine, but she got a major concussion, she'll live, and be okay, thankfully."
I said nothing, and just made a portal. I turned to Namor, and asked "You want to come with me or not?"
"I'll come." He said.
We went through the portal, and I saw Tess, unconscious and with her mask off, in Hunter's hands, and Shuri sitting next to them. I was going to go pick her up, when I realized I still had Erik's body on my shoulders. I put it down, then went to them. Hunter handed her to me carefully, and I listened to her heartbeat carefully, listening to it slowly get back to its normal rhythm. I kissed her forehead, then carefully handed her back to Hunter. "Keep her safe." I said softly, and he nodded. Then I added "I don't mean just for now, I mean for good. Don't think I haven't noticed." I winked. I realized there was a small spark between them, and while they were on two different spectrums of the underage... age, they were both basically the same age in maturity, and I approved. Then my thoughts went to Blackbolt, and rage filled me again. "Now, Blackbolt will get his ass handed to him." I said, then jetted away at full speed, following the path Hunter and Shuri came here with, while my mask was activating. I made my way to where they made a hole on the ground, and I jumped up, to find all of the royal family there, all of them. Lockjaw was there, sniffing. Carnac was there at the ready, and so was Blackbolt, Medusa, Karnak, Gorgon, Triton, and Lockjaw.
"Where's Crystal?" I asked as my hands and arms filled with magic and weapons.
"Captured by the enemies you brought to Attilan" Medusa said, filled with spite. I looked around, and saw Zanda on the floor, covered by webs.
"Woman, I'm here to save the world. But you touched my family, who helped you, so you're getting what you asked for." Saying that, I turned into a blur to them, and knocked out Lockjaw and Gorgon.
Blackbolt shouted at me "ENOUGH!"
That hurt a little bit, let's see how he fares with my voice, controlled to the specific octaves that hurt. "ITS OVER WHEN I FUCKING SAY SO!" I screamed back, and my voice threw him off his feet, through several walls. Guess my spider was way stronger than the rest as well, or something. All of them looked at me in fear, and Medusa said "What are you?"
Oh, she just gave me the chance to use one of the best lines ever. "I am the night, I scare even the Shadows away. I am Karma, I am vengeance!"
I clapped my hands onto each other, so hard it hurt me, and burnt the gloves of my suit. But it hurt me way less than it hurt Triton, who I was aiming the blast at. He was blasted off his feet by the force, and hit the wall, and slumped to the floor, knocked out.
Karnak jumped at me, trying to make use of the weaknesses I left open for him. He hit my stomach, where there was a rip on my suit, from when, I don't even know. When he hit my skin, he couldn't get off, and I tapped him hard on the head, knocking him out. I bent down, and injected some of his blood into me, to fulfill my promise to Tess, and stood up.
I turned to Medusa. "Since you were the one doing all the talking for the Inhumans, I think we can talk, right?"
"Why?" She asked, aghast.
"Why what? I said, setting her up for a big shouting match with me.
" Why did you do this! What makes us deserving of this punishment!? You say you don't want to control the world, but you have Wakanda under your fingers, and Atlantis too, judging from Namor being here! What do you want!? Why did you do this!?"
"Your king," I spat out in anger "nearly killed my sister! My daughter came to me, crying, telling me her aunt was hurt, and could have died! No one touches my family! That's why! Because you touched my family! No one touches my family, comes out living, and does it again! That clear!?"
The whole time I was inching closer, enraged, by the time I asked her if it was clear, I was right in her face. She nodded, scared for her life, but surprisingly, her eyes had a bit of understanding. She started talking "I don't know where my own sister is, or if she is ok. When I found out that the person I thought was Crystal was actually not, her behavior for the past few days was explained. And all I could think was if she was ok, and how your people were the ones who brought the enemy here. I apologize for starting the fight, and for your sister's injury."
As soon as she mentioned Crystal, I relaxed, all the rage leaving my body, realizing that the only reason Tess got hurt was because Medusa was in the same situation as me. I turned around, and said "C'mon, we'll find her. But don't expect me to be nice with your king, he didn't need to scream that loud at her, I could vaguely hear it from Wakanda."
