Chapter 36: Avengers Assemble! Part 1
True to his word, Doctor Strange prepared to leave in the morning. April was awake early, as usual, and since she was helping the Gorilla Tribe women with some of the chores, she was up to see Doctor Strange leave his hut and head off down a mountain trail. She followed him.
"Doctor!" she called out. Strange turned, noticing her, and waited for her to catch up. "Good morning. The weather here is really nice, isn't it?"
"Yes," Strange said. "It will be tiresome to return to sub-zero temperatures in New York." He walked briskly, and April had to speed-walk to keep up.
They reached the outskirts of Jabariland, and Strange spun his hands, opening a portal to the Sanctum Sanctorum. April looked over his shoulder; she could see the interior of the Sanctum's main entryway, and Wong standing beyond with a mop and pail cleaning the floors. He looked up and smiled at them through the portal.
"Doctor!" April said, as Strange took a step forward. He hesitated, and she said, "You know, I'm no magic expert, but you might need some help when you use this—what was it? The Scroll of the Demodragon?"
Strange gave a small smile. "I appreciate the offer, April, but this level of black magic is not something even the Master of Mystic Arts is looking forward to using," he said. "And besides, your skills will be needed here. In the short time I have taken you as my apprentice, you have shown remarkable magical capabilities. I trust you will be able to take care of your friends in this upcoming battle."
April blushed slightly at the compliment. "Thanks," she said. "And good luck, Doctor."
"Thank you," Strange said, before stepping through the portal and closing it behind him. He breathed in the familiar scent of the Sanctum Sanctorum. Home sweet home.
Wong set the mop down and gave him a hug. "Good to see you again, Doctor," he said. "There's something different about you. I can tell."
"Different, Wong?" Strange asked. "Yes. Very much so."
Wong looked over Strange's shoulder, as if he expected the portal to re-open. "Where are the turtles and their family?"
"They are busy doing their job so that I can do mine," Strange said, walking past Wong and up the stairs. The Cloak of Levitation unclasped itself from his neck and flew to one of the shelves, pulling a handful of manuscripts out and flying them back to Strange as he climbed the stairs. "I will be in my study," he told Wong, flipping through the manuscripts. "Bar the door, and do not enter, regardless of what you might hear or what you might think is happening. If I have not returned in three days, summon Reed Richards. He will know what must be done."
Five military-grade transport aircraft jets broke through the clouds over Wakanda, diving down towards Golden City. They were expected, and the pilots had no trouble being cleared to land. The web-like deflector shield dome over the city parted to admit the aircraft, which moved slowly towards the center of the city.
The jets made their approach on the Citadel, the royal palace in the city, and touched down on the tarmac outside. Shredder stood waiting just off the edge of the airfield, and walked down the strip towards the aircraft as their landing ramps opened.
From each plane, a contingent of Footbots walked down the landing ramp and stood at attention before Shredder. One of them, however, carried upgraded Footbots, with white eyes and red-brimmed kasa hats. These Elite Footbots were constructed out of a stronger titanium alloy, and each one was dressed in a red sleeveless ninja uniform and carried a Kraang Laser Sword. Leading these Elite Footbots was Rahzar and Fishface, who strode up to Shredder and knelt.
"Master Shredder," Fishface said. "We are here to do your bidding."
"You have done well, Xever," Shredder said. Turning, he walked back towards the palace. "These Footbots and Elite Footbots will serve our purpose in the upcoming battle."
Fishface and Rahzar rose and followed Shredder. "I gotta say, Master Shredder," Rahzar said, clearing his throat, "I'm really liking the new suit."
"Yes," Fishface said, eyeing Shredder's upgraded vibranium armor. "It . . . suits you."
Hundreds of Wakandan warriors assembled in Jabariland's town square, intermingling with the superheroes from the Savage Land and awaiting orders from T'Challa. Rumors were everywhere, and an air of excitement spread from person to person. They all knew that the Masters of Evil suspected their presence. Dark Elf ships had been scanning the nearby jungle and sending search parties on forays inside. Mister Fantastic believed their energy signature from using the Jump Drive had made their presence known, but the aliens didn't know exactly where they were yet. Though that might all change soon. There had also been a massive influx of aircraft into the Golden City over the past few days. The Masters of Evil were amassing their full resources, and their numbers had grown to almost a hundred thousand, by best estimates.
