Here's chapter ten of the Avenging Speedster.
I own nothing. Story idea and oc belongs to sketchywolf, the rest belongs to Marvel.
Max remained unconscious as he was being examined by Shuri, who was already in charge of the science division in Wakanda. Her and T'Challa's parents, King T'Chaka and Queen Ramonda, has also come to see if it was true.
"How did he get past the barrier?," T'Chaka asked.
"We don't know, Baba," T'Challa answered. "He just appeared in a flash of blue light."
"Body functions are normal despite the obvious abnormalities caused by his abilities," she said as a hologram of Max's body hovered over him. "...Wait. His body, it's unable to properly function with so much power coursing through him. It's put him back in a coma. However way he got here must've overworked his powers, he isn't strong enough yet. I don't think I can help him."
"Meaning he could in a coma for good this time," Ramonda concluded.
"Unless...," T'Challa said then gave his father a look.
"...T'Challa, we cannot, you know that."
"What?," Shuri asked.
"We give him the Heart-Shaped Herb. It will heighten his abilities and body functions, perhaps it'll make him strong enough to handle receiving more speed."
"He is not the Black Panther," T'Chaka argued. "He is not even Wakandan."
"Baba... please," Shuri said, walking up to her father. "He is my best friend. We cannot just leave him like this forever. Who knows when he'd wake up again, if ever."
"...Very well. We will have to inform the Elders of this first though."
They nodded and the king and the prince walked out to do so and have everything prepared, the queen leaving later on, leaving the princess alone with Max.
"...You kept your promise," she said then heard Max mutter something. "Max?"
She placed her ear over his face and now she understood what he was saying.
"...The Cheetah Realm? Wonder how you know that name. I never told you that story."
"Shuri?," a new voice said and she looked up to see it was her adoptive brother. He was about Max's height, if not a couple of inches taller, similarly built and about Max's age as well, (Dylan O'Brien). He also wore a necklace with metal wolf teeth on it.
"Oh, Jacob, it's just you."
"What's up with that large grin?"
"Him," she answered and he walked over to see Max. "This is Maxwell Stark."
"This is the boy you never stop talking about?," he asked, and she nodded. "Hmm... what's wrong with him?"
"Not entirely sure. I think he went too fast and now his body can't take the amount of energy flowing through him."
"Well, don't worry. I'm sure he'll be fine."
She nodded in thanks and he left her alone again, though not before giving the comatose Max a secret dirty look.
After a week or two, Shuri hardly ever left Max's side. Preparations were now complete for the ritual, and now she and T'Challa knelt next to him as the shaman, Zuri, brought over the herb. It was only T'Chaka, Ramonda and the Elders of Wakanda present, along with Jacob as well.
Max had been stripped his shirt, gauntlets and greaves and lying on his back, arms crossed like an 'X'.
"We call upon our ancestors, we call upon Bast," Zuri began as he poured the herb into the boy's mouth. "Help this child in his hour of need. Though he may not be Wakandan by birth, he is linked to us through the Cheetah Realm. So we ask you... lead him to his purpose. So that he may return to us once more."
The herb began to flow through his system and he began to convulse slightly and his circulatory system began to glow a light electric blue color.
"Praise the ancestors," Zuri said, followed by the others saying and Max's body was then buried.
Max later awoke in darkness and raised himself up from the dirt. He was surrounded by unknown surroundings. He recognized it as somewhere in Africa, but everything a light blue color. He got up and saw he still wore his Asgardian clothing, just without the armor.
He slowly began to walk around when he saw something familiar, the Cheetah he saw on his way back home.
"What is this place?," he asked it and it began to glow and transform into what looked like an older version of himself.
"You're inside my realm, Max," it said.
"...You're the Cheetah Realm."
"I am. For a single moment, you stepped in here when you left Asgard. It was enough to bring you back, but not even Odin would've known the consequences of you receiving so much power when you weren't ready for it."
"So... how am I here then?," he asked as they both began walking.
"You have the Wakandans to thank for that. Or one in particular," Cheetah said. "They have given you something that has enhanced your body, making you stronger."
"Man... I always seem to have room for improvement."
"Hahaha... that's good. You're funny, one reason why I like you. One of the many reasons why we're even here. I'm the reason you're still alive."
Then it dawned on Max.
"...You gave me my powers," he concluded, and Cheetah nodded with a smile. "While I'm grateful for saving me, I need to know. Why did you?"
"...I've been watching the events of this cast Multiverse for billions of years. I have been around since before it's creation. My job is to pretty much manipulate space and time, keep the wheels of everything we know going. The Cheetah Realm is the title that the Wakandans have given me, and I rather like it. So you may simply call me Cheetah."
"You didn't answer my question."