"You're going to be nice to her, even though she is the reason your sister got hurt?" Namor asked from where he was watching.
"I won't get mad at her for doing something I might have done myself, had I not known the full story." I said, then listened carefully into the hole, searching for any lone heartbeats. I did, so I straightened, and said "Found her. You want to come, or should I just get her and come back?" I asked Medusa.
"I will come, I don't want her to be worried, or distrustful of you, then she won't come. But she had been going crazy about you before this all happened, so she probably will trust you. But I'm still coming." Medusa said.
I nodded, then offered my hand. "Do you wish to come with me, or do you want me to go ahead? Her heartbeat is getting slower and slower due to exhaustion, she will pass out in five minutes."
"Go ahead, but give me a path to use."
"I'll drop paint on my path." I said, taking out a paint canister, then webbed myself into the hole, running the way, the can spraying all the while.
Several seconds later, I got to where her heartbeat was. There was a large rock, which I removed with ease. I saw a girl laying down, about nineteen years old, and she looked like she had been starved. "She starved you, didn't she?" I said as I deactivated my mask as a sign of trust, then I dug into my suit, and got out a bar made for me, filled with energy, nutrients, and stuff, for my metabolism. I unwrapped it, then got inside, and handed her the bar. She tried to grab it, but she didn't have enough energy to grab the bar. "Damn, how are you still alive? I've only been that hungry once, but I wanted to be that hungry. Here, let me feed you."
Carefully, I placed the tip of the bar in her mouth, and she bit into it. Because of the saturation, she immediately got a whole lot of energy, and she struggled to get up. "Not yet, Diamond. Drink some water first." I said, then I got out the water straw from my suit, and wiped it with a napkin. "Before you worry about it, it's not filtered pee, or something. I keep that water tank for emergency services only, and while this is an emergency, it's not that type of emergency, and there's this water." I put the straw to her mouth, and gently closed her mouth around it, making it easier for her. She took a deep sip, and before she could take another, I pulled the straw away, and she looked at me, with a betrayed expression. "Don't look at me like that, Diamond. I know how it works, and it's way better to take a small bite, then a small sip, then a small bite, then a small sip, and so on. Here, take your bite." I put the bar in her mouth, and she took a bite again. I gave her another sip, and after that, I said "You think you can sit up, Diamond? Or do you want to stay lying down?"
"Diamond?" She struggled to ask.
I shrugged as I gave her another bite, with her still lying down. "Well, I could call you Terrigen, but honestly while Terrigen is much more useful, Diamond looks way better."
"Nickname.. Not... Diamond..." She said with too much difficulty.
"Ok, we're not letting you talk anymore, not until you're at least half done with the bar. Here, take a sip. But if you can't want me to call you Diamond and you just want Crystal, then Crystal it is. Take another bite."
"Ground... Hard..." She said after taking her bite.
I placed her head on my lap. "Don't talk again, unless you need something, ok, Crystal?" She shook her head, and I sighed. "Women in this world, good lord. They're so stubborn. Take another sip, then tell me the oh so important thing you wanted to tell me, that totally mattered to your current state." I rolled my eyes, and she smiled.
After taking her sip, she said "You.. Didn't.. Let.. Finish.."
"Ok, I'm sorry I didn't let you finish what you were saying, but you need another bite and sip before you can talk again. After that, you can tell me what you wanted to say. Good job by the way," I said, giving her her bite of the bar. "your last sentence had much less pauses than last time."
Her face glowed at the praise, and I smiled, then gave her a sip. "Nickname.. Not.. Diamond.. But.. Like.. You.. Calling.. Diamond.." She said, then stopped talking, as it was too hard for her to continue, and the message was sent.
"If you like Diamond, then I'll call you Diamond, Diamond. Now take a bite, and unless it's something actually important, don't talk until you're done with the bar." She nodded, and I rolled my eyes good naturedly. "Calling you Diamond could not at all have been delayed until you were replenished enough to talk without difficulty, huh, Diamond?" She nodded her head vigorously, and I gave a light laugh. "What has my life come to?" I asked myself.