T'Challa broke through the edge of the crowd and walked to the large, circular stone table at the center of the town square, where he conferred with M'Baku and Nakia. Two others were there who he knew very well; the head of security for Wakanda's Border Tribe, and one of the elders of the River Tribe. W'Kabi was tough, resourceful, but a bit of an individualist. The River Tribe Elder was pure tradition—a gentle man with sad eyes sunk inside a shaved head, and large jade discs set in his bottom lip and earlobes, as was custom for the River Tribe males.
W'Kabi crossed his arms in the traditional salute, and bowed his head slightly. "My king," he said.
"It is good to see you again, W'Kabi," said T'Challa. "The support of the Border Tribe will not be forgotten."
"I only wish I could do more," W'Kabi said, adjusting his blue cloth wraps. "My debt to the people of Wakanda for my actions under Killmonger is yet to be paid."
"What is the final tally?" asked M'Baku.
"The War Dogs within the city have organized a populist revolt," said Nakia. "They are ready and waiting, once our people breach the city we will have armed reinforcements."
"You will have the full support of my River Tribe warriors," said the Elder. "The Mining Tribe remains under the oppression of the dictators sitting in the Citadel, being forced to mine vibranium for their nefarious purposes. We must act, and soon."
"And we will," said T'Challa, as he signaled for attention. The square fell silent. Anticipation was keen. "The information our War Dogs have gathered has been confirmed," the king announced. "The Masters of Evil have made a critical error, and the time for our attack has come."
This caused a great stir in the square. As if his message had been a valve letting off pressure, the air hissed with comment. T'Challa turned to the stone table, activating his kimoyo beads. A holographic image of the Golden City and the surrounding Wakandan countryside hovered over the table. "The Masters of Evil have assembled all of their forces inside the Golden City," T'Challa said. "All of the city's defenses are active. They are making what appears to be a show of force, to hopefully crush our rebellion once and for all."
A volley of spirited chatter erupted from the assembly. This was it. The chance. The hope no one could hope to hope for. A shot at re-taking the planet.
T'Challa continued when the hubbub died down slightly. "The city contains defense mechanisms that our enemy has already mastered, thanks to the cooperation of a select few within the city who have betrayed their country. Those defenses prevent us from launching a direct attack on the city, and the citizens within will likely suffer from such efforts. So we must draw them out."
M'Baku stepped forward then. "T'Challa and I will assemble our forces here, on the banks of the Amanzi Kwakhona Umlambo, opposite the Golden City."
April turned to Shuri and said under her breath, "What's that?"
Shuri whispered back, "It is the longest river in Wakanda."
"The River Tribe's war hippopotami will ambush the aliens when they try to cross the river," M'Baku said. "We will draw them back further up the river, where W'Kabi's war rhinos will await them. Then we will feign a final retreat and draw the aliens back towards Warrior Falls to be ambushed by the rest of the super heroes. When the aliens reach the falls, the heroes will emerge from hiding and wipe out the alien forces before marching on the city."
"By that time, the strike team will have disabled the city's defenses, and we may retake Golden City from the grip of the Masters of Evil," Nakia said. "The Jabari have built ancient tunnels connecting their city to the rest of Wakanda. Using these tunnels, a strike team will enter the Golden City and deactivate the Wakandan power grid inside the Citadel. The Citadel is well guarded, but a small squad should be able to penetrate its security."
Another murmur swept over the crowd like a swell in a heavy sea. Peter Parker leaned forward and whispered to Shuri, "I wonder who they found to pull that one off?"
T'Challa called out, "Princess Shuri, and Nakia, is your strike team assembled?"
Shuri tried not to giggle at Peter's shocked expression as she said, "Yes, Your Highness. My squad is ready. But I would like to bring along a few of the super heroes as leverage, should we run into any trouble."
"I'd be more than happy to tag along," Donnie volunteered. "I'd love a closer look at Wakandan tech."
"This is no pleasure cruise," Shuri warned.
Raph nudged her on the shoulder. "This guy knows computers inside and out. You want a techie, he's your turtle for sure."
"I'm with you too," said Ant-Man.
"And so are we," said Wasp, walking up with Hank Pym.
"I understand you need my particles to get inside the city," Hank told Shuri.
