Straight Outta Wakanda Part 2

Inside a secret AIM installation, Klaue was at a table, working on a batch of Vibranium based weapons like his own. As he was putting the finishing touches on his latest weapon, one AIM agent walked up to him.

"Klaue!" he shouted.

"Ah Mr. AIM goon," Klaue replied, turning to face him. "I'm glad you're here. You can tell your Scientist Supreme that the next batch of weapons is ready for our next sales pitch. And you still have some left over for your little project."

"That's all well and good, but our Latverian deal was cut off by the Black Panther!"

Klaue smirked. "So, the prodigal son has come to avenge his father. I must admit, he came sooner than I anticipated."

"Listen Klaue, it's bad enough that we're on the Avengers' radar, but with this new king coming after us-"

Klaue scoffed, waving the agent off. "He's just a child. An untrained cub pretending to be a man. He is no threat to us."

"You better be right. For all our sakes."

The agent then walked off, leaving Klaue to return to his work.

"Some people get so uptight over the little things."

Some Time Ago…

At the Wakandan Palace, T'Challa stood at one of the windows, his mother and his sister by his side. When he saw the explosion that claimed the life of his father, his eyes went wide as a wave of horror washed over him.

"No..." Overwhelmed by grief, T'Challa dropped to his knees as tears fell from his eyes. "I should have been there…"

"There was nothing you could have done..." his mother whispered, tears in her eyes as she rubbed her son's back.

As T'Challa wiped the tears away from his eyes, feelings of anger and fury washed over him. He rose up and exited the throne room, much to his mother and sister's surprise.

"T'Challa!" his sister called out before their mother put a hand on her shoulder.

"Let him be, Shuri. He just needs time."

T'Challa ran towards a sacred grove in the center of the Wakandan palace, which was being tended by an elder by the name of Zuri. when Zuri saw the distraught prince, his walking stick fell from his hands.

"T'Chaka..." he whispered.

"Gone…" T'Challa lamented. "I need the heart shaped herb."

"My prince-"

"King," T'Challa interrupted. "Because of that vile demon Klaue… the mantle of King, and that of the Black Panther falls on me. And if I am to avenge my father's murder, I will need the strength of the Panther behind me."

"...Very well," Zuri relented. "Come with me."

T'Challa followed after Zuri, both insistent and eager at the same time. Zuri took one of the herbs and placed it in a small mortar. He ground it up with a pestle, turning it into a small paste.

"Lay down, my P- my King."

T'Challa laid down on a small cot, crossing his arms over his chest as Zuri approached with the paste.

"I will not lie to you, the process is painful, and you will suffer."

"If it will give me the strength to fight the likes of Klaue, I will endure it."

Zuri nodded before slowly pouring the paste into T'Challa's mouth. "May Bast watch over you in your time of need, my King…"

All of a sudden, T'Challa sat up, finding himself in the middle of a vast African Plain. He looked around, noting a large tree with several panthers laying on the branches. One of the panthers leapt down to the ground, suddenly morphing into T'Chaka. T'Challa was overwhelmed by the sight, tears building up in his eyes.

"Baba…" he let out, before rushing forward and hugging him.

T'Chaka returned the hug in kind, reassuring his son that he was there. "It is alright."

"I…" T'Challa choked, his voice heavy with emotion. "I am not ready to be without you."

"A man who has not prepared his children for his own death… has failed as a father."

"You have not failed, baba…" T'Challa insisted. "I have… I should have been there."

"You had your duty. Protect our family. And now, that duty extends to our kingdom."

"Klaue… he has to pay for what he has done."

"Do not dwell on vengeance my son. It will consume you, and in time, make you forget your true self."

"He took you from us. From mother. From Shuri. Do they not deserve justice?"

"The line between revenge and avenge is very narrow. A true king is able to discern one from the other…"

...

"Your highness?"

Panther suddenly opened his eyes, seeing Wasp hovering in front of him as he sat in a meditative pose.

"Sorry to interrupt, but the others are waiting for you downstairs."

Panther shook off his trance, standing up and following Wasp.

In the Assembly Hall, the rest of the team were looking over some data on AIM warehouses as Panther and Wasp came in.

"What do you have?" Panther asked.

"These are the AIM facilities we know about," Cap explained, gesturing to the screen. "We've been keeping an eye on them, trying to figure out what their main goal is."

"They've been scrounging all the leftover alien tech for something," Logan continued. "Something bigger than suped-up blasters. Trouble is we don't know what."