She took a sip, then said "Not.. Just.. Bill'naire.. An'more.."
"Nope," I said, giving her a bite, "Not just the youngest billionaire anymore, never was, really, if you think about it." I shook my head, then gave her a sip. "But that's a story for when you're better, and not for now, it's for later, some other day I come to Attilan. For now, we're focusing on closing your vocal cords, and opening your esophagus instead." I tapped her on the forehead, and she gave a soundless laugh. "That's the idea. Now, take a bite."
We spent the next few minutes with me feeding her, when Medusa and Namor came, out of breath. "How long did it take you to get here, Spider?" Namor asked.
I gave Crystal a bite of the bar, while looking confused. She returned the expression, and I shrugged. "It took me like thirty seconds, why?"
"We have been running for the past fifteen minutes, that's why." Medusa said sharply. Then she looked at Crystal, who I had just given a sip of water, and softened her voice. "We were running our fastest, for the past fifteen minutes, and I was worried, because I was unsure how much faster than us you were, and you said she would lose consciousness in five minutes, I was worried."
I gave Crystal a bite, then looked at Medusa, and said "I got here in time. I didn't go my fastest, that would be too dangerous. I have never even pushed myself to my limits, interestingly. But I know the dangers of doing it in a space like this." I looked at Crystal, and gave her a sip. "You think you can get up now, Diamond?" She shook her head.
"Diamond?" Medusa asked.
I laughed, and gave Crystal a bite. "Like younger sister, like older sister, huh?" Crystal rolled her eyes, then opened her mouth to speak, but I placed my finger on her lips. "Nu-uh, we made a deal, Diamond. You lie down there, and continue to eat and drink, while I talk to them, and explain." I turned to face Medusa. "So you see, I'm the type of guy who just gives nicknames, to those he thinks he should give a nickname to. So when I came here, I just called her Diamond, out of some sort of reflex, and me and her kicked it off, and had a discussion about me calling her Diamond even though her nickname was Crystal, but that she liked the way I called her Diamond." I gave Crystal a bite. "So, there it is, Diamond. Explains?"
"Well, yes, I guess so, but it doesn't explain why she is laying in your lap." Namor said.
"Shut up, Aquaman. Wait, how'd Aquaman land on my mouth? Anyways Aquaman, she been on this rocky floor for a while now, so she was tired of the rock, and said so, in her own starved way. So her head is on my lap. Crystal clear, right?" I winked at Crystal at the pun, and she looked torn between cringing, glaring, or smiling at the pun, and settled with all three. I smirked, and gave her a sip. "One more bite, and one more sip, then you're done, Diamond. I gave you a bar meant for someone with a super metabolism, and you just finished it. You sure you can't get up, or is it just enjoying your pillow, huh, Diamond?" I said teasingly.
She blushed, and was going to get up, when I said "Hey hey, Diamond, what are you doing? You don't need to get up, I was just teasing."
She laid her head back down, and I gave her the last bite in her hands, which she looked at, frowning, then she shrugged, and put it in her mouth. Then she took the last sip, and said "Phew, finally. That wasn't cool, y'know. Letting me say something, then using that to tell me I had to shut up till I was done. But thanks. I won't need to eat for like the next two days, that's how much it was. How long does that last you?"
"You have to admit, Diamond, that was a pretty good deal. And if I'm just waiting till my stomach empties again, then I take another one, it'll last about forty minutes. But if I want to just survive on that one bar, I've done four days, no problem."
"And exactly how long ago was this test of yours? I have a feeling listening to your tone, that you're still on this streak." She said accusingly.
"Ah, well, you see, my sister is in trouble-"
"I call bullshit." Crystal said immediately.
"It's not!" I exclaimed "I'm a lot of bad stuff, but I won't lie for no reason. Ask Medusa, or Namor, they'll tell you, I'm telling you the truth."
"He's speaking the truth." Medusa confirmed. "Blackbolt injured his sister, and he came and kicked our collective asses, everyone is still knocked out."
"Wait, so you're telling me, he defeated Blackbolt, Gorgon, Karnak, Lockjaw, and Triton, while on an energy bar he had days ago?"