She nodded. "Yes. I will explain it all once we are under way."
T'Challa gave one last look around. "Well, then, we are ready to depart. You all know your places and positions. With Bast's providence, we will live to see the sun rise on a free Wakanda."
"Don't count me out of the fight, bub," a voice was raised from the back of the crowd. They all turned their heads to see Wolverine standing at the edge of the crowd, dressed in his usual jeans and white tank top with a cigar clenched in between his teeth.
Cheers went up for the first X-Man as Jean Grey looked up at Wolverine, shock quickly melting to joyous admiration. She knew there was a reason she loved him—in spite of his usual crass insensitivity and bravado. Beneath it all, he had heart.
Moreover, a change had come over him since he had regenerated after the Enchantress's attack. He wasn't just a loner anymore, only in this for revenge. He had lost his edge and had somehow, subtly, become part of the whole. He was actually doing something for someone else, now, and that fact moved Jean greatly. Wolverine had let himself officially become a member of the X-Men. A part of the whole.
Jean, Cyclops, Storm, and Colossus crowded around Wolverine all at once, with greetings and diverse sorts of hubbub. "Well, look at you," Jean Grey chided, throwing her arms around Wolverine. "Good as new!"
Wolverine chuckled affectionately. "They can't keep me down."
"I'd greet you with a stiff drink and a cigar," Cyclops said, stepping back, "but this will have to do."
Colossus held up a suit of black lightweight armor in his hands. The armor suit had yellow and blue stripes on the arms, and the bottom half turned into a set of tactical pants. Wolverine grinned when he saw it. "Scott, that kind of welcome suits me just fine," he said.
The assembly as a whole broke up into multiple such small groups. It was a time for last farewells and good graces.
"Wait, how did the aliens take Wakanda the first time?" asked Peter. "Why don't we just do that again?"
He followed Shuri and Nakia through the underground tunnels, with Donnie following close behind. Ant-Man, Wasp, and Hank Pym brought up the rear. Nakia led the way, using her kimoyo beads as a glow light to light the way for them.
"Because they used ships," said Shuri. "Ships that we do not have. Their first feint with an entire wing of ships prompted us to spread our forces evenly. We were not prepared for a second suicidal wave all concentrating on a single spot. They managed to make a slight crack in the orbital shield using energy disrupting technology in their Harrow ships. It was only a matter of time before our city fell."
Nakia turned and whispered fiercely. "Silence. We are here."
They stepped out of the tunnel into what looked like a large garden area. The room was arranged in a circle around a massive pit of orange sand, with small stone pits hugging the walls of the room. The pits were filled with some kind of plant, and divided here and there by the occasional stone pillar. Channels had been dug in the floor to allow for a natural watering system to let the plants receive the nourishment they needed. The entire room was lit sparsely by a few torches, giving a mystical sense to the whole area.
Women dressed in purple robes were tending the plants, and looked startled when they entered. One of the women shamans saw Nakia and Shuri and ran over to them. "Your Highness," she stammered.
"Taifa," said Shuri. "You live?"
The woman was holding back tears of joy at seeing Shuri and Nakia still alive. "You know we would die before we betrayed the location of the heart-shaped herb." She looked past the two at the others. "Who are these outsiders, and why are they here?"
"Calm yourself, Taifa," Nakia said softly. "They are here to help us re-take Wakanda. The king is still alive."
The woman's eyes grew big as saucers. "T'Challa? He is here?"
"Yes," Nakia said, holding her by the shoulders to calm her down. "You must all flee to safety. Harvest the remaining herbs and take them with you. The children of Zuri bear the greatest responsibility. We will do our best to draw the forces away from the gardens."
"Wow, what an interesting species of flora," Donnie said, looking at one of the plants. The plants bore some kind of fruit, with odd grooves on its surface. The fruit was purple in color, but glowed as if it were alive. He reached his hand out to touch it before Nakia slapped his hand away. "Ow!" he cried, recoiling.
"Do not touch the plants, turtle," she said fiercely. "They grant the power of the Black Panther to the ruler of Wakanda. Only the king may eat of it. Otherwise, the punishment is death."
Donnie gulped. "Uh, you know what, I'm not really that hungry," he said, clutching his bo staff close to his body.