"I know," he said. "When I saw how you were willing to die if it meant your father would live, it really struck me. You may be young, a bit awkward at times, but you have one of the largest hearts I've ever seen. I have seen numerous versions of your future, and I have seen you changing not just this world, but everything. Like what your grandfather said on that film."
Max simply stared at Cheetah and he smiled and placed his hands on his shoulders.
"That's why I gave you your speed. You are the only person I've ever given speed to. Use it wisely, but I don't believe that you shall be the only one."
"What do you mean?," he asked.
"When a force of good rises, a force of evil shall rise as well, and vice versa. Always. Now you must go... I think Shuri misses you. Goodbye for now, Maxwell Stark."
There was another flash of light and Max quickly awoke covered in dirt and breathing hard.
"Max!! Max!! Breathe... breathe...," T'Challa said, trying to calm him down and Max looked at him and saw Shuri next to him.
"Shuri...," he said, beginning to breathe normally.
Once he'd calmed down, he took a look around and saw he was in a chamber full of small gardens, panther statues around him. He then saw everyone around him, looking at him.
"Hello, Mr. Stark," King T'Chaka said. "Welcome to Wakanda. The real Wakanda. T'Challa, why don't you and your sister take him back to the lab? See if he is alright now."
They nodded and guided him to the transport. He had to stop for a moment to take in what he was seeing.
"...Wow... you live here?," he asked.
"Yup," Shuri answered.
Then a ship appeared and opened up and they went inside it.
"...Guess we both a lot to talk about huh, Shuri?"
"Uh-huh. I'm sorry, but I couldn't tell you."
"It's fine, I understand completely. I'd have done the same thing."
"Here," T'Challa said tossing Max a shirt. "I was wondering if you'd even noticed you had no shirt on."
"Hahaha... yeah, I was a little preoccupied absorbing the fact that my best friend's country, which I thought was a third-world country, is actually more advanced than any other nation."
"That's understandable," Shuri said, and then there was a bit of an uncomfortable silence between them. "...Umm... do you have any questions you want ask us?"
"Only about a thousand," he said making them laugh. "For starters, how is it Wakanda has this kind of technology?"
"Vibranium," they both said and Max sits back.
"...Oh... okay that leaves only a fraction of the questions now cause that answers most of them. Okay then, what was that place we were at?"
"The Garden of the Heart-Shaped Herb?," T'Challa answered. "The place where Wakanda's greatest warrior is given the powers of the Black Panther, the protector of Wakanda. Often times, the king is the Black Panther."
"And who is this Black Panther now?"
The two siblings said nothing and Shuri just looked at her older brother.
"Probably should've guessed that," Max said. "Okay I have just one more question, and it's a big one."
"Okay," Shuri said.
"Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why did you give the Heart-Shaped Herb? I'm not the Black Panther, nor am I Wakandan or even a warrior. I can only imagine you will receive a lot of grief from your people and the people from the garden which I can only imagine is sort of like your council."
"...You should've been able to figure that one out as well, Max," T'Challa answered.
"You're our friend, Max. You are practically family to us. And we couldn't just leave you in a coma forever."
"Well... whatever reason you did it for... thank you."
They nodded and T'Challa walked up to the pilot and Shuri immediately ran over and hugged Max tightly, which he returned, being careful not to hurt her as he could tell that was a lot stronger now.
"I still can't believe you're here," she said then looked up at him. "How did you get that scar by the way?"
"What this?" he asked pointing to his eye and she nodded. "Piece of glass cut me when my dad fought Stane. How long was I out by the way?"
"About a week. We were dealing with that heat you spoke of. Not many people were happy about it but then I mentioned you muttered something about the Cheetah Realm. How do you know about that by the way?"
"I was told only the name by-," he began to say but was stopped by the pilot speaking up.
"We are nearing the Great Mound, Princess," she said.
"Okay. That's General Okoye, by the way," she said. "Leader of the Dora Milaje, the Wakandan Elite."
They soon landed and Max had a good look at the Great Mound. Then he saw the mines within it. Trackways of trains filled with glowing materials.
"Is that all... vibranium on those trains?"
"Yup, there is vibranium everywhere here," Shuri explained. "This whole mountain full of it. We've been mining this place for thousands of years and still haven't even come close to scratching the surface."
"...Not exactly the rarest metal on Earth I guess."
"It's not only a metal. It's a substance. We Wakandans can stitch into our clothes, making them bulletproof, depending on its use really. It powers the city, our technology..."
"And weapons?," Max guessed when he saw the plane like aircraft with guns and stockpiles of glowing spears.
"Don't worry, they are only for defensive purposes, should we ever be discovered," T'Challa explained. "Waging war on other nations is not our way."
"Well I'm glad to hear that. I'm gonna have to guess I've only seen a small fraction of Wakanda, and already I'm blown away. No minor feat, mind you."
"Glad you like it," Shuri said. "But we should probably get back to the lab and have you looked at."
