Reticence Saga
Severed Web
Chapter 24: Shadow of Wakanda, Part 1
Lady NegaMorph was in a bad mood to say the least. Mysterio's little weirdmageddon had affected her and her team too, except for the self-proclaimed Iceshaide for some reason.
"Guys, it's been three days now," said Lady NegaMorph in annoyance, "You can stop acting like animals now."
"When do we get a raise?" said Falcore innocently. Lady NegaMorph's eyes twitched at that. "Uh, I mean, bawk?" said Falcore.
"I KNEW IT! GET DOWN HERE OR I'LL EAT YOU!" Lady NegaMorph screamed.
Falcore said, "I'll be right here." as Lady Nega tried to jump up to grab him angrily, falling well short.
Lady NegaMorph and snapped, "And as for the rest of you!"
Akhlut said, "Yeah...even AIM pays its minions. We want actual money."
"I give you a home and food!" snapped Lady NegaMorph, "And what have you loafers done for me lately?"
"You haven't actually told us to do anything," said Taurus. Lady Nega's eye twitched violently, Falcore slowly slipping behind the rafter he was on as he spotted a vein in Lady Nega's forehead starting to pulse.
"You haven't really done a lot since Pleasant Hills except eat tubs of ice cream," said Manticora, "And it's starting to show."
Falcore gulped, Akhlut and Taurus having also spotted the vein and moving carefully away from Manticora.
Only Iceshaide didn't seem concerned. She didn't really seem to be paying attention to anything except the little ice sculptures she had been making in her hands.
Lady Nega snarled, "You want a heist? I'll give you a heist."
Everyone flinched back until Lady NegaMorph turned on a slide projector. "Ok, this little figurine is currently being stored at the Museum of Natural History's special wing," said Lady Nega. The projector showed a picture of a particularly ugly little fetish statue that was more scowling mouth and bad teeth than anything else.
Falcore, from above, asked "Ok...why are we stealing some ancient failed art project? That thing looks like someone chewed on it."
"Because this guy is paying very big money for it," said Lady Nega before clicking the slide projector. It showed a tall black man with a shaved head, short beard, and a physique that made him look like a very successful bouncer. But he was also wearing a very fine-looking white suit. "This is Moses Magnum, he's an arms dealer with a lot of connections," said Lady Nega.
"Ok...let me rephrase. Firstly, why does he want the art reject and also, why is he too scared to do it himself? Also he looks like the sort of guy to not pay," said Falcore sarcastically.
"Well, apparently this artifact is magic," said Lady Nega.
"Which makes it even less appealing," said Manticora, "Nothing that ugly can be anything but really bad magic."
"It's also apparently from Wakanda," said Lady Nega.
Iceshaide looked up at that, flying down to block the projector. "Ok, not this then. Wakandans tend to make examples of thieves. I don't want to be plucked," she snapped, a murmur of agreement heard.
"And let's not forget who's king of Wakanda," said Manticora, "Can we really not expect him to get involved?"
"He'll kill us!" snapped Falcore, sending an air blade into the projector to make his point.
"Do you know how much Magnum is willing to pay us for this?" asked Lady Nega.
"Hmm...money...or certain death..." said Manticora sarcastically.
"What if I told you he was willing to part with $7 million?" asked Lady NegaMorph.
There was a pause at that, Manticora snapping, "Oh please tell me you guys aren't even considering it. Black Panther would taxidermy us if he found out."
"How will 7 million split six ways?" asked Taurus. "Well, I'd obviously be getting 2$ million, considering I'm the leader," said Megan, "That leaves 1$ million for each of you."
"I don't think that math adds-" began Falcore before he was frozen by a spell blast from Megan.
"Or we could not do it and have the only thing left in the fridge for dinner...compost casserole."
"Who even got that?" asked Akhlut.
The others glared at Taurus. "Oh, sure, blame the ruminant," said Taurus.
"It's left over from the escape pod. I was taught it helps you last longer in a low food situation...cause absolutely anything's better than the alternative," Megan said with a shudder.
"Can we at least do something more small time?" asked Manticora, "Like robbing a jewelry store?"
Iceshaide snorted, "Oh please. We could knock this entire city over if we wanted. With our powers, we're not meant for small time."
Lady Nega paused before smirking as she saw a good idea. "Exactly, I mean, we have the powers of the elements at our command," said Lady Nega, "And don't forget under that royal armor, he's still only human. We are far more than that."
Iceshaide paused. "Yeah...yeah, we should take that job. And if that overgrown kitty turns up, we turn him into kibble," she said, only Manticora not cheering along, just facepalming.
"You know, fighting crime and training at the Triskelion is not only a good form of exercise, but it also builds up teamwork. Still, there are ways to work together that doesn't necessarily involve dodging lasers. Besides, it's nice to do something normal like a friendly game."
Flash looked over, asking, "Why are we playing basketball instead of football?"
"I think we should play a game that plays to all our strengths," said Peter.
"Ok, so why is Cho playing?" asked Ben in a snarky tone. The Web Warriors weren't in their costumes today. Right now, it's just the six of them dressed casually in a SHIELD training room that was currently set up like a basketball court.
Cho grumbled, "Not using my armor reduces my effectiveness severely." He tried to grab the ball and failed.
"It's not about effectiveness, it's about having fun," said Peter.
"Uh, you are aware that Cho sucks at sports, right?" asked Miles.
"Easy for you to say," said Cho.
"Guys, guys, can we lighten up?" asked Mary Jane, "It's a little b-ball."
"It's going to be a short game of b-ball," muttered Ben.
"Why don't we do some drills, give Cho a chance to practice before we do it properly?" suggested Peter.
"I still think I'm at a significant height disadvantage without my armor," said Cho.
"Height isn't everything," said Miles, "Watch this." He dribbled the ball between his legs at a pretty fast speed.
"Wow, you're like Muggsy Bouges," said Flash.
"Who?" asked Peter.
"He was the shortest player ever to play in the NBA. He was only 5'3", but he played for the Charlotte Hornets, the Washington Bullets, the Toronto Raptors..." Flash noticed the others staring at him before he said, "What? Sports are my thing."
"Hey, Cho, thing fast," said Miles before tossing him the ball. Though Cho could probably think very fast, he didn't react as fast. Instead of catching the ball, it ended up hitting him in the face and knocking him onto his back. There was a collective wince at that.
"Ooh, that's gotta hurt." They looked over to see Morph and NegaMorph watching.
"Well, that kid isn't exactly the Hulk," said NegaMorph.
Miles ran over, helping Cho up and helping him to the bench before looking over at where Morph and NegaMorph were watching. "Erm...you guys want in?" he asked.
"That's not a good idea," said Morph.
"Why? You get too into it?" asked MJ.
"No. Whenever I get involved in a basketball game, aliens show up and challenge us to a game with ridiculously high stakes," said Morph, looking upwards. The others looked at NegaMorph who simply twirled a finger next to his head.
"Why are you here?" asked Peter curiously.
NegaMorph said, "Lynch is...a little twitchy still."
"Yeah, he kinda torched the bunker in his sleep a few days ago. They're still fixing it up," said Morph.
"Ok, so why are you here?" asked Peter.
"To make sure the repairs stay repaired," said NegaMorph meaningfully, putting a hand on Morph's head.
"But I could help," complained Morph.
"About as well as Curly or Shemp," muttered NegaMorph.
"But nobody hates a chocolate fountain," complained Morph.
"Several of our bunkmates are canines," said NegaMorph.
"Werewolves don't have problems with chocolates. You should see how much Chloe puts away," said Morph.
NegaMorph yelped before crushing Morph into a disk and throwing him into his shadow. "Yeah, that's enough from him," he said desperately.
The coffee shop was 'closed for renovations'. While it was true, the public had no idea the extent of the renovations going on.
"Ok, everything's going to be fireproof," snapped Chloe, directing several repair drones.
"And I will be testing how fireproof it will be," said Kala.
One of the drones said in a level tone, "Sure boss." before spinning one of its claws at the side of its head to the other drones when the two turned their backs.
"Fortunately, it doesn't look like there was very much structural damage," said Chris, "Well, at least in terms of loadbearing walls and such."
"He literally smashed up through the roof and then Silvana had him fall asleep in the street. I had to deploy a filter virus on google to stop it going worldwide," snapped Chloe.
Then their sharp hearing picked up the subtle but noticeable sound of grinding metal. They turned to see Matt walk in wearing his Atlantean armor. He was noticeably walking more stiffly in it, as if he had trouble moving the joints. "Well, it took some time, but I think I got it all fixed," said Matt.
Chloe winced before saying, "Matt, you sure that thing's battle capable? Maybe Chip should take a look at it."
"Chip still isn't here," said Matt in annoyance, "How much longer until the Bladestorm gets here?"
"A week at least," said Chloe, before saying, "Just put some combat armor on."
Matt said, "This thing's perfectly fine."
Silvana walked over before shifting her head to robot mode. Her optics made scanning sweeps over Matt's armor. "Hmm...servos are fused...the heat's compromised the armor plates and the self-repair nanites are all fried," she said.
"The self-repair nanites are just fine," snapped Matt.
"They really are dead. This armor's more likely to kill you then save you," said Silvana calmly.
"You need to take it in to be repaired," said Chloe.
"Take it in where?" asked Matt sardonically.
"He has a point," said Chris before the lights turned red.
"Code red: Division 66 override. Class 7 artifact under threat. New York Museum of Natural History," said the computer.
"A perfect opportunity to show this armor still functions," said Matt as he headed for the door.
"We'd better follow him," said Chloe with a sigh.
Since the separate Halloween incidents with both the Ankh and Morgan le Fay, SHIELD has decided to invest a little more security in the Museum of Natural History. Life Model Decoys made effective guards that can blend in with the exhibits.
Sadly, they tended to not be as...effective against super villains.
Two LMDs fired rapidly before an air slash removed one of their heads, the other looking briefly at its fellow and firing again before a blue beam flash froze it.
"I admit, I would be disappointed if there was no security at all," said Falcore, "But this is still underwhelming."
Manticora, covered in faint scorches, snapped "Yeah. So where's this piece of crap?"
