REALLY QUICK: I made a mistake last chapter with Valkyrie. She is based off her classic design in this universe. I was originally going to use the MCU look, but Marvel Ultimate Alliance 3 made me want to go with classic Valkyrie. However, I wrote this chapter a while back, and didn't realize that I forgot to make the changes until someone happened to comment on my choice to use MCU Valkyrie. I have updated the previous chapter with the correct description.
And this will certainly confuse new readers from after the correction has been made, I guess...but oh well.
The ten brainwashed Vanguardians simply stood there, alongside the other brainwashed heroes under Grodd's control, before the giant gorilla pointed his finger towards Solovar, Okoye, and the remaining four Vanguardians.
"Kill Solovar and Okoye, but bring the Vanguardians to me! I want the entire team under my control!" Grodd shouted.
Cap took a look at Batman. "So what the hell do we do now?!"
"I've prepared for the possibility of brainwashed heroes, but not on this scale," was all Batman could answer with.
"We must retreat," Black Panther then said, slowly backing away from Grodd's minions. "That is all we can try to do."
But then, Barry began running around the six, faster than any of the free Vanguardians had seen him run before. The lightning around him increased and increased as he did so.
"What's he doing?!" Wonder Woman yelled.
Before any of them knew it, the Flash stopped running circles around them and threw a massive lighting bolt that roared its way onto the ground, sending all six of them crashing down.
Cap, Batman, Okoye, Solovar, and Black Panther's hearing was damaged by how loud the lightning was when it struck the ground, and laid down on the ground for a few moments…which was all the Flash needed in order to strike another lighting bolt. Or at least try to. Wonder Woman got up quickly and crossed her arms, using her silver bracelets to deflect the lightning bolt and sent it back towards Barry, and now he was the one flying up in the air.
The brainwashed Green Lantern tried to create a hammer to send against Wonder Woman while Thor began swinging his hammer up into the air…but then green electricity came out of Hal's ring while Mjolnir plopped onto the ground. With Thor, it appeared that his brainwashing cancelled out his worthiness to lift his hammer, and a voice came out of the Green Lantern ring.
Green Lantern of Sector 2814 has been brainwashed and is unfit to wield this ring.
Grodd narrowed his eyes and gritted his teeth. "NO!" I do not have time for this.
Batman nodded sideways towards Captain America and Black Panther, and Wonder Woman, Solovar, and Okoye all saw this. It was known to all of them that this was their best opportunity to retreat. And retreat they tried, but Superman used heat vision against Okoye's leg, sending her down to the ground.
Superman began readying more heat vision in order to finish the job, but Wonder Woman decked him in the face and then kicked him in the stomach, before grabbing him by his cape, swinging him around, and throwing him towards the royal palace.
Aquaman charged at Black Panther with his trident, and the African king jumped up into the air before the underseas king could strike.
Black Panther ran up to Aquaman and slashed him in the face with his claws, only for Aquaman to uppercut Black Panther in the chin and knee him in the stomach three times. Black Panther shoved Aquaman away, but then a swarm of flying ants came flying towards him. It was almost impossible to see anything – there must've been a million ants flying towards him. In the midst of it all, he felt a tiny body running around him. Ant-Man. For a moment, he stopped feeling tiny footsteps, but then he felt a powerful kick to his upper abdomen, and before he could react to that, he felt tiny blasts all across his body. Must've been the Wasp.
The ants went away, and he felt himself lifted up, and two red-clothed arms wrapped around his body. Shazam.
And "SHAZAM!" was what the brainwashed hero cried out, sending a bolt of lighting down to Black Panther. If not for his suit, he would've been fried, but even with it on, he felt pain all across his body. Then the man cried out 'Shazam' again, and another lighting bolt burst down from the sky and struck Black Panther, who screamed in agony.
Even though the world looked upside down to him, he could still see what was going on with the others. Okoye and Solovar had been knocked out, and the man that Cap claimed he fought alongside in World War II thrust his claws back, attempting to stab Solovar in the eyes with him. He was stopped by Wonder Woman, who slashed his face with her sword, and then stabbed him in the leg with the sword. The soldier, in turn, slashed Wonder Woman in the face with his claws, and while she cried out for a moment, she was quick to grit her teeth, snarl, and deck the man in the face before pummeling him into the ground. Flash tried to strike her, but Wonder Woman managed to dodge just in time, only to feel blasts of magical energy from Zatanna and Carol.