"You could just ask me, you know." I said.
"Then answer the question, Pete." She shot back.
"I guess?" I shrugged weakly. "I don't even know what day it really is, that's how busy I've been working to take the Council down. But it has been at least four days, I'll figure out later, after I make sure Tess is all right. Can you get up, Diamond? Sorry."
She got up immediately. "It's all good, take care of your sister. But how are you still alive?"
I stood up. "I don't know, not really. I just fought three badass dudes that could probably kill me, and killed one of them, before coming here, and fighting again. But how exactly I'm alive, is a question never to be answered, it's one of the many things in this universe, that I will probably never know." I made a portal, and turned to the rest. "Want to come?" I asked them. They all nodded, so I made the portal bigger.
We all stepped through, and we found Tess still laying in Hunter's arms, just waking up, judging from her heartbeat. I walked up to them, and the portal closed behind us. I squatted in front of Hunter, and gently combed Tess's hair. She opened her eyes, and said "Pete? Hunter, when did Pete come? Where am I?"
Hunter looked at me, wanting me to answer, so I said "Hey Tess. You got hurt fighting Blackbolt, and you were knocked out. You got a concussion, and Hunter got you and Shuri out of there." Hunter looked like he wanted to contradict, so I said "Don't contradict Karma himself, Wolf, it's not safe. You were just here, with both of them, when I came from my mission. And as they say, the rest is history."
Tess glared at me, and I gulped "Yeah, cuz you beating the shit outta the Royal family is going into the history books." She said, then rolled her eyes.
"It will go into the history books!" I exclaimed sharply, then added "Hey, please don't glare at me like that, none of them are dead."
"While there is no need to glare at him for the whole beating the shit out of my family thing," Crystal said, coming up to us. Oh no, she was going to talk about my food "You can glare at him for not eating anything for, as he says, 'the last four days, possibly longer, he doesn't know what day, or time, it is.'"
Tess looked at Crystal, then glared at me, and said "What the actual fuck Peter? You last ate on Thursday? It's actually Wednesday now, you haven't eaten for nearly a week."
I groaned, then turned my head to look at Crystal. "Why, Diamond?" I cried out. "Now I'm about to get a lecture from my baby sister, and I just went to Atlantis, and fought Doom there, and that honestly was less scary then what I'm about to get now."
"You fought Doom again!?" Shuri, Tess, Hunter, and Crystal asked at the same time.
"Yeah, unfortunately, my focus had to be on the two N'Jadakas, so he's still alive. But that's N'Jadaka Jr., right there." I gestured at the body.
"You killed him," Shuri said "well done. I know it's weird to think I'm about to congratulate you on your first kill, but congrats anyways, Dude. Knew you had it in you, Okoye will be happy to see you with that on your shoulder."
I nodded gravely. "I didn't want to kill him, he was a respectable man. A savage killer, and his teardrops cover his body. He was a good man, or could have been, had he not lost his father in the fashion that he did."
"Just say it, Peter. It was my father's fault, and we all know it." Shuri said.
"Ah, just forget about the morbid shit." Tess said from where she still was in Hunter's arms. Did she even realize? "We still got to finish the mission, unless Peter finished it. And Pete," her mouth turned up in a smirk. "What's this I think I heard about a Diamond?"
I groaned, then realized I could turn this on her. "Says the person laying on- you know what, I'll let you figure out where you are."
She took notice of her surroundings for the first time, and when she realized where she was, she groaned "I was getting comfortable, why, Pete?"
She made a move to get up, but I put my hands on her shoulders, then gently pushed her back into his arms. "You're fine where you are, Tess. At least with me, I don't know about Aunt May and Uncle Ben." I turned to face Shuri, and smirked. "But we're never going to stop teasing them, right, Shuri?"
"Of course not!" She exclaimed, aghast at the idea of not teasing them. She hugged Hunter from behind, and said "I'm so happy for you two! When's the kids coming?"
They both groaned, and I gave Shuri a fist, which she eagerly bumped. "What do you say, Sexi, to Uncle Hunter? Will you give him the shovel talk or not?"