"Let's see, the special exhibits are supposed to be one of these walls," muttered Lady Nega.
Iceshaide sent an ice blast at the walls till one of them gave in. "There we go," she said, pointing in before a blast knocked them all flying.
"Ok, I think the museum's closed," said Lazard. Lazard wasn't quite as impressive as he normally was, considering how singed and cracked his armor was.
Lady NegaMorph actually paused at that. "Lazard? What happened to you? Did a burning building collapse on you?" she asked.
Lazard paused, before saying, "Yes, actually."
"You know, I don't always give these, but I'm allowing you to leave unharmed if you stand aside now," said Lady Nega.
"Oh, I should let you take highly dangerous magical artifacts, right?" said Lazard, sarcastically.
"Ok, guess we're doing this," said Lady Nega, "Falcore, take care of him."
Falcore grinned, advancing. Lazard returned the grin, "Ok, birdbrain. This should be easy."
"Just save yourself the embarrassment and give up now," said Falcore.
"Roast chickens shouldn't speak," snarled Lazard, lunging at Falcore.
"Shouldn't we do something?" asked Manticora as they started to brawl.
"Oh, I'd give the canned lizard about 5 minutes before his expiration date," said Iceshaide. Falcore was knocked past them at that, Lazard lunging past. "Then again..." said Iceshaide, sending a small patch of ice into Lazard's path.
Lazard stepped on the ice and slipped. "Whoops!" he yelped before falling on his back. "Nobody help me get up!" he snapped, "I've got this!"
Falcore smirked, walking towards him. "Now...which bit to chop off first?" he muttered.
"Hey, hey, I'm not down for the count yet," said Lazard, "Just give me a second to get back up."
Falcore sneered, sending an airblade at Lazard, one of the cracks on the armor getting wider from the impact. "Barely a nick," said Lazard, "Just wait until I get my weapons locked on you."
He aimed his wrist at that, Falcore sending a panicked slash just as he fired, causing an explosion, a singed helmet rolling to Falcore's feet. Falcore blinked and said, "Did I win already?"
The smoke cleared to show Matt, his armor wrecked to show some clothing underneath, staring in shock. "Honey? Ruuun!" called Iceshaide, noting that Lady Nega was trying to hide under an exhibit.
"Why run now? I have him on the ropes now," said Falcore.
Matt said faintly, "You broke my armor." before snapping "YOU'RE DEAD!" before lunging.
Falcore aimed an air slash, a red bleeding line appearing in Matt's shirt, the avian stepping to the side as Lazard fell with a roar, already getting up.
"Just stay down," said Lady Nega, "You've already lost." Matt glared, getting up again. Lady Nega sighed. "Falcore...keep him down," she said. Falcore charged Matt, leaving several more slashes in his side.
"You know, I thought dragon hides were supposed to be thicker than that," said Lady Nega, "But then, you always were thin-skinned."
"Molecular air blades," sneered Falcore, slashing Matt again as he tried to grab him.
"You're going to lose your other eye if you keep this up," said Lady Nega. Matt struggled up again, snarling.
Manticora wincing as he was knocked back down. "Ok, this is bad. Boss, maybe you should call him off?"
"Better yet, Manticora, can you produce some paralyzing venom?" asked Lady Nega.
"I dunno, it might be the last straw," said Manticora with concern.
Falcore knocked Matt down again, readying one last airblade, only for Lady NegaMorph to snap, "Falcore, enough! I don't think he's gonna get up."
"Wait a minute," said Falcore. He prodded Matt with his foot before saying, "Yes, I think he's done now."
Matt winced, trying to get up again, Lady Nega sighed, "Let's just get out of here before his backup arrives." She checked the cabinets before finding the relief. "Ok, one little Wakandan statuette...here," said Lady Nega before grabbing the fetish.
"It's even uglier in person," said Iceshaide.
"No way I'm sleeping in the same house as it," said Manticora.
"You can always cover our escape," snarled Lady Nega.
"Ok, but if it comes to life at midnight, don't say I didn't warn you," said Manticora.
"As for you, Falcore, I think you've earnt an upgrade back at base," said Lady Nega, the group dropping into a shadow, just as Chris, Moonshock and Salamandra ran into view.
"MATT!" yelled Salamandra, running to him.
"How bad is it?" asked Moonshock.
Salamandra looked at the wounds, "His medical nanites have reduced them to papercuts...but boy will they sting."
"Oh, nothing broken?" asked Moonshock, relaxing more.
"Well, his armor's definitely busted," said Chris, looking at the ruined armor, "Pretty sure his pride's broken too."
"Leave it, Chris," snapped Moonshock, heading into the restricted wing. Moonshock sniffed around. She could tell Lady NegaMorph was in here, but what did she take? She looked at the artifacts, though nothing was missing.
"Moonshock...Chloe, we should get him out of here," snapped Chris.
"Yeah, I think so," said Moonshock before looking at the name of one display. "Wakanda...why does that sound familiar?" she muttered to herself.
Of course they had to report the break in. Needless to say Fury was concerned, not only that the special wing had almost been raided but that one of the factions from the gang's neck of the woods knew where it was.
"You got nothing to worry about. Division 66...well Darkrift like their privacy more than you. I doubt they had plans to steal it," said Matt gloomily, wearing some fatigues from the base.
Fury raised an eyebrow. Matt didn't seem as flippant as he usually was. "I'm assuming this fight was more personal for you than it usually is," said Fury.
"Falcore wrecked my armor and sliced me up," muttered Matt, adding, "Megan's toys are getting more dangerous."
"And yet, she broke into a museum, got into the most secure wing, and didn't steal anything," said Fury, "Something is not adding up."
"I probably spooked her," said Matt, adding, "Chloe said she swept the area. Nothing's missing."
"No...my gut tells me something's up," said Fury, "I'll need to have the displays examined. Fortunately, there's a Wakanda expert in town right now."
"Urgh...tell 'em to be careful. If that was the target, she'll try again and if Falcore can slice dragon scales, not much else it can't slice either," said Matt, before muttering, "If I still had my damn armor..."
"Perhaps I can...loan you something until you get a replacement," said Fury.
A new voice was heard behind Matt at that. "Fury, I finished the upgrades on the museum's security..." said Tony Stark, walking in. Matt sat up at that. Tony Stark was the kind of guy who attracted all the attention in the room. Not just for being a billionaire tech genius, but also being one of the most important superheroes on the planet.
Nick Fury was less impressed. "Stark, I could have had my own team tighten up security," he said in annoyance.
"And yet this Lady NegaMorph and her mutates went clean through them," said Stark smugly.
"That's because they use elemental magic," said Fury, "Even your systems wouldn't know how to process that."
"Is that a challenge?" asked Stark.
"It is not a challenge," said Fury in annoyance.
"Erm...can I go? I need to jury rig some gear," said Matt carefully.
"Who's this?" asked Tony.
"That would be Lazard," said Fury.
"Oh, right, the guy with the dragon armor," said Tony.
"Hey there...ex-dragon armor. Falcore smashed it up," said Matt gloomily.
"Tough break," said Tony, "Too bad you weren't wearing one of my armors."
"Yeah," said Matt, choosing to leave out that the NSC had lost 5 tech retrieval teams trying to get a copy of the schematics over the years.
"So...I guess I don't have anything scheduled for a while..." said Tony, "Maybe I can take a look at your armor and see if I can replicate it."
Matt was about to quote that the NSC would never allow it before his brain reminded him of two things. Firstly, he wasn't under the NSC's laws anymore. Secondly, he was about to pass up a chance to get a Stark armor of his very own.
"Sure thing," he said calmly, trying to keep his glee from exploding.
"Stark, this better not be like what happened with the Iron Spider armor," said Fury in a warning tone.
"Oh, the bugs got fixed eventually," said Tony.
"After SHIELD modified it," said Fury pointedly.
"But Spider-Man's using it like a pro now, right?" asked Tony.
"Amadeus Cho is using the Iron Spider armor," said Fury pointedly.
"Who? Oh yeah, like 7th smartest guy around?" asked Tony casually, "Still ranked below me."
"How much farther up the list are you?" asked Matt. Tony gave Matt an annoyed look. "Sorry...please continue," said Matt innocently.
"That almost makes me want to approve this," said Fury with a smug look.
"I can have the bits sent over," said Matt.
"I said almost," said Fury, "That doesn't mean I've given my approval."
"Uh...I don't actually work for you. I'm a freelancer. So...I guess I don't need permission," said Matt.
Fury's eye narrowed a little at that, Matt gulping. But then again, when would Matt ever get a chance to get a custom-made Stark suit? Better to beg forgiveness than ask permission. "Erm...I have to go gather the bits of my armor...erm...bye," said Matt, running out the door.
"I think I like that guy," said Tony.
Matt wisely chose evening to fly to Stark Labs. Some people might be naturally perturbed to see a dragon fly overhead. "I'm gonna get an Iron Man armor, oh boy, oh boy, oh boy," he giggled to himself.
He hadn't talked to Chloe about it. He didn't want to risk her saying 'no' for some reason. Besides, he was more than past due for an upgrade. "Huh, she gets wolf powers and cool magic and I get my armor trashed and sleep psychosis," he muttered, circling before coming into land, shifting to human as he landed.
"Huh, isn't this the lab where Mesmero stole all the drones from?" muttered Matt. Well, the drones were all recovered, so there was no harm. He walked into the lab, looking around. He wasn't surprised to see it mostly deserted, it was late. "Erm...hello?" he called.
Just then, a drone floated down in front of Matt. "Oh, you better not be controlled by a mad illusionist," said Matt.
The drone scanned him before saying, "Lazard...access granted. Master Stark is awaiting you in Laboratory 2. Please follow me."
"Oh, how convenient," said Matt.
He followed the drone through the corridors, until he was led into a large lab, Stark waiting. "So this is where Iron Man armors are born?" asked Matt.
"Well, I do most of my work in Avengers Tower," said Tony, "But tonight's not a good night for that."
"Why?" asked Matt.
"Taco Tuesday," said Stark.
"So?" asked Matt. Matt blinked before saying "Oh dear God..." remembering something.