"The endgames of these scientists don't matter to me," T'Challa dismissed. "What matters is figuring out which installation is housing Klaue."

"Well it's not like we can just go knocking down each one looking for him," Wasp remarked.

"Can this system isolate a specific wavelength frequency?" Panther questioned.

"Uh… yeah," Tony answered, raising an eyebrow. "Why?"

"Vibranium, when properly utilized, possesses a very unique wavelength signature," T'Challa explained, taking control of the computer. "With the correct spectrum analysis, it can be detected when its vibrational capabilities are utilized."

T'Challa hit a few keys on the keyboard, causing the computer to perform a massive sweep of the city. After a few seconds, the computer singled out a lone warehouse.

"Well… that was easy," Spidey remarked.

"Let's move out Avengers!" Cap ordered.

At the warehouse, several AIM agents were going about their work, tending various highly sophisticated projects. Suddenly, one of the walls was blown open. The smoke slowly subsided, revealing the Avengers and Black Panther coming out.

"The Avengers?!" one agent cried out. "Here?!"

"Get them!" a second agent ordered.

As the AIM agents started shooting at them, the Avengers scattered throughout the warehouse. Cap leapt over the railing and threw his shield at an agent, taking him out. As he landed, he kicked another agent near him into a wall. A third agent tried shooting at him, but he quickly reclaimed his shield and used it to block the oncoming blasts as he walked up to him and punched him in the face, cracking his visor.

Iron Man landed on the ground and just blasted two AIM agents right in front of him. One agent leapt onto him from behind, but he just whipped his head back, hitting him and forcing him to fall off.

Thor meanwhile, threw his hammer into the battle. It flew around the room, hitting several AIM agents in the head as it did so. It then quickly approached Hawkeye, much to his surprise. He braced himself before it stopped inches from his face. He looked back up as it returned to Thor's hand.

"Cutting it a little close, don't you think?" the archer called out.

Thor just shrugged as he reclaimed his hammer and bashed another agent. Hawkeye returned to the battle and fired an explosive arrow at the ground near some agents. The blast sent them all flying across the room.

Black Widow wasted no time shooting at the agents, taking them out. As one got close, she chopped him in the neck, taking him out. She then swept the legs of another agent before shooting down three more. She then put one gun away as she took the empty clip out of the other and replaced it as another agent came up. She quickly threw her fist up, taking him out.

Wasp flew around the room zapping every bad guy she came across. As she floated in the air shooting an agent, a second agent came up behind her about to grab her. Before he could, a set of metal claws sliced at his gun. She turned around to see the agent get kicked in the face by Wolverine, cracking his helmet as he fell to the ground.

"Has anyone ever told you that you can be a little unstable?" Wasp asked.

"On occasion," Wolverine replied before returning to the battle.

Hulk meanwhile was smashing to his heart's content. He bashed and threw around every AIM agent he could find. As he was about to charge at another one, the agent suddenly felt his entire body covered in ants. Hulk turned to see Ant-Man manipulating the army of insects.

"Figures you would take the fun out of a fight," he sneered.

"I prefer to fight smarter, not harder."

Hulk just punched the agent in response. "I like it harder. It's more fun."

Ant-Man just shrugged as he returned to the battle.

Black Panther meanwhile was going into battle with his claws blazing. He slashed and struck one agent after another. He picked one agent up and threw him onto a table, causing it to shatter to pieces. One agent tried shooting at him, but the blasts just bounced off him. He then walked towards him and slashed the gun with his claws before punching him out. He saw another group of agents about to shoot at him, but he quickly leapt to the wall and ran along it before leaping off and throwing a Vibranium dagger at the group. The dagger exploded on impact, sending the agents flying. As he landed, he went over to one of the semi-conscious agents and picked him up by the throat.

"Klaue," he snarled, sounding almost like a feral panther. "Where is he?"

"I- I don't know what you're-"

Panther interrupted the agent by strangling him. "I don't like repeating myself. Where is he?"

"I'm telling you… I don't know… who that is." The guy coughed, struggling to breathe. "And even… if I did… I wouldn't tell you."

"Is that so?" Panther raised his other hand, extending his claws. "Be certain of your answer. My patience is wearing thin."

Before he could bring his claws down, a line of webbing suddenly attached itself to his arm, stopping it from coming down.

"Whoa there!" Spidey called out. "I'm all for the bad cop routine, but that's a bit harsh, don't you think?"

Panther replied by wrapping his hand around the web and cutting it with his claws. He dropped the goon, who sagged to the ground as he gasped for air. "You would be wise not to stand in my way, Spider-Man."