"No, I don't think so." Shuri said teasingly "But should the need arise, I will."
"Ok, now get up, y'all. We still need to get the piece, and we're running out of time." I said, getting up, and slinging the body over my shoulder.
Everyone got up, and I turned to face Medusa. "Your highness, I will be honest. I'm done, and I'm tired. Not the type of tired where you need a bed to sleep on, the type of tired where you just don't want to waste your time. So can we just make this easier, and not have you get in the way while I get the piece?"
"Of course, but I must ask, what is the piece?" Medusa asked.
"It's the thing the late Wakandan king, T'Chanda, gave you. I need it, to get something else, that we need to win the war without problems." I said briefly.
She nodded, and they all followed me, till we got to the doors. I nodded at Shuri, while holding the door meant for the Inhumans, making it glow, much to their surprise. They all looked at me in questioning, and I shrugged, and said in explanation "Karnak. I'm keeping my promise to Tess."
Both Shuri and Tess nodded at that, and Shuri grabbed the other handle, making it glow as well. We both opened the doors, and I went forward, and grabbed the last piece of the key.
"And so," I said in mock seriousness, "our first clashes against the Shadow Council have come to fruition." We all laughed, and I turned to face them, and said "But seriously, all mock seriousness aside, we did it y'all. Let's go back to Wakanda, and give each other a hearty pat on the back, then we finish this off for good."
All of a sudden, we were surrounded by the Royal family of Inhumans, not including Medusa and Crystal, who were with us. Immediately I pressed a button, and everyone was suited up, armed to the tooth, ready to fight. I growled, putting my wolf powers to use, and almost instantly, Lockjaw whimpered in fear, and started backing up.
"What's wrong, Blackbolt?" I growled out. "Can't believe that my voice is even stronger than yours? Or do you want another demonstration? I didn't kick your ass hard enough for hurting my sister, perhaps you can do me a favor, and I kick your ass hard."
"Blackbolt, don't!" Medusa said. "My love, please don't fight him, he will defeat you, and hurt you, please don't."
Blackbolt looked at her, then shook his head. He turned to face me, and I stepped forward one step, and deactivated my mask, revealing my face. "You sure?" I asked, feeling pity for him. "You sure you want to face me? I was chosen, Blackbolt. I was chosen to be the protector of the multiverse. I have knowledge of Terrigen. I have knowledge on how to counteract its effect. I won't take my grudge against you out on your people, but I won't hesitate to undo your Terrigenesis. I could kill you, even without doing that. So I will ask you again, are you sure you want to face me?" He nodded, and I deactivated my full suit, revealing my full body, in nothing but my boxers. I wanted to have a fair fight, man to man. And I knew that if I fought him, I would have to fight the rest, and while they were not truly threats, I knew better than to underestimate them.
"Peter, don't, please." Crystal said, grabbing my arm. "What happens if he hurts you, the way he did to your sister, I couldn't even get her name. I know you think you have to do this, he hurt your sister, I'd do the same if someone hurt Medusa, but you don't have enough energy. Please, Peter. I just got to meet you, who will call me Diamond if he hurts you for good? Please, Peter, don't. I don't want to see you get hurt, you're such a nice man, I only just got to meet you."
I heard Tess whisper to Shuri "The romance is strong with this one." Wow, she just used a Star Wars statement, bruh.
I looked at Crystal, and said "I have to, Diamond, I'm sorry. This isn't about who has a bigger dick, or voice, not for me. For me, it's the knowledge of a possible future, that I'm doing this. I need to make sure that when the future is revealed by Ulysses, that the Second Civil War between the superhumans doesn't happen. I know you don't know what I'm talking about, but neither does everyone else. I'm the only one who knows, and as such, I take the burden of making sure the bad things don't happen. I know I will beat Blackbolt, it's not a matter of whether or not I beat him, it's only how long it takes." I turned to Medusa. "I won't kill your man, or undo his Terrigenesis, or hurt him permanently. Is that ok with you?"
"Can you not hurt him at all?" She asked, then said "We both know the answer to the question, don't we?"