Wonder Woman was able to dodge some blasts from the two, and then took note of the distance between Zatanna and Carol. They both let out purple and yellow energy blasts, respectively, and Wonder Woman crossed her arms into the 'X' formation again, and the blasts bounced off from her and went towards Carol and Zatanna. She flew to Carol, grabbed her hair, and yanked it, causing Carol to yell, and threw her towards Zatanna.
Captain America dodged the spears of Valkyrie and Lady Sif, and proceeded to swing his shield at Shazam's back; the latter dropped Black Panther in response to this, and all the African king could do was run.
Meanwhile, Hal's Green Lantern ring was still struggling.
Green Lantern of Sector 2814 has been brainwashed and is unfit to wield this ring.
Green Lantern of Sector 2814 has been brainwashed and is unfit to wield this ring.
Green Lantern of Sector 2814 has been brainwashed and is unfit to wield this ring.
Green Lantern of Sector 2814 has been brainwashed and is unfit to wield this ring.
It kept repeating those words over and over, and eventually, purple elecriticty consumed Hal again. As the voice kept going on, the electricity thickened in appearance, and Hal covered his head with his hands, groaning and murmuring.
Then, the ring's voice stopped for a few moments, before uttering.
Green Lantern of Sector 2814's mind has been freed and is fit to wield this ring once more.
But Hal Jordan still appeared to be under Grodd's control. The idea that the ring had been tricked was confirmed when Hal created four massive missiles, all of which struck Black Panther, Batman, Captain America, and Wonder Woman. The latter three tried to get up, only to start getting pummeled into the ground.
Aquaman bashed Black Panther with his trident, Ant-Man sent another army of ants towards him, and Wasp blasted at him multiple times. Iron Man decked Batman in the stomach and then in the face, while Green Lantern created a giant machine to shoot at the Dark Knight with and Flash sent another lightning bolt his way. Superman used heat vision towards Captain America, who dodged it with his shield. Thor sent out lighting from his hands, which none of the others knew he could do – it seemed he didn't need the hammer in order to be useful to Grodd after all. Zatanna sent out blue fire towards the Captain, and Carol sent out energy blasts towards him as well.
"You must break free!" Cap pleaded, particularly making eye contact with Superman. "You are all stronger than this! You must break free from Grodd's control!"
But it was no use. Just as Thor and Zatanna were about to send out massive storms of lightning towards Captain America, Wonder Woman lunged towards Thor and punched the side of his face. She then grabbed Zatanna's right hand, and she sighed, uttering, "Terribly sorry, dear," before placing enough pressure on her hand to break it. She then elbowec Zatanna down to the ground. Wonder Woman had to dodge when Superman blasted heat vision towards her. The Man of Steel sped up the Amazon, but she dodged him and struck him in the shins, then proceeded to headbutt him. Carol tried to blast at Wonder Woman again, but like before, she deflected them with her bracelets.
At this point, all the brainwashed Vanguardians turned their attention towards Wonder Woman, and all of them charged at her. When Green Lantern tried to swing a sword towards the Amazon, she blocked it with her own sword, then destroyed the construct with her bare hands and throw her ally towards Thor. Iron Man tried to deck her in the face, but Wonder Woman blocked the hit and began crushing Iron Man's armor. She returned a blow to his face, and punted away Flash when he tried to run up towards her, before grabbing Wasp into the palm of her hand and sending her down to the ground.
But she could only take so much, and the other Vanguardians watched as Wonder Woman began to get overwhelmed and tired, with all ten of the brainwashed Vangurdians delivering blows of all kinds to her now, from punches to heat vision and freeze breath to energy blasts to bolts of lighting.
Meanwhile, as Okoye and Solovar got up, the other four brainwashed heroes all charged towards them. Valkyrie slashed Okoye with her spear and Lady Sif stabbed the African warrior in the leg with her own spear, and Wolverine stabbed Solovar in the chest with his claws while Shazam called down the lightning onto Solovar, causing the gorilla to screech.
