Author's Note: After watching the second of Marvel's 'What-if' stories, I was suddenly compelled to write this scenario. It's not like me to suddenly write a one-off, but I'd certainly appreciate any thoughts you might have! Hope you enjoy!
T'Challa stepped out of the narrow, labyrinthine corridors of a spaceship, and into a palace of memory.
The great chamber stretched upwards and outwards for what looked like at least a mile, a great, circular dome so large T'challa swore he could feel a breeze on his face as he entered. The walls of the great chamber looked like they had been hewn out of natural stone, with vast shallow lakes gathering on the floor giving the impression of a great cavern. There were pockets of orange light within those walls, doubtlessly part of the ship's systems, though still more strongly giving the impression of magma pockets far beneath the earth.
The Star-Lord's hands were bound, his weapons and equipment confiscated. He had no backup, no escape plan, no band of ravagers primed to come to his rescue. What he did have, was purpose. And a fool's hope.
"You are now in the presence of the great and mighty Thanos," The Ebony Maw proclaimed as he floated in T'Challa's wake, his sonorous voice trilling with absolute adoration. "The saviour of a hundred worlds, and of a countless number still to come. Treasure this moment, this audience you have been granted… for such exaltation will never come again in your short, inconsequential life…"
There was a brief, dramatic pause, just long enough for the last echoes of the Maw's voice to dissipate into the cold air.
"So... you've come to me," a deep, rumbling voice stated.
The voice came from above, from an enormous stone throne raised above the floor, placed perfectly at the centre of the room. The great titan rose from his position astride it, climbing ponderously to his feet as he observed his lone prisoner approaching. "The great and noble Star-lord. Galactic Hero, and champion of the common man."
"So," T'Challa parroted, a fearless smirk on his face. "I take it you have heard of me, then?"
Thanos held his gaze for a moment, before moving his focus to the Ebony Maw.
"Those won't be necessary," Thanos intoned as he began to descend those vast, shallow steps, gesturing to the binds at T'Challa's wrists.
The Maw seemed slightly appalled. "Sire, I-"
"I have spoken."
The Maw broke. A single word from his master, and any attempts to contradict his will evaporated. He bowed then, the motion so fluid it was as if he were suspended in water. Less than a moment later, the raw materials which had comprised T'Challa's manacles fell away, crumbling into detritus and powder.
"Now leave us."
The maw swirled around in the air without another word, gliding back from whence he had come, and leaving the two men standing alone in the vast, strangely crumbling hall.
"This place," T'challa began, turning to regard the vast scope of it. "I have never seen the centre of a spaceship like it. It speaks to me of a time long before such craft traversed these stars.
A small, melancholy smile dawned on Thanos' face, as he too turned to gaze around the empty expanse. "I had it transported from Titan. Brick for brick, stone by stone. But not restored. To restore the glory of what once was – it would mean to forgot what removed that glory in the first place. To forget why I am here – and always will be."
"Titan was your home," T'Challa acknowledged somberly. "It is only right that you carry a piece of it with you. As do I."
The Star-Lord's own hand moved up to the amulet around his neck, his fingers worrying at the central tooth.
The mad titan turned to regard T'Challa again, his downward gaze only emphasising his sheer size, the power of the enormous, gnarled muscles in his great arms. Yet T'Challa detached himself from the fear that his instinct would have him feel. He stood tall, his head unbowed. He stood like he imagined the ancient kings of old were standing beside him.
"And where was home, for you?" Thanos asked. "The tales of your exploits echo around every sector like galleries in a single, great cave – yet in all those distorted whispers, no-one can say where it was you came from."
T'Challa nodded. "I have rarely spoken about my home. But I will speak of it to you."
Thanos' eyes narrowed, his gaze peering at T'Challa as if trying to deduce the answer to a riddle, or a complex mathematical equation.
"And why is that, I wonder?" he pondered softly. "Why have you come here, 'Star-Lord'? Unlike my servants – I am not so easily fooled."
"Fooled, mighty Thanos?" T'Challa said, a certain twinkle in his eyes.
Thanos snorted gently, a smirk of his own threatening the corners of his lips. "You did not come here simply to kill me – your arrival was far too careless for a man of your reputation. Of course – there is the possibility that this is merely a diversion, while your pesky ravagers attempt an altogether more daring scheme..."
"And yet you stand here," T'Challa pointed out. "Humouring me."
The titan smiled openly now, nodding once before starting to pace around the base of the steps. "Yes… I must admit – I was curious to meet you for myself. Though I believe your methods are deeply misguided – I respect you, nonetheless."
T'Challa nodded in acknowledgement. "Thank you."
"So," Thanos began again, turning to mount the stairs once more. "Why are you here?"
"I have simply come to speak with you," T'Challa admitted. "Ever since I first learned of you, of your past, and your present – I have sensed a certain… similarity, between us."
"Yes," Thanos mused, as he lowered his vast body into the great throne. "I can see a certain connection. We are both men of vision – and men with the will to see that vision made reality."
"More than that," T'Challa added. "We have both lost – lost more than any man should have to lose."
Thanos remained silent, though his brow creased as he waited for T'Challa to continue.
"My true name is T'Challa. And I come from a land known as Wakanda, an ancient kingdom on a world far from here. My father was the king, and one day I was destined for the burden of leadership."