Chris staggered out of the bunker's breakroom. "Can't...breathe...must...clear...air..." he gasped before collapsing.
Matt walked past before noticing Chris. "Erm...you ok, man?" he asked, shaking Chris. Matt paused and sniffed the air. "OH GOOD LORD!" he yelled, "What kind of monstrous gas attack is this?!"
"Uh, sorry," said Chloe's voice, "Those burritos are going down pretty rough."
"Maybe we shouldn't have ordered extra beans," said Zira's voice.
"We had to burn the room..." said Matt faintly, staring straight ahead.
"Right...so anyways, I've been looking at the crystal matrix that your armor plating is composed of," said Tony.
Matt shook his head out of his flashback before saying, "Wait...you've seen crystal tech?"
"Occasionally," said Stark, "Mostly with encounters with aliens. It's tricky to form crystals artificially to use for circuitry."
"Yeah...that armor was one of a kind," said Matt gloomily.
"Tricky to form, but not impossible," said Stark, "The trick is finding the right materials to form it with."
"Ok, is there anything I can do to help?" asked Matt.
"Well, I understand that you generate your own energy," said Stark.
"I do," said Matt, making an orb appear in his hand, tossing it to the other and back.
"Interesting. What sort of energy would you describe it as?" asked Stark.
"Plasma, of varying types. I can usually take a plasma blast without a singe," said Matt.
"Hmm...I wonder. Hey, try this one for size," said Stark before tossing a chestplate to Matt. Matt looked at it, looking at the arc reactor in the middle. "It's just one of my spares," said Tony, "I use it for testing new arc reactor models."
"Ok..." said Matt, clipping it on, the arc reactor starting to glow brighter. "This is making my teeth tingle!" yelped Matt.
"Mhm, try feeding it a little energy," said Tony.
"Am I supposed to be tasting coconut?" asked Matt. He concentrated, feeding energy into the arc reactor carefully. The arc reactor glowed brighter, now Matt was feeling heat against his chest. "Erm...Mr. Stark? It's getting a little warm," he said, shifting his chest to dragon scales in the hope it'd help.
"Ok, reel it back in," said Stark, who noticed the chestplate was starting to smoke.
"I'm trying," said Matt. starting to panic a bit. The whine the reactor was making wasn't making him feel confident. "Erm...this isn't good. It's not letting me absorb it," panicked Matt.
"Ditch it! It's starting to go critical!" yelled Stark.
Matt didn't need telling twice, tearing the plate off and throwing it, reactor and all off to the side. Matt and Tony ducked as the reactor exploded, causing the lights in the lab to all go out. After a while, Tony said, "Well, that could have been worse."
"Yes, I coulda not gotten it off in time," said Matt weakly, looking at the glowing hole in the corner where it had landed.
"That and it could have blown up a lot more than just that corner," said Tony.
Matt gulped at that, "Ok...what's the next attempt?"
"First, let's try to get a measure of your energy output," said Tony.
This experiment had wisely been moved outside to the seafront near the lab. "You sure you want full power? I've never even tried full power," said Matt nervously.
"If you never know your limits, you'll never be able to push them," said Stark.
"Ok..." said Matt, closing his eyes and concentrating, a small orb, crackling with energy, appeared between his hands, the orb steadily getting bigger and Matt gritting his teeth before he let loose, the orb flying over the horizon, Matt falling down panting.
"Hold on a minute, trying to measure just how much energy was in that," said Tony.
A second later, the horizon turned into day, a crackling dome in the distance. After a few seconds it faded, night returning. "I think I broke the Atlantic," gulped Matt.
"Ooookay then..." said Tony, "This may be harder than I thought."
"I'm never going that high powered again..." whimpered Matt.
"Probably for the best," said Tony, "I just hope there won't be a situation where you have to use that much power."
"Yeah...yeah," said Matt with a gulp.
"Still, building armor that can withstand your energy output will be a challenge," said tony.
"Everyone loves a challenge," said Matt weakly, still looking at where the orb's detonation had been.
Despite her assurances that everything was under control, Lady NegaMorph had to admit that fetish did give her the creeps. As such, she arranged a meeting with Magnum, well past midnight.
She wasn't a fool. She had Manticora, Falcore and Iceshaide hiding and ready to move if it was indeed a backstab, watching as a helicopter descended. "Remember, the second he tries to backstab us, dice him," she said into a walkie talkie as the chopper landed.
Presently, the chopper's doors opened and Moses Magnum stepped out. He actually looked taller than his photo. Lady Nega wondered if she should have worn her high heels for this meeting.
"You are the one who did what a dozen supervillains refused to consider?" he said sternly, two guards getting off the chopper.
Lady Nega blinked before shaking her head and she said confidently, "Yes, yes I have."
"You do have the statuette, right?" asked Magnum.
"What statuette?" asked Lady Nega distantly, one of her eyes flashing different colors, before Falcore sent a small air blade into her butt. Lady Nega yelped before removing the statuette from her shadow. "You mean this one?" she said, her confidence back.
"Let me see it," said Magnum, holding out a pretty large hand.
Lady Nega said, "And the bounty?" letting it start to slip back into her shadow.
"First, I need to check if it's authentic," said Magnum, "I've had a few conmen try to trick me replicas. I've made sure others would learn from their mistakes."
"Are you telling me you don't have some sort of scanner? I can smell a con a mile WHO SAID 'YEAH RIGHT?" she roared, glaring up at the shadows, having just heard Manticora muttering said comment and the chuckles of the others that only she could hear.
Magnum lifted an eyebrow before lunging faster than Lady Nega would expect and grabbed the fetish. He felt it over in his hands and said, "Ah, yes, definitely the real thing. This has not been easy to get."
"I want my bounty," said Lady Nega darkly, her claws and eyes glowing threateningly.
"You'll get it soon enough," said Magnum, "However, perhaps you'd like to earn, say, 10 times that much?"
"10 times more?" said Lady Nega, her eyes going green for a second.
"You're already getting 7 million dollars," muttered Manticora, "You can just walk away now."
Lady Nega looked down at the walkie talkie before 'accidentally' crushing it in her hand. "700 million you say..." she said smoothly.
"I said 70 million," said Magnum, sounding annoyed.
"You did...but it sounds like a magical problem and you said everyone else turned you down," said Lady Nega, checking her claws.
Magnum gave her a very dark look before taking in a deep breath. "I suppose if this job is done, I can part with 700 million easily," said Magnum, "But in return, I expect complete cooperation."
"You hire the best, you get the best." said Lady Nega.
"In which case, we'll need to depart as soon as possible," said Magnum.
"Well, I need to gather up my minions, activate my security wards..." said Lady Nega before pausing to yawn.
"Tired?" asked Magnum.
"It's been a long night," said Lady Nega, "I need to get some sleep."
"Don't worry," said Magnum, "You'll have plenty of time to sleep on the flight to Wakanda."
Lady Nega winced at a trio of yells of 'WAKANDA?' Her minions jumped out of their hiding places, looking pissed.
"We are NOT going to Wakanda!" snapped Manticora.
"Your minions?" asked Magnum.
"My minions," mumbled Lady Nega through her hand covering her face.
"Risking the Black Panther's wrath by stealing an ugly little vibranium statue is one thing-" snapped Manticora.
"Actually, it's mainly Wakandan ebony," said Magnum.
"But now you want us to walk right into the most fortified country on the planet?" snapped Iceshaide.
"Actually, Latveria has more border defense coverage than Wakanda," said Lady Nega, "To keep people both out and in."
Falcore twitched before proving his previous life's name had alot in common with a certain mercenary before giving a birdlike shriek and lunging at Lady Nega, starting to strangle her.
Manticora took the time to walk over to Moses. "Hi, Manticora, the only one with a working brain here...I think. Will we be anywhere near Black Panther on this sui...operation?" she asked carefully.
"My dear lady, I wouldn't have been able to run my arm-dealing business all these years if I hadn't learned how to do it underneath royal noses," said Magnum smoothly.
Manticore nodded, "Fair enough. Just between us, if we weren't the only options left, you were totally gonna betray us, right? I have a bet with Akhlut back at base."
"Well...there may have been kidnapping involved," said Magnum.
"Counts to me. I just won ten bucks," said Manticora happily, walking off and past where Iceshaide was trying to pry Falcore off, yelping "My god, it's like removing a vice."
Comet Coffee was still closed for 'renovations', but occasionally Chloe had to shoo away teenagers who seem to think that signs don't apply to them.
She walked out, using the human form spell she'd reluctantly learnt from Taelina, with some trash from the wrecked storefront to see a black car driving up...a pretty fancy one too. "Oh for God's sake, if it's some other businessman who thinks rules are for poor people, I'm gonna start a werewolf outbreak," she snarled as it came to a stop.
Her tune changed as two black women came out of the car. These women were clearly not meant to be companions, these women had the look of bodyguards. She watched them as they took up positions, before deciding they could wait, heading over to the dumpster they'd hired to get rid of the fire-damaged furniture.
Then one of them opened a door for the back part of the car and a man stepped out. He was a black man in a very nice suit with purple accents and an unmistakably kingly air about him.
Chloe raised an eyebrow before saying calmly, "We're closed...for at least another week."
"I am not here for coffee," said the man, "I am here on official Wakandan business."
"We're a coffee shop and we definitely don't do long range deliveries," said Chloe icily.
"Are you sure? Because I believe you come from a very far away place, Ms. Lynch," said the man.
Chloe's eyes widened for a second, her hand slipping slowly under her jacket. "Who are you?" she asked carefully.
"I am T'Challa, King of Wakanda," said the man, "You may also know me as the Black Panther."
Chloe gulped a bit. A king was visiting? And she was filthy from working chores all day. She used to have bad dreams like this when she was a kid. "We're still closed," she said a little less strongly as her mental train wobbled on the track, moving her hand from her blaster.
"I merely wish to speak with your brother about something," said T'Challa.
Chloe sighed, facepalming and muttering, "Oh God, what did he do this time?" before she began calmly "Ok...I'm sure we can cover the damages-"
"You misunderstand. He was a witness to something which was brought to my attention," said T'Challa, "Something involving one Lady NegaMorph."