"We'll find Klaue." Spidey spared the goon a glance, clearly uncomfortable beneath his mask. "But not like this."

Panther just glared at him before Cap stepped between them.

"Alright, enough. Both of you. This isn't getting us anywhere. We need to stay focused on the mission at hand."

"Well I think we've established these guys aren't gonna tell us anything," Wasp commented, flying up to Cap's head.

"So how are we gonna find Klaue?" Spidey asked.

"The same way we found this place," Iron Man replied. "If Klaue has any more Vibranium with him, we could probably use that to find him."

"There is one piece he would still have," Panther supplied, his voice hard as his fists clenched.. "My father's helm."

Across town at a secluded warehouse, an agent burst into the building urgently.

"We have a problem! The Avengers attacked one of our warehouses. The Black Panther was with them!"

Klaue raised an eyebrow at that. "He went to the Avengers for help? Now that is something I did not see coming."

"We need to move out," the agent insisted. "If they find us before ready to move our weapons-"

"What's the big deal?" Klaue cut off. "We have no reason to hide

"But, the Avengers-!"

"Will be powerless against my latest creation." Klaue glanced down at the weapon he was building, an almost feral grin spreading across his face. "And the Black Panther will be the first to perish."

Sometime later, the Avengers took position on various rooftops across from the warehouse where Klaue and AIM were held up. Captain America and Iron Man were perched on a rooftop right across from the building.

"This is Captain America. Iron Man and I are in position. Sound off."

On another rooftop, Black Widow and Hawkeye took their stance, perching on a rooftop right across from the building.

"Black Widow and Hawkeye in position Captain," Widow reported.

"Waiting for your signal," Hawkeye added.

In an alleyway across from the building, Ant-Man and Wasp set up shot as Ant-Man rode an ant and Wasp hovered right next to him.

"So, what's the plan, Cap?" Wasp questioned.

"We go in, find the weapons, destroy them, and take in Klaue," Cap listed off. "If all goes well, it will be your basic snatch and grab, simple as that."

"Cap, things in our line of work are rarely simple," Wolverine replied, taking his position on a rooftop next to the building with Thor and Hulk.

"Well if things go south, we can just go to Plan B," Thor replied, gripping his hammer.

"I like that plan," Hulk commented, pounding his fist. "Lots of smashing."

"Figures," Wolverine remarked with a scoff.

"It will not come to that," Black Panther promised, perched on a telephone pole, with Spider-Man on the pole next to him.

"Here's hoping," Spidey replied nervously. "Bet you'll be happy when this guy's in a cell back home.

"If he is so lucky."

That caught Spider-Man off guard.

"Wait, you're not actually going to-"

"I am willing to do whatever it takes to avenge my father. I would like to think an 'Avenger' would understand that."

"Well yeah, but-"

Panther just turned back towards the building, much to Spider-Man's chagrin. Cap continued eying the building, seeing a strange lack of activity from inside. Finally, the super soldier was tired of waiting. "Alright, let's move in, Avengers."

The others didn't hesitate to comply and rushed at the building. Thor and Hulk smashed open one wall. Hawkeye and Widow crashed through a window, with Ant-Man and Wasp flying in behind them. Black Panther crashed through another window, with Spider-Man swinging behind him. Iron Man blasted open the door, with Cap following close behind. To everyone's surprise however, the entire room was empty. Panther seemed to be taking this hardest of all.

"No!" He cried out, punching a wall." How could I lose him? How?!"

"This doesn't make any sense," Iron Man let out, going over his scans. "Klaue should be right here."

"Then where is everyone?" Spider-Man asked.

"Right here!" Klaue declared.

Everyone turned to see Klaue coming out of the shadows armed with his sonic cannon, as well as a few AIM agents.

"Ah, so you must be T'Challa," Klaue guessed, eyes locked on Panther. "You seem to have much of your father's spirit in you."

"You will see just how much!" Panther declared, pouncing forward.

Before he could get close however, Klaue shot at him with his cannon, launching him back. The Avengers tried to move on AIM, but one of the agents pulled out a device that sent out an EMP, disabling Iron Man, Ant-Man, and Wasp. Iron Man just toppled over as Hank and Jan were left trapped in their tiny forms.

"Not this again…" Wasp squeaked out.

The others were being bombarded by a series of blasts from AIM's new sonic cannons. The intense sound waves emanating from them were quickly starting to become too much as AIM kept pouring the power on the Avengers. While they were doing that, Klaue walked over to Black Panther as he tried getting up.

