The jungles of Wakanda laid in partial ruin, with many fallen trees, a good chunk of smoke, and both dead people and dead animals. Wonder Woman flew up in the sky, with Valkyrie and Sif down on the ground. The Amazon flew down to the two, who were staring at a large cloud of smoke, and she began to raise an eyebrow.
"May I ask…what brought you to Earth?" Wonder Woman asked, her hands on her hips.
Valkyrie sharpened her spear while saying, "Do you remember when you encountered Loki, and how he was trying to take the crown of Surtur?"
Wonder Woman nodded.
"We discovered evidence of Surtur's minions here on the African continent. You'd see videos of them on that 'Inter-net' the humans have created."
Lady Sif, who was also sharpening her spear, walked up to Wonder Woman. "It's all very low-key activity. Most of Asgard doesn't know that Surtur's minions might've been spotted on Midgard. Odin sent me and Valkyrie to investigate the situation and see if it was real or not before we sent our armies here."
Wonder Woman nodded. "So how did Grodd find you and bring you under his control?"
"We're not sure," Valkyrie answered, tightening her grip on her spear. "That's a very good question, Diana. Neither of us can remember. We were trodding our way through the jungle, avoiding human hunters, when I saw Sif vanish into the bushes. And before I could strike, I felt a rock strike the back of my head. Next thing I remember is being shown off before a massive army of those 'gorillas', as you call them."
Wonder Woman stiffened her lip. "Well, you heard Shuri and T'Challa. Grodd is a long-term planner. We need to bring him down as soon as possible."
Valkyrie nodded. "I agree, but remember….we can't fly. Thor's the only Asgardian that can fly. That's normally not a problem, except here we don't have flying horses and ships"
"Yes. I recall," Wonder Woman replied. "And Hera only knows where Grodd has placed my lasso."
The three continued to lurk the jungles. The ruins began to pass them by, and they were in a far less ravaged part of the jungle now. Wonder Woman had to admit that, even despite the very bad circumstances that brought them here, Wakanda really was a beautiful place. Not even on Themyscira had she seen such lush and vivid green. She heard the calls of several birds, not knowing what species they belonged to but still enjoying the sounds. She really wished she could stop and smile at where she was, but she kept the look of determination on her face.
Her attention was taken when Valkyrie tapped her shoulder, pointing towards a smashed tree. It looked like it could've been done by either one of the brainwashed superheroes or Grodd's gorilla army. As they and Sif went closer to the tree, they began to see gorilla footprints closer to it. Then, with her enhanced hearing, Wonder Woman began to detect the screeching of gorillas – en masse. She also heard some blasting sounds, that sounded like they could've been coming from Carol, Hal, or Iron Man.
What she heard next was the faintest sound of static. And what she saw next was Lady Sif being blown away, into the air, by wind funnels being sent by the brainwashed Barry Allen. Then a giant green fist popped from the trees and struck Valkyrie, while Wonder Woman suddenly found herself in a chokehold from Carol Danvers.
Hal Jordan came out from the jungle and created a gigantic hammer to bash Valkyrie with, while Barry sped around until created a lightning bolt that he thrust towards Lady Sif. Wonder Woman grunted and grimaced as Carol tightened her grip around her, before grabbing the brainwashed heroine by her shoulders and threw her up in the air. Wonder Woman then leapt back into the air and caught up to the brainwashed Captain Marvel, grabbing her by the leg and throwing her down to the ground.
Carol let out an energy blast towards the Amazon, with the latter dodging it with her bracelets. Diana began to get closer and closer to Carol, who kept unleashing energy blasts that she would keep dodging. However, Wonder Woman's face stiffened when she saw Hal slam Valkyrie into the ground with a baseball bat….and then let out a blast towards Carol.
It took the Amazon a moment to figure out what was going on. She remembered Barry telling her about how Carol was able to absorb some of the power of a Green Lantern ring from Hal when the three of them were battling the Reverse-Flash. Carol yelled when the process was done emitting green energy all around her body as she did so. She then created a machine gun and began firing at Wonder Woman with it. While Wonder Woman dodged the first wave of bullets with her bracelets, a couple of the following bullets struck her in the legs. There were no visible flesh wounds, for the impact of Green Lantern ring blasts (as well as Carol and Iron Man's blasts) were equivalent to getting punched robustly hard, but Wonder Woman still felt her leg and grunted.
"Carol…." she began to say as her fellow heroine stared at her with cold, lifeless eyes. "You have to fight back. You, Hal, and Barry have to still be in there somewhere! Fight Grodd's influence!"