Chloe's eyes blazed yellow at that and she growled, "Megan...she's got a lot to answer for after that." before inwardly smirking when the snarl got the bodyguards to tense up.
"Uh, I'd invite you in, but the place is a mess," said Chloe.
"I can speak with your brother elsewhere," said T'Challa, "He is here, right?"
Chloe opened her mouth to reply, before realizing Matt had been gone a few hours. "Uh...I'm just going to call for him," said Chloe.
A second later, the sun came up out at sea, the four turning to see a dome of energy in the distance. Chloe's eye twitched violently before she snarled. "That was from Stark's lab! I'LL KILL HIM!" she roared, her human spell dropping.
The two bodyguard women immediately pulled out spears (Chloe wasn't sure from where) and jabbed them into her gut. "Tell your combat models that they're not silver so it won't work," said Chloe in a tired tone.
"What did your brother have to do with the light?" asked T'Challa.
"Knowing him, he probably caused that," said Chloe.
"Ok...so we tried most of these alloys. The last one was fun...it melted to my scales," said Matt, his eye twitching and his scales so covered in soot he looked more like a shadow dragon than a plasma one.
"I'm starting to understand why the Human Torch doesn't wear armor," said Stark, "But I'm not giving up yet."
Matt wiped some soot off only to find it wouldn't. "Oh God, it's stained..." he mumbled, rubbing harder.
"Maybe we should take a break," said Tony, "There's a decon shower over there."
Matt nodded, "Agreed." walking towards it, muttering, "Why does everything keep exploding near me?"
"Ok, Mr. King. One thing to remember. My brothers had a really bad week and he may act a little crazy," Chloe was explaining, inwardly happy that T'Challa had let her drive along with him. Every woman has an inner girl that never fully grows out of the princess phase. Chloe wasn't about to get too carried away, but she figured she could indulge herself a bit.
She leaned over to a small door in the seat, looking briefly at T'Challa for unspoken permission before opening it. "That one, you may open," said T'Challa, "But please don't poke around too much."
"Just looking for snacks, your highness. The fridge melted in the fire and there's only so much takeaway pizzas someone can take before they start getting a bloodlust," said Chloe calmly, grabbing a bag of what she hoped was chips.
"So it would seem," said T'Challa.
Chloe popped a few of the bag's contents into her mouth. "Hmm...extra crunchy, odd texture, very tangy flavor...what am I eating?" asked Chloe.
"Fried locusts," said T'Challa.
Chloe twitched. The eternal conundrum...swallow or spit? Her stomach reminded her it was that or pepperoni pizza again. "Nice taste," she said.
"They were imported from Kenya," said T'Challa.
"Wait, this isn't a Wakandan snack?" asked Chloe.
"We don't have a locust problem in Wakanda," said T'Challa, "A simple vibration defense will keep away the swarms. Shuri said we should share this with more vulnerable countries, but we need to consider the full ecological ramifications first."
"Hmm...Atlanteans use a similar tech, though the bugs are a...little bigger," said Chloe, distantly.
Chloe sighed, the little hatchling, Lumina dragging her along. "It's right in there," Lumina gulped, pointing her claw into her room.
Chloe walked in before feeling something tickling her foot and looked down. "Aw...it's just a money spider, Lumina. They're supposed to be good luck."
Lumina said, "I know...that's not it."
Chloe turned to ask before some goop dripped on her shoulder and she looked up to see a spider bigger than she was. "Mother," she whimpered as it lunged.
"So much bigger." said Chloe in a weak voice, her hand holding the bag shaking.
"Your Majesty, we're approaching Stark Labs," said one of the Dora Milaje.
"Are you sure that's where that explosion emanated?" asked T'Challa, "Stark is usually more careful with his experimentation." Chloe raised an eyebrow at that. "Within city limits," added T'Challa.
"The explosion was several miles off the coast. Several megatons," said the same Dora Milaje, the bag in Chloes hand popping as she squeezed.
"Megatons?" she snarled in a guttural voice.
"Do we know what sort of explosion it was?" asked T'Challa.
"It appeared to be plasma-based," said the other Dora Milaje.
"Plasma?" growled Chloe before clutching at her head a bit, "Could you please pull over?"
"Are the locusts disagreeing with you?" asked T'Challa.
Chloe was about to tell him about her gamma problem before her stomach growled. "Funny you should say that," she said.
"It's the spices," said one of the Dora Milaje, "They always overdo them."
"I'll meet you...at the lab. You may need to wait to talk to Matt. He'll be unconscious," Chloe said, opening the door and jumping out.
"Should we pursue her?" asked the other Dora Milaje.
"I think not," said T'Challa, "We know where she's going."
"Will nothing scrub this gunk out? I look like a male Cynder minus the tail spike," muttered Matt, in his feral form and actually, after trying every bottle he could find, was trying to gnaw the scales off. "What do I have to do? Wait for it to molt off?" asked Matt in annoyance.
He shifted back to anthro before grumbling, grabbing a towel and peering out, seeing his wristcomp on a seat. "Bugger...nobody come in, nobody come in," he muttered, heading out just as a yellow-furred fist, followed by the rest of the yellow-furred wolf, arrived via the wall.
Matt let out a rather high-pitched scream at that. The wolfess stared before screaming at the same time. "Why are there two ladies screaming in my lab while I'm not in there?" called Tony's voice. Matt twitched at that, grabbing the wristcomp and generating some clothing before glaring at Chloe.
"What are you doing here?" snapped Chloe.
"Tony's making me some replacement gear," snapped Matt.
"He's what?" asked Chloe.
"He's making me a replacement armor," said Matt.
"Why didn't you tell me?" asked Chloe.
"You were threatening to garrote Morph if he ordered pepperoni pizza again," said Matt.
"I only take so many spices within 24 hours," snapped Chloe. There was a gurgle from her stomach. "Speaking of which, I need to use the bathroom," she said.
"Anyway, I'm trying the industrial acid next to get this crap off. Wait till I'm done," snapped Matt, before squeaking as Chloe's fist grabbed him by the neck and threw him through the door without opening it. "You know, that ruins the privacy angle, right?" called Matt.
"MATT! YOU BLEW UP A MAJOR OCEAN!" roared Chloe.
"I was running a test with Tony Stark," snapped Matt, "Ask him!"
Chloe turned, just as Stark came in, growling, "Did you ask my brother to do the equivalent of a plasma torpedo?"
"Well, basically. I was trying to gauge his upper limit. By the way, Lazard, you didn't tell me you were the brother of an amazon," said Tony.
Chloe twitched before blinking. "Well...thanks..." she said, Matt staring with his mouth open.
"I'm telling Chris-" started Matt.
Chloe reached out before punching him down the corridor. "So...you think you could hook me up with an armor too?" she asked, 'de-hulking' as she spoke.
"Hmm...well, I have been trying to design some expanding armor for both Bruce and Hulk," said Stark, "Though he never really cared about it."
"Color me interested. My brother's gonna be interrogated by the King of Wakanda anyway," said Chloe smoothly.
The Wakandan government car pulled up, its headlights showing Matt in his anthro form on the ground in front of an imprint, his eyes spiraling and one of them bruised, though his scale color didn't match the report. "Owwwwieeeee..." he rasped, spitting a piece of concrete out.
"This is the one you're looking for?" asked one of the Dora Milaje doubtfully.
"Wait..." said T'Challa before Matt got up unsteadily, shaking it off before looking at them.
"Erm...you aren't from Greenpeace are you? I only blew up a tiny part of the Atlantic," he said.
"That was from you?" asked T'Challa.
"Erm...you sure you aren't from Greenpeace?" said Matt, gulping.
"I am T'Challa, King of Wakanda," said T'Challa.
Matt gulped more heavily as T'Challa and his guards got out. "Oh no," he whimpered.
"There is something of importance I need to talk with you about," said T'Challa.
"What about?" said Matt defensively.
"Regarding a certain Lady NegaMorph," said T'Challa.
"Oh...Lady Nega. Her real name's Megan," sighed Matt.
"And she may have stolen something of Wakandan origin," said T'Challa.
"Chloe turned that place upside down. Nothing missing," said Matt.
"Except for the one thing that was replaced," said T'Challa.
"Replaced?" yelped Matt before slipping into NSC standard, snapping "I'll strangle her!"
"Yes, but I need to know what she did with that artifact first," said T'Challa.
"I don't know. I was busy bleeding," said Matt, before double taking, "Wait...you shouldn't have a translator for NSC standard."
"You really think you're that unknown to us?" asked T'Challa, sounding amused.
"Well, I'm used to it," admitted Matt.
"Now then, where is your sister?" asked T'Challa.
"After she punched me through the wall, I think she's gone with Stark. My turn; what was she after?" said Matt, taking a step towards T'Challa only for the guards to block him.
"I don't suppose you know what this is," said T'Challa, opening a box and taking out a very ugly little statue.
Matt peered at it before saying, "They were trying to break into its container when I got there."
"You saw them doing that?" asked T'Challa.
"Yeah...scattered them with a blast, then Falcore tried to give me the death of a thousand cuts," said Matt.
"Well, it was only when I came to inspect the museum that this statue was discovered to be a fake," said T'Challa.
Matt held out a hand. "May I?" he said.
"Be careful, it's important evidence," said T'Challa.
Matt took it and sniffed it, licking it once. "Yup, fake, carved from an Avalarian crystal. Sneaky little girl," he said, passing it back, before saying, "So, given it was hidden, I'm assuming the real thing's a nasty piece of work."
"I do not know, and that's what troubles me," said T'Challa.
"Pardon?" asked Matt.
"It was assumed that this was only a relic of pre-vibranium Wakanda, completely mundane. And yet a supervillain was driven to steal it," said T'Challa.
"Oh joy," muttered Matt darkly, adding, "I hate magic. It always does something horrible to me."
"To primitive eyes, Wakandan technology may appear to be magic," said one of the Dora Milaje.
"No, I know what I said. It's going to be real magic cause in situations like this it's always real magic and then I'll be turned into a tribble or Chloe'll be possessed by a evil god or something," said Matt, getting a manic look as he ranted.