Nakia glanced at the others as she spoke as well. "The location of the heart-shaped herb must remain secret. Should any of you leak its location, the punishment will be severe." She led the trio back out into the hallways of the palace. "Stealth is key. We cannot let our presence here be detected."
"I believe it was thanks to the foresight of Scott and Hope that we discovered Doom's presence here in Wakanda?" Shuri asked.
"Uh, yes," Ant-Man said. "Doom managed to plant nanite cameras inside citizens. We have no idea who has them or how many citizens were infected."
Shuri turned to Hank Pym. "We need a way to avoid detection. Doctor Pym, if you have any Pym Particles, now is the time to use them."
Hank Pym pulled out his keychain, which had several miniature key rings hanging off of it. One was a toy model tank, and the other was a miniature suitcase. Hank disconnected the suitcase ring and pulled out a Pym Particle Disk, throwing it at the suitcase and enlarging it to normal size. He activated the combination locks on the suitcase and opened it, pulling out four different suits. The suits were all made of red-and-white lightweight fabric that made them look like astronaut suits. They came with thick gloves and a white helmet with a polarized red visor.
"Put these on," said Scott, handing a suit to Shuri, Nakia, Peter, and Donnie. "And make sure you fasten the helmets securely. Without the helmet, your brain's chemical imbalance will be affected by shrinking."
The helmet and suit barely fit Donnie's mutated frame, and he felt like he was being constricted in the suit. "How long do we have to wear these, Doctor Pym?" he asked.
"Hold on to your boots, guys," said Hank Pym, as he threw a Pym Particle Disk at each of the heroes. Donnie felt his stomach lurch under him as everything around him grew to immeasurable size. "Woah!" he said. "This is awesome!"
Peter was in shock. "This is so cool!"
Meanwhile, Ant-Man and Wasp shrank down to their size as Hank Pym stripped off his suit jacket and pants to reveal his own Ant-Man Suit underneath. He packed everything back into the suitcase, shrunk the suitcase to its key ring size, and then shrunk himself. Behind his helmet, he smiled at the others. "The world sure seems different from down here, doesn't it?" he asked. He couldn't help but take pride in his own tech, especially when it impressed such a tech-savvy person like Shuri.
"This is amazing!" Shuri said. "How did you do it?"
"The Pym Particles that I threw at each of you shrunk the distance between your molecules, effectively reducing your size but maintaining your mass. The suit protected your internal integrity, shrinking you down to this size, but you've all got your original strength and resilience. You'll find you're a lot tougher than you might feel at this size." He grabbed his suit's belt, which had a large silver disk for the buckle with a red regulator in the middle of the disk. "Don't touch this or let this get damaged. It's your suit's regulator, and that controls the shrinking function. Manipulating it is dangerous. When we get to where we're going, Scott, Hope, and I will grow and then I'll use the particle disks to enlarge each of you back."
The heroes nodded. "I must say, Doctor Pym, you are very impressive, for an American," Shuri teased.
"Wait, so how are we getting to the Golden City from here?" asked Donnie, as the group walked out of the Gardens of the Heart-Shaped Herb and into the overhead Wakandan sunshine. "I don't think we'll make it to the city in time to make the shield recycling."
"Leave that to me," said Hank Pym, raising a hand to the side of his helmet. "Or, rather, to the ants."
The heroes' helmets picked up audio that sounded almost like a helicopter coming in for a landing as an enormous winged ant flew in from above and landed in front of them. The ant was massive. In fact, it didn't even look like an ant, more like a wasp. It was caramel-brown in color, with a long abdomen that looked like a sausage. It looked so massive that Donnie thought it had to be just this side of airworthy.
"Safari ants," said Hank Pym. "Found primarily in central and east Africa. The bites are extremely painful and their jaws are incredibly strong, so once they bite they're hard to remove. Hop on."
He climbed aboard the ant, sitting directly behind the head on the ant's thorax. Nakia climbed on behind him, and then Shuri, Peter, Donnie, and finally Scott. The ant was about two inches long, so there was more than enough room for all of them. It flicked its wings and got off the ground, quickly rising into the air. Wasp flew alongside the ant using her suit's wings as they flew over the Wakandan countryside towards the city.
"Only the males are this big with wings," said Hank Pym. They had to shout to be heard over the noise of the ant's impressive wings. "It's mating season for safari ants, otherwise we wouldn't be able to find any males."