He nodded and they walked into the lab and brought him to the medical table and holograms began to surround him as he was being scanned. T'Challa then waved goodbye and Max returned while shuri didn't even notice he'd left.
"Vital signs are all showing as normal. How do you feel?"
"Good."
"Well, isn't that nice?," a voice said. They turned to see Jacob.
"Oh, Jacob! I'm glad you're here. Come on, Max," she said dragged him upwards to the entrance and met up with Jacob. "Max, this... is Jacob Tell, my adoptive brother. Jacob... Max."
"Nice to meet you," Max said reaching out to shake his hand and Jacob slowly took it.
"Yes... a pleasure to be able to meet you officially. Shuri never shuts up about you."
"Jacob!!," she yells at him but he shrugs it off.
"I didn't know you had another brother, Shuri."
"He and his family were passing over wakanda by plane about six months after you went into a coma. By some unknown cause, the plane crashed near the border and the leader of the Border Tribe, W'Kabi, found him and strangely took him in and he's been a part of my family ever since."
"Strangely?," Max asked.
"Yes, W'Kabi is quite distrustful of outsiders," Jacob explained. "But sadly enough, my parents died in the crash and he lost his in a bombing as a boy, so I suppose he sympathized with me."
"I'm sorry to hear that. About your parents."
He nodded and there was a long silence between them before Shuri got between them and broke it.
"Max, how about I show you more of Wakanda?," she suggested and he nodded. "Wonderful. Jacob, would you like to join us?"
"Thanks but I'm afraid I'm needed elsewhere."
"Oh well. Sucks to be you," she said with smile. "Come on, Max."
"Catch you later, I suppose," Max said.
Jacob nodded and when they were out of sight, a frown grew on his face.
'Bastard!,' he thought to himself. 'You won't take her from me. I won't allow it.'
He then began to walk around the lab and soon sees that Shuri had at some point taken a sample of Max's blood and one vial remained, likely for research. He grinned evilly when he saw this and quickly put it in his pocket.
"What was with that little staredown you had with Jacob?," Shuri asked Max as they walked out.
"Not sure really," he answered. "But he was certainly giving off a creepy vibe, at least to me. I don't think he likes me very much."
"He was sort of like that when he first arrived here, so I'm sure he'll warm up to you. But let's move on."
Max nodded and they came to where he had arrived in Wakanda. He looked up to see that a giant panther statue stood over them.
"Wow... so... you Wakandans are crazy cat people?," he joked and she laughed hard at this and he soon joined in on it.
"Haha... that's one way to put it. Anyway as you know, vibranium is the reason Wakanda is so advanced. But it wasn't always like that, before we built our city, we were five separate tribes, constantly at war with each other."
Max said nothing as they sat down by the cliff, and she continued.
"But then a warrior shaman received a vision from Bast, the panther goddess. She led him to the Heart-Shaped Herb."
"And he became king and the first Black Panther," Max guessed and she nodded.
"Yup. Four tribes agreed to live under his rule but the fifth tribe, the Jabari Tribe, isolated themselves in the mountains. That is when we began to advance ourselves in technology. But as we thrived, the world around us did not. So we vowed to hide in plain sight, disguising ourselves as a third-world country in order to keep vibranium safe."
"And you're still hiding?"
"Yes. Yes, we are."
"Now I understand completely why I was in a coma for a week until today. Shuri..."
She looked at him and he continued.
"I want you to know that should I ever leave Wakanda, that I will never tell a soul of what I've seen here."
She smiled grabbed his hand and leaned in a little closer and he did the same.
"I know you won't," she said. "I've never doubted that and I never will. Just promise me you won't be leaving any time soon."
"I promise," he said and soon they began to close the distance between them.
"So the rumors are true," a voice said behind them and they immediately leaned back and turned around, blushing madly. There stood a woman looking to be about T'Challa's age, she wore mainly green colored clothing and she had a smirk on her face. "Sorry, did I interrupt something?"
"Nakia!!!," Shuri yelled frustratingly. "You are not sorry!!"
"Haha... okay maybe I'm not sorry. I could not resist."
Shuri rolled her eyes before turning to Max.
"Max, this is Nakia. T'Challa's girlfriend."
"Oh, nice to meet you, Maxwell Stark," she said shaking her hand.
"Nice to meet you as well. So you're the one Shuri doesnt ever stop talking about."
"Nakia!!! I already got that from Jacob!!"
"I think I've embarrassed her enough," she said. "I just wanted to see if it was true that an outsider had been given the Heart-Shaped Herb. Rather interesting that it would be you. If you ever leave Wakanda, you should try to use your gifts to help those in need."
"My thoughts exactly, as a matter of fact. But first, I need to learn how to use my speed better and learn how to fight."
"I'm sure T'Challa would be willing help you with the latter," Nakia suggested and Shuri nodded in agreement. "Well, I'll leave you two alone. Goodbye."