The two Dora Milaje exchanged glances at that. Matt's head flopped down, "My life sucks...trust me."
"Well, I need to know what Lady Nega wanted with that old statue," said T'Challa.
"I have no idea. She knows magic, she might be doing it to sell it..." said Matt, counting off on his claws.
Just then, the door opened and Stark walked out. "T'Challa, you come by my lab and don't pop in for a visit? I'm almost hurt," he said.
"I am investigating why Lady NegaMorph showed such interest in a Wakandan artifact," said T'Challa.
"But she didn't take anything," said Tony.
"She did, she left a replica," said Matt.
"And the artifact is dangerous in the wrong hands," said T'Challa.
"You just said you don't know what it does," said Matt.
"That does not mean it is not dangerous," said T'Challa.
"You think the lightbulbs in Wakanda are too dangerous in others' hands," said Tony. Matt looked between them, feeling a little tempted to put his hand between the two to see if it burnt.
Then Chloe staggered out, wearing a very tight outfit. "Stark...I thought you made this for Hulk..." said Chloe, gasping a bit.
"Well, actually, that one's for She-Hulk," said Tony, "I thought you were the same size."
Matt twitched at that before saying "So...Stark...do you need me to test another alloy?"
"Is that what you're doing?" asked T'Challa skeptically.
"Hey, putting armor on a plasma-generating dragon is harder than you think," said Stark.
"I'm usually blue," said Matt icily.
"He keeps generating too much energy and melting the armors," said Tony, "I just need to find the right alloy."
"So that's why...the Atlanteans...used crystal armor..." said Chloe.
"It's stained my scales. I think it's permanent," grumbled Matt.
"If it's a simple metal poisoning, it can be purged easily," said one of the Dora Milaje
Stark seemed to think before saying, "There's still some alloys to try."
"Well, it's not like he's going to dip me in molten gold, right?" asked Matt.
It was a few days later...
T'Challa had stayed in the city for a bit before leaving, taking most of the files on Megan with him. The crew had come to the conclusion that he was a bit holier than thou, though the Lynches themselves were hardly any happier.
The tests had proceeded for Matt, all the way down the metal periodic table, usually resulting in Matt's scales getting darker, to the point Morph had asked if Matt and Nega had gotten locked in a decon chamber together.
Matt hadn't taken human form since then, he didn't want to see what a mess his skin would be in from all this metal poisoning. If he didn't have his medi-nanites, he'd probably be dead by now.
Stark himself hadn't given up, trying hybrids of metals too. "Ok...what does this one do?" asked Matt, looking at the silvery plate.
"Well, since adamantium didn't pan out, I thought we'd try vibranium," said Stark.
"And you left this one last, why?" asked Matt, putting the chestplate on.
"I don't have much vibranium available to test with and it's not that easy to come by," said Stark.
"You're friends with the King of Wakanda," said Matt pointedly.
"Yes, but he won't let any vibranium leave Wakanda. We had to go there to get Cap's shield fixed," said Stark, before turning the arc reactor on.
Matt felt the familiar warmth, but this time it didn't climb into uncomfortable heat. He began to push his energy into the core, and a little more, feeling the energy remaining stable. "I think it's working," he called.
"Well that's great," said Tony, "Unfortunately, I don't have enough vibranium to make you a full suit."
"Great...why not ask Kingie? He's got to owe you at least one," suggested Matt.
"You'd think so, but T'Challa guards it as jealously as a dragon guards his..." Tony winced and said, "Oh, I forgot who I was talking to."
"No, I get the idea," said Matt, waving it off before saying, "We can at least ask."
"We could, but we'll probably get the same answer," said Tony.
Manticora peered into Lady Nega's lab with a look of concern. Ever since Magnum had given her the job to research the artifact, Lady Nega had started to act...off and Manticora swore on her stinger that the statue was responsible.
It didn't help that she kept having dreams about things creeping shadows. It made her even jumpier when she was awake.
She could see Lady Nega staring at the statue again. "Boss? Me and the gang. We're getting a little worried. You haven't even come out to eat," she said carefully.
"I need to cut back, don't I?" asked Lady Nega in a detached way.
"Yeah...let's rob a bank or something. I dunno what that thing is, but just give it to Mr. Magnum and take the 7 mill. I'll even do it for you," said Manticora, reaching for the statue.
Lady Nega's hand snatched Manticora's wrist and squeezed hard. "That is mine!" she snarled.
Manticora yelped, pulling her hand free before looking at Lady Nega's eyes and jumping back further. Her eyes were pure black, it was like staring into five dark holes. And it felt like something other than her was staring back.
"I'll...I'll go get you a drink," said Manticora, stammering a little.
Lady Nega nodded, "Yes, do that, then prepare. We're moving to meet up with Moses in Wakanda."
"You do realize what the Black Panther would do to us when he finds us," said Manticora.
"I will deal with him," sneered Lady Nega.
"But he's-" started Manticora.
"Nothing!" roared Lady Nega, in a voice too deep for her Manticora scrambling over herself to get out, facing the others.
"Ok, the boss has lost it. I'm outta here and if you have sense, you will too," she said, moving to walk past them.
"But you can't just leave," said Taurus.
"Watch me," said Manticora.
Falcore said, "Let her go. If she wants to be a coward and run, let her."
Matt wasn't particularly happy with the progress on his new armor. Especially since he was still stained black. "You know, Silvana can probably take all that extra metal out of you," said Kala,
"Well, she could," said Matt, "But you know how many types of metal are in me?"
"Uh, not really," said Kala.
"Neither does Silvana, which means that she could easily take out the metal I need to keep in my body," said Matt.
"Oh boy," muttered Chloe, before saying, "Well, you might have to go armorless. I mean, it's not like you need it."
"Would you want to be without armor?" asked Matt.
"That's different. I don't have a thick hide of scales to protect me," said Chloe.
"You can have scales any time you want," said Matt flatly, before the base computer said "Intercepted emergency call on SHIELD frequency. Bank robbery in progress. CCTV indicates physical match for Manticora."
"Isn't bank robbery a bit of a step down from museum robbery?" asked Kala.
"Identity confirmed. Target: Manticora is on site. Caution: Behavior does not match recorded behavior. Recommendation: Intercept," said the computer.
"Well, we better take care of this," said Matt, "Gonna have to wring out Megan's location out of her anyways."
A blast shot out, hitting a police cruiser just as the cops scattered, the cruiser glowing before being crushed. "Like I said, I want your A game, coppers!" yelled Manticora, looking at the gravity cannon she'd 'borrowed' from one of Magnum's troopers. When she had grabbed it, she had expected it to be an anti-gravity weapon. It probably could do that, but she had yet to find the proper setting for that.
She looked over at the terrified staff and grinned. "Don't worry, as soon as SHIELD turns up, you'll be on your way home," she said, the hostages ducking as she absently swung the gun past them.
She just hoped it would be SHIELD to show up, not one of the city's numerous superheroes. Just then, she heard a roll of thunder. "Hmm...Avengers might do. I mean, that Black Panther guy's one of them..." she muttered, heading to the window to see the police falling back.
She looked up, expecting to see the Prince of Asgard to descend down, swinging his hammer. The person who was floating down was not Thor. She was definitely the wrong sex, not to mention the wrong color.
"Oh nuts," she muttered looking up at the woman descending from the clouds. "No Avengers card, no service!" she snapped, the blast aimed at the floating woman hitting one of the Bugle mega TV's. "Stupid sights," she muttered.
"That gun doesn't belong in the hands of a street thug," said Storm as she floated down to the ground.
"Well, bully for you. Bugger off so the right people arrest me," Manticora snapped, fiddling to try and find another setting.
Storm raised an eyebrow. "There's an easier way to get an Avenger's autograph," she said.
"Who said I wanted an autograph? NOW SOD OFF!" snapped Manticora, finding a new setting and firing.
Storm quickly flew out of the way of the blast. The blast itself, blue in color, slammed into an evacuated storefront, setting the entire storefront on fire.
"Fire? How does gravity start fire?" asked Manticora in confusion.
She looked at the setting. "Plasma collapser setting...Manticora like," she said with a manic grin before aiming at Storm. "Manticora say...BYE-BYE!" she sneered, firing only for the beam to bend at an angle and hit another jumbotron. "Hey!" snapped Manticora in annoyance.
She peered out to see Lazard descending in dragon form. "Yeah, I think you're too young for a BFG..." he sneered, his paw glowing and the gun dragged out of Manticora's grip and into his. Lazard looked shifty before putting the gun in his wrist comp's storage buffer.
"Oh, it's you," said Manticora in annoyance, "Did you at least bring your SHIELD friends?"
Lazard looked over at Storm. "Hey there," he said politely.
"Lazard, what brings you here?" asked Storm.
"Well, Manticora works for one of my personal enemies," said Lazard, "What about you?"
"Well, that gun you just took from her was the kind peddled by a very dangerous man," said Storm, "Where did that gun go?"
"What gun?" said Lazard innocently with a blank look.
"He's a dragon," said Manticora flatly, "He's a hoarder by nature."
"Hey, I don't call you a walking meat shredder," said Lazard.
"Oh for heaven's sake," muttered Manticora before snapping, "Can we cut this short and say I surrender?"
Lazard and Storm exchanged a glance. "Is this a trick?" asked Storm.
"No, it's a joke," said Manticora bluntly, "And it looks like it's on me. Look, do you idiots want to live on an intact planet?" She raised her tail up.
"It's finally happened," said Lazard, "She's gone raving mad."
Manticora glared. "Are you JOKING? My entire team's gone bonkers. I'm the only sane one left. They're all going along with Lady NegaNorph's plan to help that Magnum psycho!" she roared.
Storm held up a hand and said, "Just a moment, Lazard. I've been looking for this Magnum."
Lazard glared at Manticora before he said, "What's Megan gotten into?" before looking at Storm. "Who's Magnum?"
"An extremely dangerous arms dealer," said Storm.
"How dangerous?" asked Lazard.
"Ever heard of the Sentinels?" asked Storm.