"Oh my, what a sense of Deja vu I'm getting," he taunted. "You should be honored. You get to die the same way your daddy did."

T'Challa just growled at that remark as Spidey was blown right next to him by an AIM agent.

"Panther…" Spidey let out. "What's happening... to you?"

"The suit…" Panther wheezed, his entire body burning. "too much… energy..."

Spidey looked over Panther's suit, seeing the surging energy coursing through it. Suddenly, he was struck with an idea.

"Panther… Vibranium… can absorb… energy," Spidey told him. "But… can also redirect it… right?" Panther nodded painfully. "Then maybe… you just need… to expel it a bit?"

"How… do you suggest... I do that?"

"Try… hitting something!"

Panther nodded and mustering his strength, he slammed his fist into the ground. This sent a shockwave through the concrete that cracked it. It also alleviated enough of the strain that he could rise to his feet. The AIM agents stabilized themselves from the shock and prepared to open fire on him. As they began shooting, Black Panther leapt over their heads and landed in the middle of the group, punching and kicking every AIM agent in sight. With the AIM agent's attention diverted, Cap grabbed his fallen shield and threw it at some of the agents taking them out.

"Alright Avenger's let's take them down! Thor, see if you can get Tony, Hank, and Jan powered up again!"

Thor nodded before holding out his hand and summoning his discarded hammer. Once his weapon flew into his hand, he aimed it at Iron Man and shot the armor full of electricity. The systems powered back on, allowing Tony to straighten up.

"Power up 400 percent capacity," JARVIS reported.

"Well, how about that?" Tony remarked before firing his repulsor blasts at some of the AIM agents.

Hank and Wasp used their Pym disks to return to their normal size, Thor immediately juicing up their suits as well. Once back at full power, Wasp immediately shrunk back down and flew in the faces of many AIM agents, blasting them relentlessly. Spider-Man quickly sprang to his feet as well and started webbing up several AIM agents. He quickly webbed one and pulled him in close, kicking him in the chest.

Ant-Man ran towards one agent who was about to shoot at him before he shrunk down and landed on the gun. He then ran along the barrel of it before leaping towards the agent's head and hitting him in the face, cracking his visor. Ant-Man then grew back to normal size as he landed just as another agent was about to fire at him. Just then, an arrow embedded itself in the front of the gun, causing it to explode and knock the agent to the ground. Ant-Man turned to see Hawkeye standing behind him drawing another arrow and smirking.

"Thanks," Ant-Man replied.

Hawkeye just nodded as he returned to the battle. Off to the side, Black Widow found herself back to back with Thor as he bashed agents with his hammer and she just shot them down.

"Black Widow, how are you fairing?" Thor asked, throwing one agent aside like he was nothing.

"Running low on bullets, and energy," She replied, shooting one agent's gun out of his hands. "Other than that, I've been worse."

"These fiends are nothing compared to the foes I have faced. When this is over, I can tell you about my battles against the Frost Giants of Jotunheim."

"You know, the more time I spend with you, the less you make sense."

Thor just shrugged as he swung his hammer upward, knocking another agent into the air.

Hulk meanwhile was tossing aside AIM agents like they were ragdolls. While he was doing that, Wolverine landed behind him and slashed some agents coming from the rear.

"Watch your back, Jade Jaws," Logan told him. "I don't care how oversized it is."

"Can it, shorty," Hulk replied, punching out another AIM agent.

Wolverine just growled as he spun around to face Hulk. Before he could get a word off though, Hulk just grabbed Wolverine and threw him at a cluster of AIM agents heading towards them.

"I hate you..." Wolverine let out, groaning in irritation.

Hulk just smirked in response before returning to the battle. The Avengers continued wrecking AIM agents across the board. much to Klaue's irritation.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Klaue let out before eying Panther heading towards him.

"Klaue! We have unfinished business."

Klaue then aimed his blaster at Panther and fired at him, but Panther back flipped out of the way, landing in a panther-like pose. Klaue shot at him again, forcing him to leap onto a support beam. Klaue continued to shoot at him, but Panther just climbed higher and higher on the support beams until he leapt down towards him, extending his claws and slicing his arm off. Klaue stumbled back in pain as Panther walked up to him. He punched him across the face several times before kicking him to the ground. He then picked him up by the shirt collar and extended the claws on his other hand.

"I am not the same man as my father, Klaue. For my rage is greater!"

Before he could bring the claws down, Spidey's web grabbed hold of his hand.

"Whoa!" the teen hero let out. "I don't remember the part of the plan where you go all feral."