Batman, Captain America, and Black Panther all looked around at the sight, and then had to brace themselves when Grodd pointed towards them and the remaining gorillas charged towards them.
But then, constructs of a yellow symbol began striking the gorillas. And then they began raining down on the sky, towards both the gorilla army and all the brainwashed heroes. And it was not hard for any of the remaining heroes to figure out what these symbols were.
They represented the symbol of Doctor Fate.
Grodd used his arm to shield himself from the blasts of the cross, as did the gorillas and all of the brainwashed heroes. Then, the new Doctor Fate created a shield that encompassed everyone in Grodd's forces, sans Shazam, the soldier, Valkyrie, and Lady Sif. Fate proceeded to create a massive rope that tied those four up, and then she looked at the Vanguardians.
"We must go now!" She stated, her voice sounding distorted.
She created an energy bubble around Batman, Captain America, Black Panther, and the unconscious Solovar and Okoye and lifted the bubble up in the air. She created a separate bubble for the other heroes and Wonder Woman stood down at the ground for a few moments, looked at Grodd's forces as the shield this Doctor Fate had created began to fade, and flew up with the others.
By the time the shield disappeared, the heroes were safely out of the grasp of Grodd. Everyone was confused as to who this new Doctor Fate was, where she came from, how she got here, and how she knew to come here.
"Who are you?" Black Panther asked, placing his hand on the bubble. "How did you come here to Wakanda?"
Doctor Fate looked back at him. "I've been in Wakanda the whole time, brother,"
Black Panther noticeably jumped at this, and the white eyes on his mask widened. "…Shuri?"
"Bingo. And we're off to the Tower of Fate."
The Tower of Fate was not a complex building. Its exterior looked to be a simple, thin building made out of grey bricks; the top of the tower looked like the tops of any other castle; the interior was a bit of a different story. There were more artifacts than could possibly be counted, looking to be from various eras, and Doctor Fate took her head off to reveal the face of Shuri, the brother of T'Challa. She looked to be about 5-10 years younger than her brother, with a small face and beaded hair. She had her right arm on her hip, and made eye contact with Black Panther, who had his mask off and his mouth agape. Batman and Captain America were both standing next to him, while Wonder Woman was standing a few feet away, and Okoye and Solovar laid unconscious on the ground while the brainwashed heroes continued to struggle.
"It's about time you showed up, ,T'Challa," she said.
Black Panther raised his finger up. "I do not understand, Shuri. You've always been one for science. You're an inventor. How and why have you taken up the mantle of Doctor Fate?! This just doesn't feel right…"
Shuri shook her head and walked up to Black Panther. "By the all Gods, I never dreamed of becoming Doctor Fate. I still cannot believe I have donned this helmet. But fear not – it is only temporary. I will be relieved of this mantle once Grodd has been vanquished."
Captain America blanked a few times. "Hold on just a moment – I recall Kent Nelson once saying that Nabu, the spirit in the Helmet, would not release him once he discovered its power."
"Captain America would be correct," Wonder Woman added on, walking around the others. "Those bound by the Helmet of Fate cannot be released."
"The spirit of Kent Nelson vouched for me, if you will," Shuri added on, walking up directly to Wonder Woman until she was only a foot away, having to tilt her head all the way back due to not reaching the Amazon's shoulders. "And thank the Gods, because I should not be Doctor Fate. It's just not for me."
Black Panther bit his lip. "Shuri…what has become of Wakanda? Do you have any idea how Grodd escaped his execution and has done any of this?"
To that, Shuri looked down at the ground and sighed while approaching her brother. "I…am not entirely sure how he managed to escape his execution, or how he managed to build those machines he uses to mind control everyone….but I do know this: He plans to use the Vanguard of Justice as his real army. He'll still make use of the gorillas, of course, but with the likes of Superman, Thor, Captain Marvel, Green Lantern, and all the others under his control, he will try to bring the world to his knees. And he wants to slaughter all of Wakanda to set an example to those who may try to fight back."