She walked away and then they heard a vibration.
"Oh!," Shuri said and pulled out Max's phone. "I was holding holding onto it for you. It's your parents."
Max quickly took it and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Max!! Thank God!!," Pepper practically screamed into the phone and Max had to pull the phone away from his ear. "Where have you been?!!"
"Long story. But don't worry, I'm safe. I'm in Wakanda, Shuri is standing right next to me. Though I'm surprised I'm even getting a signal here," he said, grinning at the last part as Shuri snickered because she knew what he was referring to.
"Well alright then. H-How long do you plan to stay there?"
"...At least a year, maybe more. Tell Dad it's not his fault. Granted, he had large part to play in me wanting to leave to straighten out my life, but I forgive him. And I'm gonna stay here for a while because I made a promise to Shuri two years ago and I couldn't keep it. Now, I will."
"...Okay," she said. "Well, just promise to come back again. And talk to us often."
"Okay. I will."
"I gotta go, talk to you later... bye. I love you."
"Love you too, Mom. Bye," he said then hung up.
"That was sweet of you to say," she said then began pulling him towards the docking bay up top. "Come on there's so much for you to see. We'll fly out to the city."
"Why would we fly... when we can run?," he asked and gave a mischievous grin.
"...Oh no, don't even think about it."
"...I thought about it."
He then picked her up bridal style, making her blush wildly. Max then began to run very very fast towards the city. As he ran, one thought ran through both of their minds.
'Was she/he about to kiss me?,' they both thought.
Both of them were unaware that Nakia and T'Challa were still there, watching them leave.
"Wow... that was incredible," she said.
"Yes, he certainly is fast," T'Challa said.
"I was talking about him and Shuri."
"...I knew that."
"Did you?," she teased earning an eye roll but she just chuckled. "Hahaha... but in all seriousness, I fully believe that those two are meant for each other."
"We can only hope Jacob can accept that," he said and she nodded in agreement.
Max soon stopped right on the edge of the city and he put Shuri down.
"Really wanted to see if that would work," Max said, then he saw Shuri and he snickered.
"What?," she asked.
"You might want to fix your hair... hahaha."
She put her hands on her hair and could feel it that her hair was sticking straight backwards. She freaked out a little and quickly fixed back to the way it was before and began smacking and Max's arm for laughing.
"Haha... totally worth it. Ow!!," he said before she slugged his arm, then immediately regretting it.
"Ow!! I almost forgot that you took the Heart-Shaped Herb. Ow..."
"Okay, I'm sorry about that. I'll warn you next time."
"Are you kidding?!! That was even more fun than I thought it would be!!," she exclaimed and he looked at her weirdly.
Then they walked in and she began the tour of the city. Max was absolutely astonished by how similar it was to big cities like New York and Chicago. While it was smaller, it was far more advanced and what he liked the most was the design of the buildings, and how they still had a bit of that tribal feel to them.
They received some looks from the people, mainly because there has never been a white boy in their midst before, but it was also because the princess did not go out much.
"As I said before, four tribes agreed to live under the king. The Merchant Tribe, which is the province that we are in now. Then there's the Border Tribe, who protect the perimeter of Wakanda. Then there's the River Tribe, which Nakia is part of, and the Mining Tribe."
"What tribe is the royal family part of?"
"We're our own tribe. The Golden Tribe."
"Cool name," he commented and she smiled proudly. "Out of curiosity, where are the Jabari?"
"Right about there," she said pointing to the mountains. "No one has gone there for centuries. We usually leave them alone and they usually leave us alone."
"Hmm... interesting. Anything else you want to show me?"
"Of course. Where you'll be staying."
Together, they started to head to the Royal Palace. On the way there, Max began to explain what he saw in the Cheetah Realm.
"I awoke to darkness and realized I had been buried. I saw what seemed to look like some part of Africa, though I can only imagine it was Wakanda, I don't really know," he said and Shuri listened carefully. "Then a blue cheetah appeared and turned into what looked like an older version of myself. We had a long talk and he explained to me that he saved me when my dad fought the Iron Monger. Gave me my speed to save my life."
"Incredible. Truly," she said. "Well, your body should be able to withstand the speed now, even if you get any faster. You also have superhuman strength and instincts."
"Hmm... interesting," he said. "Listen, Shuri, I was thinking of something. I have a... project I guess you could say, that you and I can work on."
"What did you have in mind?"
"A suit. Like my dad's but less bulky and more flexible. Armored to help withstand the speed and make it look cool."
"...Count me in and I have a few ideas already."
"Awesome," he said and they soon came up to the palace.
As they went inside, Max looked back at the city and smiled.
'I think I'm gonna like it here,' he thought to himself.
Hope you like this. I did the best I could to describe Wakanda so I hope you understand it. Until the next chapter is up, see ya later.