"How do you communicate with them?" Shuri asked. "They obey your every command."
"EMP waves," Ant-Man shouted. "They stimulate the olfactory nerve center and pheromones of the ants. But it takes serious mental concentration to use them."
"Thanks for stealing my thunder, Scott," Hank Pym called back.
"Sorry," said Ant-Man.
The aerial view of the Wakandan countryside was really breathtaking. Donnie lost track of time looking at the endless rolling grass and treetops below them. Suddenly Wasp hovered over them. "We're coming up on the city now," she said. Ahead of them they could see the glowing blue field rising up over the city.
"Right on time," said Shuri. "The system is beginning its recycling in just a few minutes." The HUD on their helmets lit up, showing the weak point in the Wakandan energy field. "We only get one shot at this," Shuri warned them. "If we don't make it through, the shield will impart a deadly electric shock."
"We'll make it," Nakia shouted back. "We have to."
Donnie felt himself get tense as they got closer and closer, holding tighter to Peter as they approached. "Now!" Shuri shouted.
Hank sent their ant into a dive at the shield's weak point. Electricity rippled over the surfaces of their suits as they entered the energy field, and Donnie could feel his teeth and the surface of his skin tingling inside the suit. The ant squealed in pain, but they kept going forward, pushing through until they had breached the shield and entered the Golden City. The ant careened downward, crashing into the roof of one of the buildings and knocking them all off.
They climbed to their feet, groaning from the process of entering the electrical field. Hank Pym knelt by the ant, stroking its head as it chittered at him. "He'll make it," Hank Pym said. "Come on. We're in the home stretch."
They got back on the ant and took off for the Citadel, completely undetected.
Three Wakandan Royal Guard members knelt on the ground in the Citadel's throne room, in front of the throne on which Loki now sat. Behind them, where the Dora Milaje members would usually stand, stood six Doombots, on full alert at all times. To his right sat Ramonda, the Queen Mother of Wakanda and the mother of both T'Challa and Shuri. Loki had made sure to keep her close ever since they had taken over the kingdom of Wakanda. T'Challa, Shuri, and several others had managed to escape, and he believed they would eventually return for her. The rest of the Masters of Evil shared his belief.
A stately, beautiful woman of middle age, Ramonda carried herself with the grace of a dignitary, even in this post-conquering time. She wore blue robes with gold braiding, and her severity was not without cause. Loki knew she despised him, and could hardly stand to be in his presence here in the throne room. She hated seeing him sitting on the throne of her son. And she hated any of the Wakandans who sided with their new rulers. Though those Wakandans were in the minority, their help and aid was crucial.
The three Wakandan Royal Guard members tried not to make eye contact with Ramonda as they made their report to Loki. "Honored leader," one of them said. "Nearly a quarter of the workforce has not reported in today. Many of them claim to have developed a cold or the flu overnight."
"It is the same with the schools," another of the Royal Guard added. "We barely have enough teachers to manage the students who have come in."
"We have to get the National Health Serivces," said the final guard, "and the Epidemic Control Office, to mobilize—"
Loki cut him off, holding up a hand. "Do you think me so easily fooled, Midgardian?" he asked, with the hint of a threat in his cold voice. "This is classic protest behavior."
"But so many?" asked the second guard.
"We expected something like this," Loki said, sitting back on his throne. "Ever since we conquered your pitiful land. And once the malcontents have finished grumbling, this will pass." He paused. "However, make sure that we collect the names of everyone who called in sick today. I want our internal security forces to ... interview them."
The guards swallowed hard. Loki had appointed the Dark Elves Wakanda's new Internal Security, to keep the peace within the city. They usually chose to do so by overly extreme measures, murdering any dissident citizens in the blink of an eye.
As they backed out of the room, Loki glanced at Ramonda, who made a visible effort not to look at him. "You have something you wish to say, Queen Mother?" Loki asked.
She turned slowly, eyeing him with more disdain than he had thought possible in human beings. "I will never give into you," she spat. "Can't you see where my people are? Our lives are nothing compared to what you gain if we cooperate with you. It is better for all of us to die than to allow you monsters to win."
Loki leaned forward on his throne. "This is not a game, woman. Force my hand and I will begin killing your loyal subjects. Ten thousand every minute, while all you can do is watch. You are dismissed."