Black Panther looked at the ground, placed his hand on his chest, and took a deep breath before asking, "How much of Wakanda has been slaughtered. How many of our people are gone, Shuri?! Just how many innocent lives has that barbaric monster taken?!"
"Thankfully, he has not left the capital city. I have used the magic of Fate to prevent him from doing such a thing…for now. We both know what Grodd's capable of – and with Zatanna under his control, there's no telling how long it takes before he breaks my spells and slays the rest of Wakanda."
Black Panther breathed a heavy sigh of relief, and then sat down at a chair that was next to something labeled the 'Spear of Destiny' and another thing called the 'Cosmic Cube'. When Shuri walked up to him, Black Panther raised his finger up to indicate that he just needed a moment to collect himself in the wake of all of this.
Wonder Woman placed her hand on the king's shoulders. "I am terribly sorry that all of this has happened to your people, T'Challa. You deserve better than this."
"It's….it's alright, Diana," Black Panther replied, before standing up. "I just wonder now….I did try to spend more time as a King than as a Vanguardian. Orin and I both felt it was the best thing to do, given how we had other matters to attend to. But I picked the wrong time to act with the Vanguard. Had I stayed here in Wakanda, I could have prevented Grodd's attack."
There was a pause as he looked down at the ground, and then he sighed. "It was an honor to serve among you all. Diana, Batman, Steve, you are all welcome to Wakanda if you ever need any kind of assistance of us. But after we have gotten rid of Grodd, I believe I shall tender my resignation to Superman."
Batman let out a 'hmph'. "While I understand your sentiments, T'Challa, it sounds like Grodd has been planning this for a very long time. For years. It probably wouldn't have mattered whether you were in the Vanguard Tower or in Wakanda – Grodd would've blindsided you anyway."
"Batman, you don't know Grodd like we do –"
"No wait, he's actually got a point," Shuri interjected before Black Panther could finish, nodding to Batman a second afterwards. "Batman is actually right. It wouldn't have mattered. And your membership to the Vanguard of Justice gives Wakanda a much-needed foothold in the outside world. You must stay with the Vanguard. And besides, how will I one day get clearance to the Vanguard Tower if you're not there to vouch for me?"
Batman noticeably stiffened and narrowed his eyes. "I agreed with you until that last part. Don't push it, princess."
"And now is not the time for jokes," Black Panther stated to his sister. "Now is the time to depose the world of Grodd, once and for all."
"I am completely on board with this idea," Captain America finally said, before turning his head to the right and pointing at the brainwashed heroes. "But what do we do about them?"
Wonder Woman and Shuri walked up to the four, who had been squirming that whole time, and the Amazon looked at the side of her leg where her Lasso of Truth normally would've been. "I would free them with the Lasso of Truth, but I wasn't able to retrieve it when we had to flee."
Shuri extended her arm out and a massive ball of golden energy began gleaming from her hand. Four bars split out from the ball and went towards the machines that the four had on their heads, and the four grunted and groaned for a few moments before the devices were destroyed. Valkyrie, Logan, Sif, and Shazam all sighed in relief.
"Oh my God, the Vanguard!" Shazam said, running up to Captain America. "Look guys, I am so sorry for attacking you. I'm a really big fan of all of guys, especially you, Captain. And Superman, love him, too. Please, please, please don't hate me."
"It's alright, son. You were brainwashed. It'd be ludcrious to hold that against you."
The man with the claws, the one Cap said he had recognized from World War II, walked up to the super soldier. "It's good to see you again, Captain Rogers. My name is Logan. Nice of you to recognize me, bub. But I really cannot believe you're standing here…"
Cap nodded and shook Logan's hand.
Valkyrie and Sif, meanwhile, had death glares. "Where is the gorilla?!" Valkyrie screamed. The blonde warrior pulled out her spear. "Where is the gorilla that made me his pawn?!"
Lady Sif also grabbed out her spear. "We shall create a river out of his blood! Come on, Diana of Themyscria – the three of us can stop Grodd on our own."
"No, you can't!" Shuri stated, pointing at Sif. "We need a plan. You four will give me and the Vanguard some much-needed power, but we still need a plan," she said, before looking at Batman. "Come with me, Dark Knight. I miss science. You and I, we got some inventing to do."