There was no response from Carol. All she did was let out a war cry before creating a miniature F-16 jet and launching it towards Wonder Woman. She flew towards the Amazon and punched her three times in the face and twice in the stomach, before Wonder Woman blocked the sixth blow. She headbutted Carol in the face before pulling the 'flying mare' move – she grabbed the blonde by her left arm and threw her over her shoulder.
She saw that Valkyrie had managed the upper hand over Hal, having forced him into a chokehold. Lady Sif, meanwhile, had lifted Barry up and thrown him against a tree. She turned her attention back to Carol as she got up, grabbing her hair and yanking it before turning her around and decking her in the face.
But just then, the three brainwashed heroes teleported out of nowhere, and they were gone.
Wonder Woman took this opportunity to take a deep breath, before radioing the others. *We just fought Hal, Barry, and Carol, and then all three vanished out of nowhere*.
She instantly heard back from Captain America, who had gone off with Shazam, Shuri, and Logan. *We ourselves just battled Superman and Thor. Same thing happened with them. They just…vanished. Into thin air*
*I believe I can explain their disappearances* chimed in Batman, who had gone off with Solovar and Black Panther. *We found Grodd and his fleets. They're a few miles away from the border between Wakanda and South Sudan*
Wonder Woman let out an 'mmph'. In their efforts to find Grodd, they had figured that he would have to be at one of the borders. Wonder Woman and the Asgardians were roughly a few hours' walk away from the border with Ethiopia, while Batman, Solovar, and T'Challa were close to the South Sudanese border and the rest were not too far away from Kenya.
"Forgive me, the only map I've seen of Africa is the one shown to us right before we headed out," Valkyrie began to say, as Wonder Woman turned her head to look at her fellow female warrior, "but I truly forgot which direction 'South Sudan' is in. There were just so damn many countries on that map."
*That's no problem at all*, Shuri piped in, being given temporary access to the Vanguard of Justice's radio signal. *I'll just teleport you there with the magic of Doctor Fate*
And with that, a yellow beam of energy consumed the three, and they were gone.
Black Panther watched, with Batman to his left and Solovar to his right, as his sister began teleporting the other heroes to where they were located. They were on a cliffside, and Grodd's army could be seen from a distance.
"We're all here, bub," Logan said, unsheathing his claws as he did so.
"So where exactly is the buttkicking gonna take place?" Shazam added on.
Black Panther let out a sigh before pointing to Grodd's army and replying with, "Right over there, son."
They all walked up to the edge of the cliffside, where the border between South Sudan was visible. Grodd had to be doing this on purpose, he thought. South Sudan had been wrought with chaos since its formation only a few years ago, and Grodd had to be aware of that. He had to have known that when he chose this country as the first after Wakanda to fall to his regime.
Most of the brainwashed heroes were in sight, too. They were small and somewhat hard to see from the distance, but they could still be seen levitating above the gorilla army. The only ones not in sight were Aquaman, Flash, and Ant-Man, who presumably down to the ground with the army.
Grodd stood in front of his army. He was just as hard to see as the brainwashed heroes, but Black Panther could make out him extending his arms out and even making a few motions.
Then, suddenly, his words became more audible. "This past century, mankind has proven itself unfit to dominate this world. They have made this planet a complete mess, a shell of its former self. And while they are aware of what they've done, they are too greedy, too selfish, too stuck-in-their-ways to actually do anything about it. Mankind is a complete failure of a species, and their end is nigh!"
Grodd could be seen pointing over to the border. "Look at this country. No soon after they achieved its liberation from tyranny, they delved into infighting. This is the essence of human nature!"
The first question Black Panther wanted answered was how on Earth they were suddenly able to hear the gorilla. He was quite a distance away. He turned to his fellow heroes in confusion.
"Don't look at us, your highness," Shazam said, shrugging. "He's, like, dozens of miles away."
"It's my magic," Shuri clarified immediately after Shazam spoke. "I want to be able to hear what he says without getting close enough to where they'd see us."
"Good thinking," Batman replied. "With that mystery solved…there is some unfortunate truth to Grodd's word, but am I correct in assuming he is just using this as an excuse to wipe out all human life?"
Black Panther nodded. "You assume correctly, Batman. Grodd serves only one thing: Himself. No matter how much he says otherwise."
The heroes stopped talking when Grodd spoke again. "It is a minor setback that the remaining heroes were not brainwashed like we had intended. There was a malfunction in my technology that would've made our 'heroes' kill them rather than bring them into obedience. But fear not, my fellow gorillas! With their fierce heroism, they cannot be far. And I have repaired the technologies, so it will not be long before the entire Vanguard of Justice is under our control, and are used to destroy the very species they swore to protect!"