Ramonda stood up and fled the room, shaking with rage. Loki watched her go. He would have to investigate this pandemic sweeping the country. Doctor Octopus had been reporting malfunctioning of the nanites, with some of them spontaneously imploding. There could be some truth to the Royal Guard's reports, but he suspected there was more at play here.
The magnetic levitation train that Hank Pym's team boarded after they entered the city was almost fully occupied, but all the other passengers were unaware of the large safari ant male that flew in through the closing doors and landed on top of a suitcase. The train was an express, with only one stop between the Wakanda Medical Center and the Golden City's northern market district. When the train came to the first stop and hovered alongside a building that had been closed ever since the aliens arrived in Wakanda, the train's engineer was surprised when almost all the passengers poured out at the same time, causing the train to wobble slightly in the air over the tracks.
"Is this train powered by magnetic levitation?" Donnie asked Shuri.
"Yes," Shuri said. "Partially my own design."
"It's incredibly advanced!" Donnie said, grinning stupidly. "I've never seen it this efficient, ever!"
"Thank you," said Shuri. "It was nothing, really."
"Focus," Nakia hissed, as the train lurched forward. Donnie looked out a window. They were travelling so fast that the buildings and cross streets appeared as high-speed blurs. "We'll be at the last stop in about four minutes," Nakia said. "The Citadel is just a short walk from there."
"What's the plan when we get there?" asked Ant-Man.
"We enter the palace through the outer air vents," said Shuri. "They are the only unguarded entry in or out from the palace, and we are small enough that we can fit them."
The safari ant's wings buzzed as it landed just outside the vents, and the five of them got off. Wasp didn't stop her flight, using her momentum to slide into the air vent and inside the palace without pause. Hank Pym patted the ant on its head and gave it a command with his helmet, and it chittered before beating its massive wings and flying off again.
Shuri put a hand to her helmet, establishing communication with T'Challa. "We are in, brother," she said.
"Good," T'Challa radioed back. "Be quick. The River Tribe is in position. I am taking the members of the Gorilla Tribe to the city now."
"Let's go," Nakia told the others.
No one saw them as they continued through the palace past a hallway full of Wakandan Royal Guard members standing at attention. The palace was busy, with Doombots filing down the hallways and Royal Guard members walking briskly, trying not to rush. They went unnoticed in the hubbub.
"Wait," Nakia said, holding up a hand as they rounded a corner. Down the hallway, they could see Ramonda being forcibly escorted to her room by two Doombots. "The queen mother!" she gasped.
"Come on," Shuri said, running down the corridor after them.
"Wait!" Ant-Man said, trying to stop her.
Hank Pym grit his teeth. "She's going to get us caught or killed."
"Come on," said Donnie, running after her. They were able to slip underneath the door to Ramonda's room thanks to their shrunken size. She stood staring out the window, of middle years and beautiful, with a strong face and piercing eyes. Shuri grew herself back to normal and embraced her mother, who was as shocked to see them alive as the woman in the herb gardens had been.
"How are you here, alive?" asked Ramonda. "Where is T'Challa?"
"He is on his way, mother," said Shuri. "We have an army. And we are going to take back the city."
"Shuri," Ramonda said, grabbing her daughter by the shoulders. "Listen to me. You are all in grave danger. Doom has eyes and ears everywhere in Wakanda. He probably knows you are here."
"Why have some of the Royal Guard taken to serving this usurper?" asked Nakia.
"He left us no choice," Ramonda said. "It was either follow him and the Masters of Evil, or be killed. He wiped out most of our forces when he first invaded Wakanda. All borders were closed, and all press and foreign nationals expelled from the country without exception." She let out a shaky gasp. "He demanded that we, as the leaders of the tribes of Wakanda, enforce his laws without question or hesitation. The Merchant Tribe tried to speak out, and he killed the elder."
"That monster," Shuri spat, her voice shaking. "How could you serve alongside him, Mother? It is better for all of us to die than to let these men get their hands on our vibranium!"
"My duty is to the safety of Wakanda," Ramonda shot back, "as is yours and T'Challa's and everyone else's! We have not given in to this madman. Our lives are nothing compared to what he will gain with us dead. So we stayed, preparing for the day when we would have to fight. And now that day is here."
