The Age of Marvels: Chapter Fourteen

Captain America

and the

Invaders

Part Fourteen

During the darkest days of World War II, America stood united against the threat of the Nazi Germany war machine. Our Greatest Generation sacrificed everything in order to stem the forces of oppression from overrunning our very planet, led under the fearless banner of the greatest warrior of our time, Captain America. Inspired by his courageous example, and with the aid of his misfit band of Invaders, Captain America led the forces of freedom to victory, changing his world forever.

October, 2000

New Jersey

The home of Mr. Barnes

"Well, it sounds like you passed that test with flying colors!" Colonel Fury chuckled, leaning back on the couch. "Your teamwork was flawless."

"I guess we diddo a pretty swell job, didn't we?" the old man agreed, matching the Colonel's smile. "But as you know, Morocco was just a warm up. The real mission lay deep in the heart of Africa."

Fury finished his thought for him, "Wakanda."

Mr. Barnes nodded, "As far as we knew, the mission was just one big question mark. We knew next to nothingabout the Wakandans, their country, or their culture. But it was vitalto the war effort for us to recruit the Black Panther. After all, there were only the four of us on the Invaders, and another team member who had experience in battle could dramatically improve our odds. Remember, the Red Skull still possessed detailed information concerning our plans for the D-Day invasion, so the Invaders were the only chance we had."

"You were our wild card," Fury commented, thoughtfully.

Barnes nodded, "That's right. So even though we were walking into the unknown, the Black Panther was needed...and we were desperate."

May, 1944

Just outside Wakanda, Africa

Gazing outside the modified B-25's tiny bomb bay windows, James Barnes could see the African savannah stretching out to the horizon in all directions. Occasionally dotted with wiry trees and rocky outcroppings, it had become a mostly unentertaining flight. Oh sure, there were the roaming herds of elephants, gazelle, and giraffes meandering through the countryside, and James had been quite elated to catch his first sights of these most exotic animals, but after a while they had simply become a part of the scenery, and while he still watched them with interest as he flew by overhead, he had stopped pestering his teammates about them after Namor had threatened to punch him through the wall.

"How much longer until we get there?" whined James for the umpteenth time. "I'm tired of bouncing around back here. Can't we get some air?"

"If you continue whining in this juvenile manner, I'll make sure you have all the air you need," Namor growled, motioning out the window.

"We do have to fly over an entire continent, James," Steve said, entering the bomb bay. "But to answer your question, we should be entering Wakandan airspace within the next five minutes."

Thatcaught the attention of everyone on the team. Even Logan, who had been sitting quietly in the corner of the bay with his eyes closed and his legs crossed (he called it 'meditating') perked up at the mention of their destination. Noticing this, Steve wished he had better news for them.

"Now as you know, we have next to zeroknowledge about Wakanda. What we do know paints a veryintimidating picture," Steve continued, undaunted by the mission ahead. "We know that this country has neverbeen successfully invaded in its entire history, we know that it is probably the only place on Earth where the impossibly durable metal, vibranium, can be found. We know that its technology is generationsahead of any other country on the planet, and that it supposedly enjoys a utopian society. And lastly, that it is led by their warrior king, the Black Panther. Our goal is to make contact with this Black Panther, and convince him to join the Invaders for our attack on Normandy in less than a month. Any questions?"

Logan politely raised his hand, "Is it true that your shield contains traces of vibranium, sempai? And if so, how is this possible?"

Steve unslung his star spangled, triangular shield from his back, and held it over his arm in full view of the team, "I was told that this shield was specifically developed by Dr. Erskine before his death for use by the super soldiers they were supposed to train. Since I was the only successful recruit, it was entrusted to me."

Steve gave the shield a quick forward thrust before he continued, "It was constructed with a blend of steel, titanium, and vibranium, the rarest metal in the world, making this one of a kind weapon virtually indestructible. I wasn't given any details on how Dr. Erskine acquired the vibranium, but I got the impression that it was through peaceful means."

"Then we will want to watch our step," Logan replied, standing to his full height. "For if these Wakandans do not prove sympathetic to our cause, and they possess an armory of one of a kind, indestructible weapons, then this may well be the last trip we ever take."

Silence reigned inside the bomber as Logan's words sunk in.

"Do you have a plan, Captain?" Namor asked, his voice knifing through the still air. "What is your strategy for convincing this Black Panther to join us?"

"Actually...I have noplan," confessed Steve, with an uncharacteristicly sheepish grin on his face.

"What?" exclaimed James, thunderstruck. "We're flying into one of the most dangerousplaces in the world and you don't have anykind of a plan?"