The gorillas cheered and cheered. Black Panther, while cursing under his breath, had no choice but to begrudgingly give Gorilla Grodd credit for his intellect. If Grodd had anything resembling a heart, and if he actually cared about the state that mankind was leaving the Earth in, he could do wonders in helping out the globe, as opposed to just wiping out everybody.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard Logan snarl. "The fate of the whole damn world is at stake right now! Are we really just gonna stand here and let Grodd commit genocide, or are we going to fight, goddamnit?!"
"Of course we are going to fight them, my new friend," said Black Panther, stretching as he did so. "The time is now."
Batman got out a batarang, Wonder Woman and Valkyrie cracked their knuckles, Solovar let out a snarl that was not actually dissimilar from the one Logan had just made, and Black Panther had a face of determination on his eyes.
The time was indeed now.
"And once this world belongs to us," Grodd continued, waving his hands in the air. "I, Gorilla Grodd, will –"
He was interrupted when he heard the words 'Shazam!' followed by a massive lightning bolt striking in the middle of his gorilla army, sending many of the primates flying. Grodd beat his chest in anger, but the other heroes had followed.
The brainwashed heroes charged towards those whose independent will remained. Shuri unleashed yellow fire towards Hal, who swung a hammer towards her, one that Shuri deflected with the fire. Thor and Shazam both sent out bolts of lightning towards either, before the god grabbed the mortal by his leg and threw him down towards the ground. Wonder Woman and Carol had each other by their fists, both clenching their teeth as they tried to overpower each other.
Logan dodged a heat blast from Superman, who extended his fist and flew down towards Logan at top speed. Logan was just barely able to dodge the Man of Steel. A massive cloud of dust took the skies, and when it cleared and Superman was visible, Logan tried to slash at him with his claws. It did nothing to the Kryptonian, but Logan's claws were not harmed either.
"Shit," Logan said, snarling. Superman began walking towards him, but before he could do anything, Wonder Woman could be seen throwing Carol towards him.
Aquaman slammed his trident down on Captain America's shield, before kicking the Super Soldier in the shin, and then knee'ing him in the chest. Cap decked Aquaman in the face, which did send the Atlantean back a few feet. Wasp, at tiny size, was blasting at Batman, who deflected them with his cape. When the Wasp grew back to full-size, Batman grabbed her by her waist and threw her down to the ground. Flash was speeding around the battle at super speed, yellow lighting seen everywhere. It was just then that Valkyrie thrusted her spear at him, sending him crashing down onto the ground. Hank, at giant size, attempted to stomp on Lady Sif, but she was able to lift his foot up with her arms, before upsetting his balance and causing him to fall on his ass.
Iron Man let out several blasts down to the ground, and Zatanna blasted purple energy towards them, but Captain America and Wonder Woman dodged them with their shield and bracelets. Gorillas were screeching and roaring, and pounding on the ground as they battled these forces. Okoye was stabbing one of the gorillas as he charged towards her, while Solovar decked one gorilla in the face and threw another down to the ground.
Black Panther had his eyes on only one gorilla: Grodd.
He stood there, and eyed Grodd. Grodd looked at the carnage, and then he turned his head, making eye contact with the Wakandan king. He grinned.
One of the gorillas charged towards Black Panther, but then purple electricity consumed him, and he spent a moment struggling and clenching his teeth, before running away. "Leave him be!" Grodd yelled to the soldier. "T'Challa is mine!"
Grodd jumped high in the air and smashed his hands onto the ground, sending Black Panther flying. He then struck the king multiple times. Even with this suit, T'Challa felt it. He tried to deck Grodd in the face twice, but the gorilla dodged them. He tried to kick the gorilla in the stomach, but then Grodd was able to dodge that as well. Grodd grabbed T'Challa by his leg and smashed him into the ground.
"You are a failure of a king!" Grodd yelled out. "Your country will fall, because you were too busy abroad with your superhero friends!"
As Black Panther tried to get up, Grodd swung his arm and hooked Black Panther in the face, sending him back down to the ground. The king grunted, to which Grodd uppercutted him in the stomach.
"I am Gorilla Grodd! This world belongs to me! And once you are gone, the rest of your country will be burned alive, and then the entire human race will be slaughtered like termite."
Black Panther's mask had torn, and his mouth was now visible. He coughed out a few drops of blood, before Grodd grabbed him by the head.
"I've been planning this for a long time. What made you think you could top me?"
Grodd's smile disappeared when one formed onto Black Panther's face. "Not a what, a who. My good friend, Batman, to be exact."
Then Black Panther pulled out a device in his hand. He placed it onto Grodd's arm, and the gorilla dropped Black Panther and screamed, being electrocuted. He roared and roared in agony. His cries pierced the skies.
"And striking me that many times, Grodd," Black Panther began, forming fists. "…was a huge, huge mistake."