"Leave me to this, Spider. This is why I am here."

"I'm not gonna let you kill him."

"This animal took my father from me!"

"Right, I'm the animal here," Klaue remarked sarcastically.

Spiderman shot a quick burst of web fluid at his mouth, shutting him up. "Look, I get it. Believe me, if anyone understands getting vengeance for a loved one's death, it's me."

"How could you understand?!" Panther was practically yelling, claws shaking with barely restrained fury.

"Cause that happened to me once…" Spidey replied, sighing remorsefully. "Someone took a loved one from me. I found the guy, had him cornered and helpless. And by God, I was all set to do it. But then I realized that it wouldn't change what happened. Killing that man wouldn't bring him back. Worse, I'd become like the very monster that I was trying to stop."

Spidey's words seemed to be getting through, Black Panther slowly relaxing as his hands steadied. His claws lowered ever so slightly.

"Listen, what happened to you was awful," Spidey continued. "And this jerk probably deserves what's coming to him, but do you really believe this is the way to do it? You have a choice in this. To be like Klaue, or your father. A killer, or a king."

Panther paused for a moment, taking in all he had heard. Finally, his claws retracted and he dropped Klaue altogether. His posture straightened, and he pulled his mask off his face. There were tears in his eyes, but he wiped them away, a softness to his gaze that was not there before.

"You are right," he declared, looking over at Spider-Man. "I have let vengeance consume me. Made me into something… unrecognizable... but not anymore."

Klaue slowly got to his feet, pulling the webbing from his mouth. He gasped and dropped the white wad of webbing, glaring at the two heroes.

"How droll. And here I thought you actually had a spine."

"Do not mistake my mercy for weakness Klaue," T'Challa warned. "You will face Wakandan justice. Then you will wish I had ended it here."

"I look forward to it, T'Challa." Klaue remarked.

"Oh, and one more thing. A common criminal like you has no right to use my proper name. On the very remote chance we should cross paths again, you will refer to me by my title. Black Panther!"

Later the coming morning, a Wakandan jet arrived to return Klaue and T'Challa to Wakanda. Cap walked up to Panther as he watched members of the Dora Milaje escort Klaue on board.

"So, what happens now?" Cap asked.

"I will take Klaue back with me to Wakanda," T'Challa answered. "We will learn just how he came to learn about our country, as well as how he entered it. After that, I am unsure."

"Well, despite how things started, maybe you could serve Wakanda in a more proactive way."

"And what might that be?"

"Join us."

T'Challa raised an eyebrow at this. "Wakanda has survived on its own for generations."

"Maybe, but coming from a guy who's been in the ice for more than 70 years, the world is changing. Your oath of secrecy might be what drew Klaue to Wakanda in the first place. What's to stop others from trying something like that again?"

T'Challa mulled on that for a bit, seeing the truth to these words. "The Black Panther may be strong… but perhaps it is time for him to seek out allies. Still, it will take time before my people will be ready to embrace the outside world."

"Anything worth doing takes time and work," Cap responded, holding out his hand, "but it is worth it in the end."

"That it is, and until that time arrives, I would be honored to fight alongside such honorable warriors," T'Challa concurred, taking Cap's hand and shaking it.

Meanwhile, at a secret AIM base, the remaining members of Klaue's party were meeting with the Scientist Supreme of AIM.

"So, Klaue has been captured," the Scientist Supreme let out. "This is… unfortunate."

"Luckily, we were able to salvage the remaining Vibranium," one AIM agent reported. "It should be enough to complete the MODOK harness."

"Good. At least one good thing came out of this. But these Avengers are becoming a real problem. And now that the Black Panther has joined their ranks, we need a way to finish them once and for all."

...

A week or so later, Klaue had been found guilty of crimes against Wakanda and was sentenced to life of hard labor, mining the Vibranium he once sought after. Night fell and an exhausted Klaue collapsed onto his prison cot, his entire body sore from his forced labors. As he laid there, a shimmer of green energy flickered in the corner of his cell and two people appeared: Baron Zemo and Amora.

"So, this is the great Ulysses Klaue," Amora remarked. "I am not impressed."

"He just seems to be down on his luck," Zemo defended. "I know what might be needed to lift his spirits."

"And what might that be?" Klaue asked, slowly sitting up.

"Freedom, a new arm…" Zemo listed off, "and revenge."

Klaue couldn't help but smile at the prospects before him.

...

And thus, a new member of the Avengers was acquired. With T'Challa on the team, things are bound to get interesting.