I nodded regretfully. "I'd rather I didn't have to, but yes, he will have a broken bone or two."
I gently removed Crystal's hand from my arm, and stepped forward again. I cracked my neck, then took a slight breath. "Ready?" I asked Blackbolt.
He nodded, and took a deep breath, then said "You attacked Attilan, without reason, seeking war, and a war you will get." He lunged at me, and I dodged the attack, staying right out of the way, while scratching his side with my claws. He grunted in pain, and jumped back, staying out of my reach. "I! Will! Show! You! Pain!" He shouted, louder than what he did before, but it didn't hurt that much.
I tensed all my muscles, and said back "You can't hurt me!" I used an almost quiet voice, the type that would only be used in a pindrop silence, that can go across the room. "I've been to hell and back, lost loved ones, gone through every single form of pain imaginable, seen wars begin, seen wars end!" My voice started to rise, while I walked towards him menacingly. "I've fought at the end of time, and at the beginning! I've fought enemies, and I've fought friends! You know what I've learned through all that, Blackbolt? I've learned that family, is an irreplaceable thing. One person in your family dies, and that space is never filled again. Someone can fill a similar position, but it's not the same."
He finally found his voice, and shouted "WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT LOSING FAMILY!?" The force of his voice threw me off my feet, and I landed on the wall, and heard Crystal scream "Peter!" While Tess's and everyone else's heartbeats rose. Blackbolt continued his onslaught. "I WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THE DEATHS OF MY PARENTS! MY VOICE KILLED THEM! YOU DON'T KNOW HOW IT FEELS! YOU'RE JUST A CHILD! I WILL KILL YOU!"
"Blackbolt, no!" Crystal screamed, and started running towards us. "Diamond, stay away!" I shouted at her, while dodging a scream from Blackbolt. "I can't keep you safe if you're too close, I got this!" I kicked Blackbolt, and he tumbled across the room.
"Blackbolt, there is nothing I don't know about pain. I've been ripped from my family! I've been responsible for my parents death! For so many deaths! You don't even know! I couldn't count it, if I tried! You want me to scream, I'll scream!" I released my voice, creating focussed sonar blasts, and throwing Blackbolt from where he was standing, into the wall. He slumped to the floor, knocked out, and with a clearly broken leg, from when he hit the wall.
Gorgon lunged at me immediately, and I merely slid under him, and hit him on the stomach, courtesy of my new powers from Karnak. I turned to Lockjaw, and growled in warning, and he shrunk into himself. "Good boy." I said, patting his head. Triton ran at me, and I merely created a portal at the last moment, making him go through, and hitting a wall on the other side, knocking him out.
I stood up from where I was, next to Lockjaw, and faced Karnak. "You're really easy to trick, you know." I said.
"That won't happen again, you can use the same trick of showing fake weaknesses only so many times." He said, walking towards me, in a ready stance.
"Oh, that wasn't my plan." I said "Look where you're standing, and you'll know what I was thinking."
He looked down, and saw a portal forming underneath him, he fell in, and the other end of the portal was directly above the original portal, making him to continue falling. After thirty seconds, I closed the portal, and he fell on the floor, knocked out.
I reactivated my suit, and walked up to Blackbolt, he was just waking up. I kicked him on his broken leg, and he cried out in pain. "There a problem, Blackbolt?" I asked, and he shook his head. I grabbed him, and brought his face to mine. "I don't want a half assed shaking of your head, idiot. I want a resounding no, one that can makes the army men cowering in fear. Tell me, is there a problem?"
"No." He said.
"We clear here?" I asked.
"Yes." He said. I let him go, then I put my hand to his leg, and used my magic to heal it. He looked at me in surprise, and I said "You would have gotten only my nice side if you didn't hurt my sister, Blackbolt. I truly respect you, and I think you made a grave mistake today, one I'm giving you a chance to fix. Attilan will not be exposed to the world, and it will be safe, and under my protection against attacks from space, same as the rest of the world. I will come every now and then, and while I don't want hospitality, I want an assurance that you won't put your nose in my business, unless I ask for your assistance. I want to be able to see Diamond every now and then, and I want her to visit me every now and then as well, should she want. The Royal Family of Inhumans knows my identity, and I want to know that it won't be revealed to the world by them. I think that's all I need, right?"