Steve put his hand on his friend's shoulder, "We're not attackingWakanda, James. This is essentially a diplomaticmission. Yes, this is a dangerous situation, but our enemies are the Nazis, not the Wakandans. If we present our case to the Panther in a civilized, honest, straightforward manner, then surelywe can come to some sort of a mutually beneficial agreement...right?"

Namor shook his head disdainfully, "Clearly, Rogers, this is your first foray into the world of politics."

Steve was about to ask what the Atlantean King meant, but was interrupted by the pilot, "We are entering Wakandan airspace...now."

Despite themselves, the Invaders packed against the several small windows in the bay. They didn't know what they expected to see, but they were somewhat disappointed that the same savannah stretched out before them as always. Maybe now it boasted a few more trees and rocks than previously, but it still wasn't much to look at.

"...Well, we're good so far," James said with a sigh of relief. "Maybe these Wakandans are all hype. ...Whereare we going now?"

Steve answered without taking his eyes from the window, "Since there are no maps of Wakanda, I instructed the pilot to just keep flying until he sees a village. He'll drop us off outside the village and we'll make contact on our own. We'll seem less threatening that wa-"

Suddenly the bomber was rocked by a massive explosion. The Invaders were tossed from their feet as the aircraft began to list to the right, its engines emitting a high pitched buzzing sound that couldn't have indicated anything good. Fighting back panic, the team struggled to hold on to anything that offered a good handhold.

"Pilot, what's our status?" Steve called out, trying to make his way back to the cockpit.

"We're going down, Captain!" the pilot replied, his voice hoarse with fear. "I don't know what hit us, sir! I didn't see a thing!"

"Can you get us down alive, soldier?" asked Steve, gripping the door.

"I-I don't know!" the pilot admitted, sweating as he tried to level the plane. "I'm doing the best I can but...aaagh!"

The B-25 was dead in the air, spinning rapidly as it dropped out of the sky at an alarming rate. Smoke poured from its propeller engines as the occupants inside braced for impact. In a desperate move, the Sub-Mariner burst through the bomb bay doors and began to fly adjacent the craft, matching its speed. While the wind outside muffled his voice too much to communicate with his teammates, he could clearly see that whatever had hit them had torn the left wing almost all the way off. If they could not slow the plane down to a somewhat acceptable speed, the Invaders were dead.

Speeding to the front of the plane, Namor hurled himself against it, beating his wings furiously in an effort to slow them down as much as possible. But he could already see that he was too late. There was little he could do to halt their descent, and as he was about to plummet to the ground with the bomber right behind him, Namor gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, bracing for impact.

The crater they left behind was almost a quarter mile long, and the speed at which they hit the ground left torn metal scraps all over the savannah. The death groans of their plane echoed across the countryside, wiping out the screams of its passengers as their world dissolved into an incomprehensible shaking, shattering, twisting nightmare.

After some time had passed, and the last noises from the wreck had ceased, Steve Rogers picked himself up from the wreckage, groaning painfully as he tossed a steel beam off of himself. Making sure he hadn't broken any major bones, he lifted up the shield he'd used to protect himself (which hadn't even suffered a dent) to reveal James Barnes underneath, also mostly unharmed, thanks to the protective weapon.

Moaning as he stretched his aching limbs, James turned to his friend, "Thanks for the save, Steve...but what about the others?"

Anxiously, Captain America turned his head to examine the remains of their experimental plane. The wreckage trail was quite long, but he and James began their painful trek back to see if they could find their friends. It didn't take them long to find that half the cockpit had been shredded to pieces and torn from the main body of the B-25...along with most of the pilot.

"Don't look, James," said Steve, turning away himself. "It's not a pretty picture."

But James was occupied elsewhere, "Steve, look! I found Logan, but he's...ugh..."

Steve turned to follow his friend, and was met with a grisly sight. Logan's body lay sprawled out on a pile of rubble, with a twisted metal beam spiked straight through his torso. Blood soaked the man from head to toe as the friends tried to get over the fact that surely their teammate was dead.

Suddenly, they heard a groan from their friend, "Ugh...a little assistance...please..."

Steve's eyes widened in shock, "Logan, you're alive! But...no one could have survived that!"

"Healing factor...remember?" Logan reminded them, his face grimacing with pain. "Now please...help me."

Doing their best to ignore the gory details of their grisly task, Steve and James set to work freeing their friend. They didn't know what they'd thought a 'healing factor' would have been like, but it certainly wasn't pretty, or painless. As soon as they'd lifted Logan away from the beam, they could see his body immediately healing itself, as if it was stitching its muscles back together from the inside.

Steve caught himself staring at the ugly wound as Logan leaned heavily on his shoulder, "Do not worry...sempai. I should be...fine in an hour or two."

"That is gross," said James, utterly without tact as he openly gawked at Logan's disgusting wound.

"Keep your head in the game, Patriot," Steve said. "We still have to find Namor."