Lazard gulped. The Sentinels had almost been the reason for the NSC to order a sanitization of Earth due to a dark timeline prediction, happily aborted by the X-Men. "I've...heard stories," he managed.
"Well, they're his biggest weapons, but hardly his worse," said Storm, "His worst weapons are a lot easier to conceal."
"He hired Lady Nega to steal some artifact...and then to study it. Now she said she's taking all of us to meet up with him in Wakanda. She's gonna get them all killed!" snapped Manticora.
"Did you say Wakanda?" asked Storm.
"Yeah...the isolationist nuts with enough firepower to take over Earth in 20 minutes," snapped Manticora, pleased that she was getting somewhere.
Storm gave a long sigh. Lazard recognized that sigh from personal experience. It was the sigh of someone realizing they had to do something unpleasant. Not morally wrong, but something they weren't comfortable about. "Ok...what's the problem? I recognize that look," said Lazard.
"I'm going to have to talk to T'Challa," said Storm.
"Er, the Black Panther? Maybe I should go," said Manticora nervously.
Lazard stomped on her tail at that. "I don't think so," he said in a cheerful sing-song voice.
"Hey, I gave you the tip-off, I did my part. Now this is where you let me go," said Manticora, pulling at her tail.
"We never agreed to that," said Lazard with an evil grin.
"Not to mention you still shot up a bank and that store," said Storm.
"That was to get your attention. Nobody's dead," snapped Manticora.
"Even so, you've run up a debt to society," said Lazard. He leaned in and growled, "Not to mention you have info I want...like your boss's new headquarters."
"But..." whimpered Manticora.
"...is what you sit on," snapped Lazard. He continued, "You're coming back to the bunker with me...unless you wanna be our mutant on the inside."
Manticora seemed to go paler at that. "I can't go back there..." she said, sounding pretty scared.
"Bunker time then," said Lazard, before looking at Storm. "So...you know Black Panther?" he said with a cheeky grin.
"We used to date," said Storm.
Lazard picked up Manticora. "Ok, if you need more information from this," he said, holding up Manticora, before adding, "Then get some coffee." He 'accidentally' dropped a small card, taking off.
"So let me get this straight: you think Lady NegaMorph's working with an international arms dealer to steal a Wakandan artifact with potentially dangerous magic?" asked Spider-Man.
"Yep, nice of you to finally take notice," said Matt in annoyance.
"Why are your scales dark?" asked Iron Spider.
"Don't ask," said Matt, sounding more annoyed.
"Yeah, don't forget who told you," snapped Manticora from her cell.
NegaMorph came in, wheeling what seemed to be a hybrid of the cappuccino machine, a microwave, and a colander. "Ok, got the brainwash cure," he said cheerfully.
Manticora squinted, "What's that in the microwave?"
Morph said happily, "Tin can."
"I want a second opinion," said Manticora flatly.
"Ok, you look like you spend too much time indoors," said Morph.
"Is that safe?" asked Iron Spider, as the cell was opened, NegaMorph grabbing Manticora before she could move.
"I dunno. It didn't harm me in the prototype with the waffle iron," said Morph, turning to show a square grid burnt into his back.
That was when Manticora's survival instincts kicked in and she started flinging spines. "Yeah, this happened in the test sims too," said Matt, turning a table over for shelter before there was a flash of light, a buzzing noise followed by an explosion, a flaming Morph flying into the far wall with a 'wheeee' followed by a flaming NegaMorph who settled for screaming before impact.
The group peered out to see Manticora, blackened with a distant look before she coughed a smoke ring, giggled and fell backwards. "Is she going to be ok?" asked Spider-Man.
"I can smell colors," gibbered Manticora.
Matt shifted to human form before poking her, "You ok in there?"
Manticora focused before screaming, "AAAAAARGH...IT'S YOU AGAIN!" Matt quickly backed up, not wanting to get too close to her swinging tale while in this state.
Chloe said, "And she sees her reflection in 3…2...1.." before there was a second scream.
"AAARGH...WHAT HAPPENED TO ME?"
"Best give her some space," said Matt.
Chloe nodded, "Yeah...me and Matt have all gone through this. First time's the worst."
Her alternate screamed, "WHAT DID THAT BITCH DO TO ME?!"
"This can't be easy to watch," said Chris.
"It isn't," said Chloe.
"She said Megan's working with some lunatic called Magnum," said Matt, wincing at seeing 'Manticora' leaning against the corner, shaking.
"No one I've heard of," said Spider-Man.
"Probably because you don't leave your neighborhood often enough," said Matt, "But we may have to go to Wakanda to find out what's going on." There was a pause at that. "What?" he said, adding, "There's bound to be a dropship somewhere here we can use."
"You do know that Wakanda is an invitation-only country," said Iron Spider.
"They must be doing terribly with the tourist trade," said Morph.
"And we have advanced cloaking tech. Manticora said they're hiding outside the settlements. We'll be in and out before anyone knows we were even there," said Matt before sniffing. "What's that smell?" he asked.
"Probably me," said NegaMorph, "That de-brainwasher needs better parts."
Matt walked over to one of the security cams, sniffing before reaching up and plucking a microcam from just above the lens. "Oh you little...someone bugged us!" he snapped at the others before he peered into the lens. "So ends our broadcasting day. Up next, journey through the digestive system," he said cheerfully before he tossed the cam at Silvana who ate it.
"Hmm...very exotic flavor," said Silvana, "Can't quite place it..."
"I swear to God, if I get my claws on whoever bugged us… Computer, do a sweep and fry any bugs you find," snarled Matt.
"Scanning...sweep interrupted, incoming communication," said the computer.
Chloe glared at Matt before saying, "Put it on."
T'Challa's voice came over the speakers, "Mr. Lynch, I need to speak to your prisoner."
"Then do it without bugs," said Matt angrily.
"You know, it's pushy monarchs like that which made us Americans want independence in the first place," said Chris.
Chloe glared before kicking Chris, "Not the time." before she said properly, "You do have to realise that bugging our computer system isn't gonna be good for trust, Your Highness."
"You're not even from this universe. I think it would be very hard to trust you," said T'Challa.
"You could have asked," said Chloe darkly.
"I anticipated a high chance you'd say 'no'," said T'Challa.
"Well, you should have. Manticora's a victim as much as a monster. She was kidnapped and she seems utterly terrified of you," snapped Chris.
"Gee, can't imagine why," said Matt, "You're practically the African version of Doctor-"
Spider-Man quickly shot some webbing over Matt's mouth. "Let's not start off an international incident," said Spider-Man.
Chloe said, "You wanna question her. Come here. Come alone."
Matt tore off the webbing over his mouth and said, "Better yet, come here, but bring your old girlfriend."
"Excuse me?" asked T'Challa. There was a pause before T'Challa said, "Excuse me, I appear to have a visitor." Then the communication cut out.
Matt smirked before he was knocked out by a thrown component of the mind device, apparently the microwave. "WHAT THE HELL?!" snapped Chloe before tackling Matt and starting to strangle him.
"Did I miss something?" asked Iron Spider.
"You're not alone," said NegaMorph, "I think he's forgotten to tell us something."
Matt managed to gag out between shakes, "Black Panther's got an ex." before Chloe began hitting him over the head.
"And that helps us how?" asked Spider-Man.
"We already know her," said Matt.
Chloe paused at that, thinking, "Wait...Storm?"
"First guess, very good," said Matt.
"Her and...oh Lord," muttered Chloe.
The second visit to Comet Coffee did not feel as easy as the first. That was because T'Challa wasn't in control now. He had to hand it to Matt, it was a very clever mood on his part. "Still thinking of everything as a chessboard, T'Challa?" asked Storm.
"A king always needs to consider his next move, Ororo," replied T'Challa.
"You do know that queens wield more power than kings, right?" asked Ororo.
A calm voice said, "Welcome to Bunker: Hermes. Please proceed to the main elevator. Do not Deviate." A row of lights leading to one of the walk in fridges at the back of the kitchen turned on.
"I guess there's not much point in pretending they're just a coffee shop right now," said Ororo.
"They're presenting themselves with a strong front," said T'Challa.
The fridge opened as they approached it, the door opening to a clean-looking elevator, a small camera watching them. "Be advised. Failure to obey orders from Division 66 staff may result in and including: removal from the facility, detainment under security act, mandatory memory alteration and enforcement of lethal force. Any active electronic devices will now be disabled." before there was a blaze of blue light. "Thank you for your cooperation and have a nice day."
There was a pleasant ding before the elevator reopened to the bunker's access center, Matt and Chloe waiting with dark looks. "The AI's really annoyed over you bugging it," said Matt coldly.
"T'Challa's always been a control freak," said Ororo with a sigh.
"I have not," protested T'Challa.
"Multiple hacking devices disabled on Subject: T'Challa," said the computer calmly.
"Nice seeing you, Storm," said Chloe.
"Call me Ororo," said Ororo, "We're all friends here. Right, T'Challa?"
"He hacked our mainframe and while you were on the way we had to flush several spywares from our wristcomps," said Chloe icily.
"Reminder: Target has supplied relevant access requests to interview prisoner 001," said the computer.
Matt glared before stepping aside, "This way."
Before T'Challa could follow, Chloe put a hand on his shoulder. "Manticora isn't just a political prisoner for you to shake down," she said in a stern voice, "She hasn't been in control of her mind or body for the last few weeks. She's still reeling from what that witch did to her. If you make her cry, I'm coming in there."
"Confirmed. Prisoner 001 is protected under NSC stature 51-Delta," said the computer.
Matt added, "One little ding could send her sanity down the drain and if that happens, I'll help Chloe personally throw you out. Are we crystal?"
"I know how to use a gentle touch," said T'Challa.
"I'm sure you do. This way please," said Matt.
Chloe's local version was indeed on the edge of snapping. She could only think of herself as Manticora now. She wasn't that college girl anymore that was for certain. A part of her wanted to head back to the hideout to snap Lady Nega's throat for ruining her life so immensely and the rest of her just wanted to cry. Most of their words about finding a cure just washed past her ears without sinking in. How could she possibly come back from this?
She could head voices approaching...probably that werewolf version of her again. She turned ready to scream at her before the scream died in her throat, looking at the very reason she'd betrayed Lady Nega. "N...no...no...NO!" she shrieked, backing up.