He said "We will conform to your wishes, and should you need Attilan's assistance, we will give it. And while I know I am in no position to make demands, I request you don't reveal how to undo Terrigenesis, or attack Attilan."
"I was never planning on using my knowledge of Terrigen. I could, and would, if there were true reason to doing so. I can't promise that I won't attack Attilan, I can only promise that I won't attack without reason. I may have to attack Attilan, should Civil War II still happen, or should you be under mind control, among other possible reasons."
" Very well then, I know I can't get any better from you." He said, and I gave him my hand, as a lift. He accepted, and stood up. "To a profitable relationship?" He asked, offering his hand for a handshake, once he was standing up.
"To a profitable relationship." I confirmed, and shook his hand. We released, and I turned around, to not see anything, just some blond hair in my face ,someone was hugging me. "Diamond?" I asked, Tess was still next to Hunter and Shuri.
"No, it's Terrigen." She said, then she parted from me, and looked me in the eye. "We're going to get you a whole lot of food, enough to be considered a feast for a hundred people, and you'll eat it all. Got that?"
I gulped, then thought about saying no, but decided that would be detrimental to my safety, so I nodded my head.
"What happened to the man who said I don't want a half assed nod, or shake of the head?" Tess asked.
"He hid himself." I said, half joking, and half serious. "He only reveals himself when his family is in danger, and only then does he reveal himself. At other times, he talks to his family, using the name Peter, being a caring person, one with a heart of gold. Once his family gets hurt, he rears his head, and becomes Karma, the man out for vengeance, the night, the one who scares even the shadows away, and makes them rethink their plans. He hurts, he demands words, not expressions, he reveals his claws, he kills. He becomes one with a heart of vibranium." I sobered fully, then said "I think that was the most correct description I gave for myself, of the monster, of the menace that I am." I closed my eyes solemnly, and reopened them, sorrow and guilt filling them.I turned to Medusa. "I apologize, your Highness, for the display of strength."
She shook her head, then said "Both of you asked to have it, and clearly, when you two have your mind set on something, it will happen. There was nothing that could be done to stop what happened, but you just made sure no one got any lasting injuries, thank you." I nodded, and then Medusa turned to Crystal, a smirk on Medusa's face. "I believe we sisters have a type, right, Crystal? Men who are kings in their own right, that don't think anyone is too small for them, that have super strong voices, and-"
"Medusa!" Crystal said, then she said "What's wrong with you, what were you going to say next?"
"Y'know, forget what she was going to say next, I'm really confused about something." I said. "This question is for you, Medusa, and if you feel you don't want to answer, I understand." She nodded, and I said "So, this question is super awkward, but it's one of the few mysteries of life I have not understood. Like, how do you and The King," I gestured in Blackbolt's direction, "have sex? Like if he makes a sound, he could possibly kill you."
Tess and Shuri were giggling at the awkward way I said it, and I said to them "Hey, I'm serious! Like I couldn't imagine. I even made something to control my voice," I dug into my suit and displayed the item, "for when I sleep, so when I wake up to my nightmares, I don't kill anyone with my voice."
Medusa cleared her throat. "With all honesty, it's something me and the king have had many a discussion about. I will tell the truth, we have never had sex, due to what you have said, Peter. The King is not willing to risk my life, and I respect that."
I turned to face Blackbolt, and threw him the device. He caught it, and I said "C'mon, put it on, I never used this one before, so don't worry, and talk to us. My voice, when focused and at its highest volume, is at least ten times stronger than your voice, and the device could take the power."
He put it in his mouth, and the device automatically placed itself in the right place in his mouth, making his mouth feel as though there were nothing in his mouth. He took a deep breath, and said "Can you hear me?"
"Working well, Boltagon." He jerked in surprise at the name, and I waved a hand and said "Don't worry about how I know your last name, just go to your quarters, and show your queen a good time." He blushed at that, and was about to say something, when I said "Nu-uh, don't try telling me you weren't thinking about it, or that you weren't totally getting hard down there, just go, and have fun."