"What about whatever shot us down?" James said, following the Captain. "We could be in real danger."

"We have to focus on our teammate first," Steve decided, walking back to the front of the wreck. "If we arein danger, we're noneof us in any condition to fight. Once we find our friend we can decide what to do next."

Namor was easy enough to locate. He was at the head of the crater under the largest pile of scrap metal. Logan was set down to rest while Steve and James labored to dig out the Atlantean, who had apparently been knocked completely unconscious, but had suffered no fatal wounds during the crash. Steve laid him down next to the still recovering samurai, and breathed a sigh of relief.

"He'll be fine in a little while," he said, breathing heavily. "God rest the pilot's soul, but thank goodness the rest of us are relatively safe."

"I wouldn't be so sure of that if I were you, Captain America," came a strong voice from behind the exhausted group. "For the King of Wakanda does not take kindlyto unannounced guestsin mycountry."

Steve and James turned to see that they had been ambushed by a large group of verywell armed men, but they didn't look like any kind of soldiers that they'd ever seen before. Instead of the traditional camouflage and body armor they'd come to expect, these men were sporting animal hide skirts, body paint, and sandals. Instead of a fully loaded firearm, they each boasted large, diamond shaped shields decorated with hideous faces as well as immense quivers filled with a dozen spears each. Frankly, Steve didn't know what to make of them. The only one with any modern weaponry was one man in the back, holding what appeared to be an extremely sophisticated rocket launcher device. Steve could only assume that was the weapon that had shot them down.

But farmore interesting than the soldiers was the man leading them. Not especially tall, but extraordinarilywell built, and covered from head to foot in what appeared to be black body armor, the intimidating man seemed to radiate a presence that commandedrespect. An equally dark cape fluttered behind him in the dusty African breeze, and two cat like ears protruded from his uniform on the crown of his head. His gloved hands ended in long, razor sharp claws which sparkled in the sunlight. But most impressive of all was the spear he held. It was almost as tall as the man himself, made of a curious metal that Steve couldn't identify (which he assumed must be vibranium), and sported on both ends a long, wickedly curved blade. Steve had never seen anything like it.

"Greetings, Black Panther," said Captain America, taking to his knee as he bowed low. "We mean you no harm. We have come-"

"I know exactly why you are here," barked the King, angrily. "And that is why I will afford you the luxury of turning around and leaving...immediately!"

James found himself frozen with fear on the spot. There were at least two dozen spears pointing directly at them, and it was clear that this Black Panther person meant business. They had obviously bitten off more than they could chew. It was time for them to cut their losses and leave.

"Cap, maybe we should get outta here," James whispered, leaning close to his friend. "Ronin was right. This was a mistake."

But Steve refused to give up, "Sir, we have merely come to request an audience with-"

"You are illegal aliens trespassing in my country!" the Panther interrupted again. "By law you should already be dead. Now go!"

Steve stood up to his full height, "No," he boldly replied. "We didn't travel half way across the world to be turned away without even stating our case. We need your help, sire-"

But the Black Panther cut him off, once again, "Bindthe intruders!" he shouted, with a wave of his hand. "I want those three taken to the border camp with blindfolds on; but take the Captain to my jet."

"Hey now, wait a minute!" James exclaimed, reaching for the weapons he carried that he had unfortunately lost in the crash. "Cap, I-"

"Don't worry, Patriot!" Captain America replied as he was restrained and his vision was cut off by the blindfold. "Try not to struggle, we can't beat them now. I'll findyou!"

But Captain America's words seemed wasted on his panicking teammate, as they were being led in opposite directions. Though Steve was trying to ignore the sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach, he knew he was making the right call. They were lucky to have survived that crash at all. Namor and Logan would be useless if they got into a fight now, and in their current condition, there was no waythat Steve and James could defeat the forces arrayed against them, much less the Panther himself. No, it was better to go along with them for now and strike back when the time was right. After all, they were on a diplomatic mission, and Steve had a feeling that if the King had wanted them dead, he would have done it already.

Steve felt his shield being wrestled away from him as they finished tying his bindings. In a few more seconds, he was stumbling up a short stairway into what he assumed was another plane and he was shoved and further restrained to a chair inside. Though he had no intention of immediate escape, Steve attempted to test the cords which tied him. It was as he feared, he couldn't have escaped even if he wanted too.

Then he heard the sound of someone sitting down across from him, "So, if it isn't the famous Captain America. What shall I do with you?" said the familiar deep voice.

Despite his current situation, separated from his team and made completely helpless, Steve felt no fear, "How do you know who I am, Panther?"

"You show much courage in the face of adversity...Rogers," the King replied, making a point to emphasize what was supposed to be Steve's secret identity. "I know everything there is to know about the Invaders...as well as Project Rebirth."