"It is a burden," Thanos agreed, bringing his hands together in his lap and interlocking his great fingers. "One that only a few are able to bear."
"Yet although I was born with the blood of kings, my father once said to me that it was fuelled by the heart of an explorer. As a child, I was presented with an opportunity to see worlds far beyond the borders of my own land – and the world it rested upon."
T'Challa sighed, his face falling slightly with regret. "For a long time I was enraptured by the wonders of the galaxy. But when I turned back to look at my home – I learned that it had been destroyed. The conflict of the outside world my people had dedicated centuries trying to avoid – destroyed them in the end. And because of that very isolation – the memory of my people, their culture – their history, was also wiped from existence. I stand before you now as the last Wakandan."
"So you do understand…" Thanos murmured. "And now you wander the galaxy, trying to right the wrong that was inflicted in your homeland – the wrong you were unable to right… Yes. What drives both of us is one and the same."
Thanos gestured for T'Challa to approach, and the Star-Lord warily began to ascend the steps.
"You seek to impose justice on an unjust universe. To tip the scales that oh so easily tip towards chaos, back in the direction of balance."
As T'Challa reached the summit, Thanos leaned forwards in his throne, reaching out to place a gigantic purpose hand on his slender shoulder.
"And yet the cruelty of the universe runs deeper than you know. It will unravel all you have strived to do – it will destroy all of your achievements. Because life unchecked, will destroy life. It's not a matter of war, or petty ambition. It's a matter of simple calculus. Resources. That, is what destroyed my world. It would not surprise me if it destroyed yours."
A slight chill passed through T'Challa at that. There was one thing that Wakanda had that the rest of the world did not. Vibranium. If anything had motivated the other nations of earth to destroy his homeland, that would be at the root of it.
Thanos seemed to sense his thought process, his blue eyes suddenly burning with a steely resolve. "But don't worry. Your coming here was destiny. You can ensure all your works are not in vain, you can end the inevitable suffering that is to come. You can stand with me at the precipice, and at the dawn of a grateful universe."
"You want me to join you?" T'Challa asked. "In your quest to end half of all life in the universe – your quest for all six infinity stones?"
Thanos withdrew his hand, leaning back in his throne once again. His face had regained a more serious, quality, his forehead lined with a sudden tension. "Who told you of the stones? And more importantly… of my quest for them?"
With that, Thanos rose from the throne, once again towering over T'Challa.
The Wakandan would still not be cowed. "I would not betray a trust."
Thanos took a great breath, like a great beast on the brink of a charge and began to surge forward, the stone beneath his feet shaking slightly.
T'Challa began to step rapidly backwards down the steps, endeavouring to retain his resolve as the mad Titan bored down on him. A few metres from the bottom of the stairs, T'Challa halted, placing himself directly into Thanos' path. He stared up into the mad titan's visage, refusing to retreat another step.
T'Challa stared into those eyes for what felt like minutes, before the grim expression fell away, and again Thanos smiled.
"Loyalty," he observed, practically purring with satisfaction. "Good. As it happens – I have no interest in punishing the one who informed you about my plans. You see - I only punish those who stand in my way, and your coming here may prove to be just the opposite. And… I suspect I know the one who sought you out."
With that, T'Challa heard the sound of a great door sliding open once again, and saw Thanos's gaze lift to look over his head.
The Star-Lord turned, only to see Nebula striding into the throne room, her luxiorious golden locks tumbling effortlessly over her shoulders, and wrapped in a form-fitting outfit of purple leather. Her blue face was accented with a vicious smile.
"You wanted me here," T'Challa observed, without betraying emotion, without moving his gaze from the woman. "All along, you wanted me to come to you."
"Yes…" Thanos agreed, seemingly pleased by T'Challa's response. "I have spent a life-time gathering followers to my cause. Those of extraordinary ability, and character. Those who would serve my will, those who would execute it. And those who would succeed me – should the need ever arise…"
T'challa turned smoothly on the spot, looking up into the mad titan's face without fear.
"I will help you, Thanos," T'Challa promised, before shaking his head. "But not this way."
Thanos' brow furrowed, the immense weight of disappointment plain on his darkening face. At his sides, his enormous purple hands began to coil into fists.
"I know the pain you bear, Thanos," T'Challa explained, stepping towards him this time. "I know the reasons why you have dedicated your life to this single cause. And I will not tell you that your logic is without merit."
That observation seemed to release some of the tension on Thanos' face, and gave T'Challa an opportunity to continue.
"But I believe I can show you an alternative. One that will achieve your goals, without tarring your legacy."
T'Challa withdrew a small, silver device from a concealed place inside his sleeve, which unfolded itself into a flat surface in his hand. In a moment, an image flickered into life, a blue projection of a strange, irregularly shaped crystalline object which rotated slowly through the air.
"In your quest to restore balance," T'Challa began, as Thanos gazed at the image, his face impassive. "You have wreaked untold slaughter on the peoples of the universe. And you carry their deaths with you wherever you walk Thanos. You have taken that mantle as your burden to bear. But I could show you another way. Instead of bringing fear, you could bring hope. Instead of death, you could bring them life."
Thanos took a single, deep breath, and for a moment, a deep silence hung in the air.
"Show me."