"Thank you." He said honestly, and I nodded. He wordlessly offered his arm to Medusa (he would need to grow that habit off) and she took his arm, and they left, Medusa telling Crystal she could leave Attilan with us for the next few days.
As soon as they left, I started cackling, and the others joined in. "Oh my god, I can't believe I just did that." I said in between laughs. "You're going to stay with us for the next week, or so, Diamond. Don't want you coming back, and walking into the kitchen to get a snack, only to find your sister bent over the countertop." I imploded at that, and the others joined in. "Now," I said finally calming down, "I don't know about y'all, but I got super hearing, and I don't need to hear anything I don't want to hear, so let's get out of here." I picked Erik's body up, and made a portal to the ship, and we all walked through the portal. I set the coordinates to Wakanda, and we were on our way.
Forty minutes later, we were at Wakanda, and we made our way to the Great Hall, N'Jadaka's body still on my shoulder. We entered, to find Team Three and T'Chaka sitting there, waiting for us. When we entered, they all looked at us, and I wordlessly placed Erik's body at T'Chaka's feet. "That's how you do it." I said. "You don't leave a body with your marks for the son to find, nothing to say it was you, rather than someone else. But there were witnesses, and I wanted it that way. One of the major leaders of the Council has fallen, but another has risen."
"Who is he?" T'Challa asked.
"Doom, he joined the council, that is what I and been suspecting might happen. But before I tell of what happened to me, Team One will debrief, then I will, then Team Three." They all nodded, and I inwardly smirked. I had a test placed for T'Challa, so I placed him for the last, wanting to see his intelligence, and how good of a leader he was, or could be.
Team One and my team, which now consisted of me and Namor, debriefed, and we skipped anything we thought not important to the mission debrief. I didn't give the details of how I talked to N'Jadaka while holding him in my hand. Thankfully, Namor didn't call me out on it, knowing that this wasn't the place to speak of it.
After I finished, Okoye said "You let them go, didn't you? Why, did you just not want to kill more than one person, or what? I am honestly surprised that all the Councilmen that were at Atlantis aren't dead, and I believe you had a reason for that."
I smirked. "You're right, I could have thrown the EMP grenade before, but I chose not to." I pressed a button, and the globe in the room displayed three red dots somewhere near Australia. "I placed trackers on them, I wasn't about to defeat them, without first having taken out their base as well, I may have had all the leaders in my grasp, but I didn't have all the plans."
Okoye nodded, and said "Good, I was worried that you were getting soft, but I didn't believe it."
I smirked. "It'll take more than that to make me soft. But now that we are done, Team Three is up."
I looked at them expectantly, and T'Challa stepped forward. "All went according to plan, Kraven was the second Councilman. The only major change was," let's see how good he is. "I had realized that Zemo hadn't known that we were aware of his future betrayal," I smirked at that, he did well. "so we took advantage of that, and brought him onto the Masque's Home, and placed him on the brig, where he currently is." The whole time he was talking, he was looking down, and when he finished, he looked at me, and saw my smirk.
I picked up Erik's body. "Good job, T'Challa. You passed the test." And I started walking towards the door.
I heard him mutter to himself "That was a test!? Of course it was a test, he can't forget anything. But what was the test?"
I decided to boost his ego slightly, with an honest statement. "The test was to see if you were going to be as good as the other T'Challas, or better. Now if you'll excuse me, I have an interrogation to go to." I turned to the king. "Erik will have an honorable burial, prepare the grave, I just need to use the body to intimidate Zemo." T'Chaka nodded, and I walked out the doors.
I walked to the Masque's home, and went to Zemo's cell, where he was sulking. I opened the door, and he didn't even bother to acknowledge my presence, until I placed Erik's body in front of him. He looked up, fear clouding his features, saying "Don't kill me! If you were able to kill him, I will not be a match for you! What are you!"
"I'm Karma. Now, can you tell me what I want to know, or will I make it so you will be forced to tell me what I want to know?"
"I'll tell you." He said.