Black Panther had absorbed all that energy into his suit, and he charged towards the gorilla. He let out a roundhouse kick, and all that energy was dealt out to the gorilla. Grodd was sent flying three dozen feet, and when he crashed down, some cracks could be heard from his body.
As Grodd grimaced, Black Panther walked up to Grodd and placed his foot on his back. "Being a Vanguardian allows me a foothold in the outside word, but also," Black Panther said, smirking. "Your biggest mistake was considering yourself a god."
As Grodd tried to speak, Okoye ran to Black Panther and handed him her spear. Black Panther used the spear to stab Grodd in the chest. Grodd yelled again, and then Black Panther stabbed him in the chest a second time, deepening the spear's reach. Blood came out of Grodd's mouth, and he began to loudly cough, before he drew his final breath and laid lifelessly onto the ground.
With Grodd dead, the gorillas and brainwashed heroes stopped what they were doing. Purple electricity crackled from the devices on their heads, and the lighting on each and every device extended a few more feet, before the devices gave out entirely.
The army, and the Vanguard, now free from Grodd's grasp, looked around them, with Aquaman rubbing his head as he walked up towards Black Panther. "Being brainwashed….is a bitch. Ugh….we're sorry, your highness."
The throne room of the Wakandan Royal Palace was decorated with many tribal garments and trophies, with a few taxidermed animals sprinkled by the walls.
The entire Vanguard stood by the throne where T'Challa sat, clenching his fists as he looked down at the ground. Okoye and Shuri stood by his throne, with Shuri no longer in the Doctor Fate suit. Instead, he was donned in a purple and black dress that radiated the room, while holding the helmet in her hand.
"I am still a woman of science, but I am grateful to have wielded magic for this crisis," she said.
The Vanguard looked around, with Aquaman and Solovar walking towards Black Panther on his throne. "T'Challa…" Solovar began, bowing and sighing. "I can never apologize enough for the destruction that Grodd brought to your country. Gorilla City will provide all the aid it possibly can to Wakanda."
Black Panther locked eyes with Solovar and nodded. "Your help will be appreciated. And Wakanda will forgive Gorilla City. After all, your people were under Grodd's control. This is entirely on Grodd, and now he is dead. We never have to worry about him again."
"Atlantis would also like to provide relief to Wakanda," Aquaman said, his chin up. "As your political peer, your superhero peer, and your friend, it feels only appropriate that I help you out, T'Challa,"
Okoye looked at Black Panther. "Well, the Elders of Wakanda died when Grodd's army invaded, but I still wonder if this is for the best…"
"It is, Okoye," Black Panther said, getting up from his throne. "We may have vibranium, but Gorilla City is our friend and Atlantis is as advanced as us. Their aid will help quicken Wakanda's recovery further,"
Superman had his arms crossed. "The Vanguard of Justice would also like to help in the rebuilding. It's the least we can do."
Black Panther looked at Superman and nodded, and then he looked at Shuri and Valkyrie. "What did bring warriors of Asgard to Wakanda?"
"We've discovered evidence that Surtur plans to rise again," Valkyire stated.
Thor walked up to her, swinging his hammer and adding on, "And we will be doing all we can to stop Surtur. Whatever he is planning, it will almost certainly be disastrous."
Black Panther nodded. He then looked around at all his allies, and at Shazam and Logan. Shazam grinned while Logan snarled.
"Thank you all for your help!" Black Panther stated.
"Hey…" Shazam began, before raising his finger up. "Wakanda Forever!"
Everyone groaned or cringed. Logan rolled his eyes. "Really, kid? Wakanda Whatever. You don't get to talk anymore."
Captain America chuckled. "I've never heard that before. Is that really a thing?"
Black Panther nodded. He looked around at his throne room and he thought of what the recovery time of Wakanda would be like, and his stomach sunk at what the future of this country would be like moving forward. He had to devote a lot of time to rebuilding his country…but then he smiled. With all the mighty friends that he had in his life, recovery would be a breeze. The dead would be laid to rest and honored. And with Grodd dead, Gorilla City would likely not pose a threat to Wakanda ever again.
The future would have some grim moments, but as Black Panther looked at the throne, he knew it would turn out alright.
Krieger sat down at his main chair, cupping his chin and pondering. There was a yellow light in his room, and it was the only source of light, which Krieger didn't mind. He heard foosteps. It was Zemo heading in.
"Sir," Zemo said, making Krieger turn around. "The…project…has been completed. And Cain has agreed to help our services."
Krieger saw Zemo smirk. "It will take a few weeks, sir, but the Vanguard of Justice will soon fall. That is a promise."
Upon hearing that, Krieger grinned.