"Warning: Prisoner 001's stress level 10% over safe limit and rising," said the computer.
"Ms. Lynch, I'm not here to harm you," said the King of Wakanda.
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" screamed Manticora.
"Alert: Psy scan of 001 indicates imminent mental breakdown," said the computer calmly, adding, "Stress levels now 20% above safe levels and rising."
The King of Wakanda turned to the werewolf Chloe and said, "It would seem I need to delegate this task. Would you take over?"
Chloe sighed, "Manticora, he's only here to ask some questions. We're not going to let him take you."
Manticora, sniffing, asked "Promise?"
Chloe nodded, "Yeah."
Then Manticora turned a little more confidently to T'Challa, "Ok...what you wanna know?"
"What is Lady NegaMorph planning in Wakanda?" asked Chloe.
"I'm not really sure," said Manticora, "I don't even think she's the one doing the planning."
"Magnum?" asked Chloe.
"No...something else," said Manticora, "She was told to study that statuette...and that's where it went weird. It's like she changed...for the worse."
"What do you know about that statuette?" asked Chloe.
"Other than it's ugly and made of ebony?" asked Manticora, "She's...protective of it but I swear it's boosting her shadow powers. What is that creepy thing?"
"We're not sure, but it's old," said Chloe, "Like predating the founding of Wakanda old."
"It's like that horror movie. It's some sort of Cthulhu thing," snapped Manticora.
The computer said "Warning: Prisoner 001's stress levels rising."
"Probably not anything with tentacles," said Chloe, "But we're going to take care of it. After that, we'll see about fixing you."
Manticora paused, "I have to stop her. All the others are under her control too."
"Leave that to us," said Chloe, "You just got your head back."
Manticora snapped, "She's headed for Wakanda with Magnum."
"Yeah, we got that," said Chloe, "Unless they're digging their way there, it's not going to be easy to get in."
"There is truth in that," said T'Challa, "In fact, I believe that I and Wakanda security will be able to handle the rest from here."
Chloe glared at that, "Now hold on."
"Wakanda deals with her own problems," said T'Challa.
"And Lady NegaMorph has the same problem her minions have. I'll not let your goons execute her," snapped Chloe, her fur getting yellow patches.
"If she is a threat to Wakanda-" started T'Challa.
Just then, T'Challa was picked up by a short black creature with too many limbs, eyes, and mouths. "Black Panther, is it? Nice to meet you. I'm NegaMorph, the original NegaMorph," said the creature, grinning less to be friendly but to show how many sharp teeth he had.
"Meet Megan's uncle. He's very, VERY protective and trust me on this. He was designed to smash hard targets," said Chloe happily.
"Right. So if you and your security decides to get unnecessarily rough with Megan, that'll put you on #2 of my hitlist," said NegaMorph.
Chloe raised an eyebrow. "Who's number one?" she asked.
"Your brother hasn't fully answered for stranding her here," said NegaMorph.
"Nega, leave it," snapped Chloe before turning to T'Challa, "We have the tech to snap her out of this. Manticora's our proof that it worked. We're coming."
"This is Wakanda's problem," said T'Challa with determination.
"Don't make me get Ororo in here," said Chloe.
T'Challa narrowed his eyes and said, "That is a low blow."
"Well...I don't trust you. Simple as that," said Chloe with a cocky smile.
"In case you've forgotten, we're not your subjects," said NegaMorph.
Chloe nodded, "Like he said. Not your subjects. We're coming and you can't stop us."
T'Challa sighed and said, "I can only allow so many outsiders in Wakanda at a time."
"Our team's coming," said Chloe in a warning tone.
"That is far too many," said T'Challa.
"The term 'tough cookies' springs to mind. You haven't met what my niece can do. She'll rip your men apart with the ease it takes for me to down a sandwich." warned NegaMorph
T'Challa narrowed his eyes and said, "I can't have too many people coming into my country. It would...difficult to keep an eye on all of you."
"Ok...Me, Chloe and Nega are coming," said Matt stubbornly.
"Will that be all?" asked T'Challa.
"No, Spider-Man's coming, along with whoever he thinks would be best for this mission," said Chloe.
Matt turned to look at Spider-man. "So...who's coming?"
Spider-Man thought it over before saying, "Well, Iron Spider would be good technical backup here."
"There we go then. When do we head off?" said Matt stubbornly.
"Pack lightly. We leave within the hour," said T'Challa.
The group had been told to meet near the Wakandan embassy. Apparently, they'd be headed off from the roof. The problem was the two guards.
"Look, we literally have invitations from the king," said Matt, "He's expecting us." The guard just glared and stayed in front of the entrance, Matt sighing. It probably hadn't helped that they'd arrived in 'civilian mode'.
Chloe walked forward. "Look, it's really true. Your king wants to see us," she said in as polite a voice as was possible, though she was twitching a little, a sign that her human form spell was starting to wear off.
"You think he's like those Buckingham guards?" asked Cho, "Where you can do what you want in front of them and they can't do anything about it?"
The guard said, "Why would the king want to see some children?" Chloe twitched at that as her self-control went pop.
"NegaMorph, mind setting up a little modesty screen while my sister has her episode?" asked Matt. Going werewolf in the street tended to attract a lot of looky-loos.
The guard smirked before an angry voice caused the guard to stand to attention. "Enough. They are expected," said T'Challa's voice. The guard looked at T'Challa in surprise before reluctantly stepping aside, Chloe sticking her tongue out at him as she passed.
NegaMorph's eyes took in the interior of the Wakandan embassy with appreciation. "Nice place," he said, "I bet the doorknobs alone are worth $1000."
"NegaMorph, stop casing the embassy," snapped Matt.
"Oh, a mutant clone can't appreciate the fancier things in life?" asked NegaMorph.
Matt sighed, clicking his fingers, NegaMorph's head popping. T'Challa gave Matt a disgusted look. "Don't worry, it grows back," said Matt.
"You're getting splatter on the wall," said T'Challa.
"Yeah, that's what's gonna regather," said Matt, the splatter heading back to NegaMorph.
After the splatter rejoined his body, NegaMorph's head grew back and he said, "You can ruin a guy's eyesight that way."
The group was led up a lift to the roof where a sleek-looking aircraft was waiting. "Is there going to be an inflight movie?" asked Peter jokingly.
"Not unless it's a short movie," said T'Challa.
Chloe looked at it. "That's got some beefy boosters," she commented, getting in.
"Yeah, but is it spaceworthy?" asked NegaMorph.
T'Challa said, "Of course it is."
"Don't tell me we're going that high," said Ororo with dread.
"It's the fastest way to Wakanda," said T'Challa.
"I wouldn't think you'd have a problem with heights," said Chloe.
"I don't, until I run out of atmosphere," said Ororo.
"We will be fine," said T'Challa calmly.
"So we're literally rocketing our way to Wakanda?" asked Peter.
"That is a rather ingenious method," said Amadeus, "Certainly much faster than conventional air travel. Though...I'm not quite sure how my stomach will take it."
Tension was pretty high after Manticora left. It wasn't really resentment so much as worry. The other minions expected Lady NegaMorph to fly into a rage before dragging Manticora back. Instead, she barely seemed to register her departure at all.
Falcore got the short straw to check, peering into Lady NegaMorph's room. "Hello?" he asked carefully.
"Who is it?" asked Lady Nega, her voice sounding very dry.
"It's Falcore. We were wondering if you had taken Lady Manticora's departure well." asked Falcore.
"Who?" asked Lady Nega.
"My lady, I refer to Manticora. She left in protest," said Falcore.
"Manticora...oh, her. She doesn't matter. Just a little dead weight that removed itself before I needed to," said Lady Nega.
"What? I only went along with...this because you promised not to hurt her," snapped Falcore.
"And I haven't," said Lady Nega, "She is completely out of harm's way now."
"Oh bullshit," snapped Falcore, fanning his glowing feathers out, "I'm out of here and I'm taking my girlfriend."
"Leaving so soon? Without your reward?" asked Lady Nega, but this time, there was an echo behind her voice.
Falcore winced at that, trying to move, finding himself turning stiffly. "No...you...aren't..." he managed.
"You have done so much in my service," said Lady Nega. Or rather, someone who was using her for a mouthpiece. The shadows in the room grew deeper as she turned to face Falcore. Falcore recoiled, seeing Lady Nega's eyes were ink black. On reflex, he sent an air blade at her neck.
However, the air blade seemed to vanish into thin air before it could touch her. "Surely a loyal servant deserves a greater power than pitiful air," said Lady Nega.
"What the hell are you?" snapped Falcore.
When Lady NegaMorph's mouth moved, it wasn't even her voice that came out, "I am a king, long imprisoned. And the key is coming to my door."
"Like hell! ICESHAIDE! TAURUS!" he yelled.
The room was plunged into darkness. "There is no need for fear," said the voice, "You will receive a great reward."
"No...NOOOO!" Falcore screaming panic as the shadows swallowed him.
A second later, the door froze before being shattered, Iceshaide charging in with glowing eyes of anger. "Falcore!" she snapped as Taurus charged in behind her.
"Don't you ever knock?" asked Lady NegaMorph in annoyance.
"Where's Falcore, you bitch?" snarled Iceshaide.
"I'm giving him an upgrade," said Lady Nega, "Since we're going into Wakanda, he'll need a lot more power than what he had."
A second later, she was stapled to the wall by her shirt by several icicles. "I SAID WHERE IS HEEEE?" Iceshaide shrieked.
"He's almost done," said Lady Nega, "I think you'll like the results."
Taurus grumbled, "Iceshaide...I think you popped my eardrum."
"Really? That's your big concern?" asked Iceshaide.
"You have any idea how shrill you are?" asked Taurus.
"Shut up. You have 5 seconds to show Falcore before I flash freeze you and take a sledgehammer to you," Iceshaide said coldly.
"Well, he should be done now," said Lady Nega.
Iceshaide looked around before calling "FALCORE?" The shadows behind her moving, two glowing eyes appearing.