"We gotta move," Wasp said, interrupting them. "Now."
Before they could react, two Doombots burst through the door with laser rifles at the ready. "Targets identified," one of them blared. "Confirmed targets: AM-1, AM-2, AM-3, BP-2, BP-3. Unidentified mutant specimen."
"Donatello!" Shuri said. "Take these!" She threw her kimoyo bead bracelet at Donnie as the Doombot smacked her in the back with its energy rifle butt, sending her sprawling to the floor. Donnie caught the bracelets and quickly activated his suit, shrinking back down to the size of an ant. Beside him, Ant-Man, Wasp, Hank Pym, and Nakia had all shrunk too. But the Doombots had managed to stop Shuri, grabbing her by the wrist. Its iron grip crushed her suit's regulator, preventing her from shrinking to join them.
"Shuri!" Nakia said. "We must help her." She went to grow back to normal size, but Wasp grabbed her arm.
"They're coated in vibranium," Wasp said. "We don't have the firepower to take these things down."
"A Wakandan never leaves her sister behind," Nakia shot back.
"We're no good to her captured, too," Hank Pym said. "We need to proceed with the mission. Doom won't kill her. He wants to make an example of her and break your people's iron spirit. We shut down that field, let the rest of the heroes in, and then we come back for her."
Nakia didn't like it, but she knew it was the right thing to do. And Shuri would have wanted them to. "She gave you her beads," she told Donnie. "They have the security codes we need. Let us finish this."
The Doombots scanned the area for any more heroes. "Targets disappeared," one of them reported.
"Put the palace on high alert," Doom ordered the robots. "And bring our guests to the garrison. I will announce a mandatory public gathering, where the people may witness their execution."
The Doombots released powerful electric shocks, knocking out Shuri and Ramonda and carrying them out of the room.
It didn't take them long to find the power room, and the two Wakandan guards standing outside the room were easily stunned by Wasp's stinger bracelets. They unshrunk and moved into the room. It was a massive room overlooking dozens of rows of power coil towers that provided electricity for the entire city. Catwalks over the coils allowed for maintenance.
Donnie ran across the maintenance catwalk over to the main console and powered it up. "Wow, this is complex," he said, slipping the beads around his wrist. "A little help, anyone?"
As Nakia helped Donnie figure out the bracelet, Wasp shrunk and flew over the power grid, ducking and weaving between the power coils and avoiding the electric sparks as she tossed energy disruptors onto the coils. They would help magnify the shutdown and extend it beyond just the palace.
By the time she was done, Donnie had the kimoyo bracelet displaying the codes he was supposed to upload into the computer to disable the security protocols. The only problem was, the computer system was in Xosha, the official language of Wakanda. And it didn't help that alarms were blaring as the palace went on high alert. A trio of Doombots burst through the door. "Intruders detected," one of them said. "Targets AM-1, AM-2, AM-3, BP-3, and T-2 confirmed. Destroy." They started walking across the catwalk towards the control station.
"Keep them away from Donatello!" Nakia shouted, activating her ring blades. The blue energy field connecting the inner ring to the outer ring shimmered to life as she threw them at one of the Doombots. The weapon bounced off, leaving hardly a scratch as the ring blade returned to her hand. She slid under the Doombot's outstretched arms and threw a kick at the back of its knee, knocking it off balance before performing a jump kick that slammed the Doombot's head into the catwalk railing.
Wasp stood on the other side of the bridge by Donatello, firing her suit's "stinger" gauntlets at the other two Doombots. Her gauntlets fired bolts powerful enough to blast holes through solid stone, but even at their maximum settings, the Doombots' vibranium coating meant her attacks left little more than scorch marks on their outer plating. They'd have to try something else.
Hank Pym and Ant-Man shrunk down, running across the bridge and using their enhanced strength to score hits on the robots. Ant-Man shrunk between the armor plating gaps on one of the Doombots and started ripping wires lose. The other heroes watched as the Doombot began to malfunction, its head spinning rapidly around and around as its arms began to spasm out of control before it collapsed in a sparking heap. Hank Pym took a much more direct approach, leaping from the ground at the third Doombot. The momentum of his shrunken body colliding into the Doombot sent the robot flying over the edge of the catwalk and down into the power converter coils below.
But more Doombots were flooding into the room. They were in some serious trouble.