"I don't understand," Steve confessed. "Did you have a spy at Rebirth as well?"

The Black Panther laughed, "Ha ha ha! You Americans, so convinced of your own superiority despite all evidence to the contrary. No, with the technology at our disposal, we have no needof spies."

"What kindof technology?" Steve asked, fearing some kind of secret doomsday weapon.

"Oh, no need to worry, Rogers. We have no intent of world domination, unlike those petty Germans you are so concerned with," the Panther replied, in an almost bored tone. "The satellites that we've developed constantly orbit the Earth from space, relaying signals to our Great Palace in Wakanda. We can monitor everything you Americans do, as well as any other nation in the world."

Steve was stunned, "You...you actually sent machinesinto space? You can see and hear everything we do?"

The King continued, smugly, "And they are completelyundetectable, and farbeyond your capabilities to destroy. I'm afraid that's just oneof the perks gained from our technology being lifetimesahead of your own."

Steve was actually stunned silent. He couldn't believe what he was hearing. He'd heard the rumors surrounding the Wakandan's capabilities, but he'd never imagined anything like this. How was he supposed to convince a man who was in sucha superior position that he was in need of anything? Even if the Nazis succeeded, would they even pose a threatto Wakanda? What was he going to do?

"I see that Erskine succeeded in constructing his weapon," the Black Panther continued, bringing Steve back to reality as he could hear his shield being picked up. "He wasa genius, after all. It is a great pity that he is no longer with us."

"You knew Professor Erskine?" Steve asked, shocked.

"He was one of the greatest minds of this, or any other, generation," the King answered, still looking over the shield. "Not only did he posses a genius that was truly inspired, but he was a man of great character, and was respected even here in Wakanda. He will be missed."

"Then we have something in common," Steve said, grasping for anything he could use to reason with the King. "Dr. Erskine was my mentor. He is responsible for everything my team and I hope to accomplish. Pleasejust hear what we have to say!"

Steve could hear the Panther pause before replying, "...This shield is a masterpiece. A truly unique work of art. The layer of vibranium that makes it indestructible was a giftfrom Wakanda to Erskine for his service to our nation. He earnedthat gift...but youhave not."

"What are you saying?" Steve asked, attempting to swallow the fear that threatened to engulf him.

"I knowwhat you are here for, Captain," said the Panther, calmly. "I know that your team of Invaders was created to battle the Nazi forces, and I know what a direthreat they are. What's more, Dr. Erskine truly believed in you and your mission. He was a friend to Wakanda, and though our country is rich in many ways, we have neverbeen rich in friends."

"So I say to you, Steve Rogers," the Panther exclaimed, his voice rising. "Prove to me that you can earnthis shield, as Erskine did, and I will let you and your friends go free."

"I have alreadypaid the price of wearing this uniform and wielding that shield!" Steve shouted, straining against his bindings. "I have earnedthe right to fight for my country!"

The King replied in an even voice, "Yes, you may have earned the right to fight for your country, but if you are to posses a Wakandan prize, you must earn it the Wakandan way. You are sentenced to undertake the Trials of the Panther God, the very test that Ihad to endure to earn the mantle of the Black Panther. If you survive, you will have earned your weapon, as well as the lives and freedom of you and your friends."

Steve could see that this was the only way to salvage the situation, as impossible as it may be, "...What must I do?"

"See for yourself," the King said, using his claws to slice the ropes which held Steve and helping him rise. "Look out the window."

Leading him to the window and taking off his blindfold, Steve blinked several times before gazing out. Stretched out under him, going as far as he could see, was a vast, green jungle. Strange mists and clouds wafted in and out of the trees as large, astonishingly colorful birds took flight through the skies. He couldn't believe his eyes. Never in his entire life had he ever seen anything so dangerously beautiful.

"That...is the Jungle of Mists," the King said, reverently. "It is said that our patron deity, the Panther God, first created thisplace upon the Earth, and that it is from herethat all life flows. Deep inside those trees lies the only place that one is able to communewith the Panther God and it is there that you must journey so that you may speakwith him. But beware, Outlander, for he is a savage and merciless god who values the Law of the Jungle above all else. You will need your wits about you if you are to reach his temple in the center of the forest."

"And what about my friends?" Steve asked, matching his captor's strong tone without taking his eyes off the jungle below.

"No harm will come to them," the King promised. "They will be held in a safe place until you return. Now go."

With that, the Black Panther pressed the button that opened the door. As the fierce winds outside rushed into the jet, blowing his hair in his face, Steve had no time to resist while the King grabbed him, and in one fluid motion, tossed him out the door. The last thing he heard from Steve Rogers was his echoing shout as he once again closed the door behind him, leaving Captain America to plunge into the ground below.