"You know, there was a lot more variety where your DNA came from than I knew," said Lady Nega, "When I saw that handsome bird, I just had to try it."
What stepped out of the shadows was clearly in Iceshaide's league, muscles just visible under red chest plumage that seemed to glow faintly, flowing crest flickering from his head, a lethal-looking red beak visible. The black feathers on his arms terminated into red bird scales, ending in white talons. His wingspan and tails also fitted his size, a mix of red and black feathers visible, the red wing and tail feathers seeming to...burn.
"What did you do to him?" asked Iceshaide.
"I made him better," said Lady NegaMorph, her eyes shifting to black for a second.
"I'm not sure this is considered 'better'," said Taurus.
"Just a minute, Taurus," said Iceshaide, "I want Falcore's opinion on this."
Falcore smirked. "I've never felt better, my love," he said in a deeper then normal voice.
"Well, that remains to be seen," said Iceshaide, "After all, ice and fire don't tend to mix well."
"But we can make some wonderful tornadoes," said Falcore, the two leaning their heads against one another.
Taurus and Lady Nega stared before Lady Nega said a little too quickly, "Ok, not here, go get a room. We're headed to Wakanda in an hour."
Flying to near-orbit and then back down to Earth was certainly a very fast way to get from Point A to Point B. But it wasn't for the weak of stomach.
For Matt, Chloe and NegaMorph, it was just another day at the office. For the others, it was a little worse. "Ok, advice for the next version: include ample barf bags," said Matt.
"Somehow, I don't think this mode of air travel will be catching on in this century," said NegaMorph, whose hat was used more than a few times to catch Cho's lunch.
"How much longer till we land?" asked Storm, a little weakly. She hadn't barfed yet, but the Lynches had the idea it was just a matter of time.
"Not too long," said T'Challa.
"Well, I hope your landing skills match your flying skills," said Chloe.
The view outside had changed to savannah under them, Nega peering out. "Wow...so high tech," he teased.
"I thought Wakanda was more forested," said Peter.
"We have just crossed the border," said T'Challa, wearing his Black Panther suit and was in the process of putting the mask on.
"So this is just the outskirts," said Cho, "Doesn't seem that much out here."
Matt, who had read a few files on Wakanda, said, "Wait for it."
Then the air around the jet shimmered before suddenly a lush jungle appeared below them. And in the approaching distance was a large city.
"Show-off," muttered NegaMorph sulkily.
"Behold, Bimin Zana, capital city of Wakanda," said Black Panther.
"Nice..." said Matt in awe.
"It is said that the conquistadors looked for El Dorado in the wrong land," said Storm, "They searched South America instead of here."
"I can see why some people say that," said Chloe in the same awe-filled voice as her brother.
"It's not literally a golden city, is it?" asked NegaMorph.
"There is some gold there," said T'Challa, "But that is hardly our most valuable resource."
"Vibranium," said NegaMorph.
"Exactly," said Black Panther, "Wakanda has never been conquered nor has it ever conquered. As king, I must protect Wakanda from threats both without and within."
"Ok, once we're on the ground you'll need a genetic scan of Megan for city-sec," said Matt, all business.
"What's the rush?" asked Cho, "It's not like she's already here."
"Don't tempt fate. She can shadow travel as well as I can. She coulda gotten here ages ago," said NegaMorph.
"And I bet she's here to do more than filch some vibranium," said Chloe, "Manticora said that...thing was possessing her."
"That concerns me," said Black Panther, "Wakanda's history is strong, but there may be some legends that have been forgotten."
"And which legend is puppeteering my niece?" said NegaMorph warningly.
"We will need to look in the royal library to find out," said T'Challa.
Chloe's wristcomp, looted from the bunker's armory after hers had been burst after one Hulk transformation, beeped at that, "Caution: Target lifeform detected within city limits. Beginning pinpoint procedure. Please stand by."
"Well, looks like we'll be able to make this a short trip after all," said Matt.
"No. We need to know what we are dealing with." said Black Panther.
Chloe's wrist computer said, "Target pinpointed: City quadrant Delta 31. Multiple targets confirmed. 43 percent chance of class K lifeform in vicinity. Caution is advised." A wire map homed in on a building, wire forms of civilians fleeing.
"Your computer shouldn't have this much access to our system," said Black Panther in annoyance.
"Yeah...I could say the same about you," said Chloe sweetly.
"Don't you think it's a little weird that she's acting out in the open here?" asked Cho.
"Good point," said Peter, "Wakanda isn't the place you'd act out with abandon."
"So she's either cocky or...oh no. NegaMorph, does your niece have any...certain viruses in her?" said Matt.
"You mean the Virk virus you sent her out with that corrupted her?" asked NegaMorph in annoyance.
"No...the other one," hissed Matt.
NegaMorph paused, "I hope not but you never know...was my DNA."
"Virus? What virus?" asked Cho nervously.
"Chloe, time to drop," said Matt, heading to the hatch.
"Wait, you don't know where you're going," said Black Panther.
"If she's down there, we just follow the smoke," said Matt, opening the hatch and letting him be sucked out with a 'WOOHOOOO!"
Chloe grabbed what she hoped was a parachute before saying, "I'll make sure he pays back the door." before jumping out.
"Trust me, they may seem like they only have 5 brain cells huddling together for warmth, but they know what they're doi...no, I can't keep a straight face," said NegaMorph, snorting some laughter just as he almost finished.
Lady Nega and her minions were hitting one of the main libraries. "Spread out! Find the book!" snapped Lady Nega, stepping over an unconscious guard.
"How are we even supposed to know what this book looks like?" asked Iceshaide, "We can't read Wakandan."
Lady NegaMorph rasped "NO EXCUSES!" before saying "It will be hidden. Search for hidden rooms."
Falcore, meanwhile, was on guard on the street, blowing up the odd thing to keep people away before pausing, speaking into his comm, "Guys...can you hear some high-pitched voice?"
"Yeah, I'm hearing it," said Akhlut.
"Dammit...where's it coming from?" snapped Falcore. Akhlut shrugged before looking up, yelping and running into the building. "Wuss!" called Falcore before pausing, seeing him in a shadow and looking up to see Lazard heading for him. "Oh no," he squeaked before Lazard 'landed' on his head.
"Perfect landing," said Lazard manically before heading for the building, Iceshaide landing in a panic, as Falcore poked his head out, his eyes spiraling different colors.
"Honey, say something!" yelped Iceshaide.
Falcore said happily, "Why yes, I would like tuna on my pizza...hold the watermelon..." before he passed out, tiny little dragons spiralling around his head.
Iceshaide glared towards the building, frost forming around the door. "He'll pay for that," she snapped. A second later, two lightning bolts lit her up, Iceshaide gibbering "Right after this nap." before falling backwards.
Moonshock landed. "Crude but effective," she muttered, looking at the dazed Falcore. What had once looked like an anthro peregrine falcon now resembled a dark firebird. Curiously, he didn't give us as much heat as fiery feathers suggested. "She better not have used the Phoenix Force on him," said Moonshock, "But first..."
She headed for the building, bursting in to see Lazard locking claws with Taurus. "Ok, the birds are knocked out, Manticora's quit, that just leaves..." started Moonshock before the orca/wolf tackled her.
"I'll rip you apart," growled Akhlut.
"I'd rather not waste time with this," said Moonshock before electrifying her leg.
"Then I'll make it-" stared Akhlut before letting out a high-pitched yelp as Moonshock drove her foot into a very tender spot. Akhlut yelped, his eyes crossing before squeaking, "I thought you were a good guy." falling to the side.
"Man, Megan needs to think bigger," said Moonshock smugly, stepping aside as Taurus was thrown into a wall.
"Megan? Show's over," snapped Lazard.
"Give up now before we let loose your uncle on you," called Moonshock.
Lady Nega walked into view at that, though her movements seemed a little stiff. "Megan, I know it's not you. It's that virus. Gary misses you," said Lazard carefully.
"That name means nothing to me," said Lady Nega, an echo behind her voice.
Moonshock and Lazard took a step back at that. "Oookay...never seen an other do that," said Moonshock carefully.
Lady Nega focused her look on Lazard. "A dark dragon," she said, "You could be useful."
"No...I just play one on TV. I'll apologize to NegaMorph later," said Lazard, his hand starting to glow with plasma control.
Shadows extended out before smacking Lazard's hand down. "The hands just for show anyway," said Lazard, his eyes glowing blue.
Lady Nega seemed to shimmer before suddenly she was in front of Moonshock before punching her. Moonshock yelped, sent flying before getting up. "Really, Megan? Your fists aren't exactly silver-plated," she said, readying her ion blade
"A creature of the night, but not one of darkness," said Lady Nega dismissively. She aimed another punch at Moonshock only for her fist to stop dead in the air. "Took a little tuning. Now let's all calm down or I click my finger," snarled Lazard.
"You don't control the shadow. You control...the flesh?" asked Lady Nega, sounding confused.
"I control plasma. Guess what you're made of," grinned Lazard.
"What is plasma?" asked Lady Nega.
Moonshock and Lazard exchanged a look. "Who are you?" Moonshock snarled.
A deeper voice came out of Lady Nega's mouth, "A fallen king so close to reclaiming his throne. Too close to allow you to interfere."
"Said the king who can't move," said Lazard mockingly, he and Moonshock laughing.
Lady Nega just looked at Lazard before he was thrown back and hit a wall with a lot of force. "Ow," he rasped, Moonshock slashing only to find herself held in place too.
"You have no use to me," said the deep voice, "Not as minions. But you might be useful as distractions."
"Distrac...tions?" managed Moonshock, Matt struggling to move too though he noticed the shadows growing.
"This host has memories...useful memories..." sneered the voice, Lady Nega grinning with sharp teeth. "You're more than just the beasts you appear to be. You have, how did she say it, hidden codes," said the voice.
The voice started to chant at that, the shadows now so thick that it was like night, Lazard and Moonshock coming loose. "GET IT!" she yelled, the two charging just as the shadows converged.
It took some time for Black Panther's jet to swoop back towards where the disturbance was. And apparently a lot had happened in that time.
Several Wakandan troops were out cold and the ones responsible could be seen, several animal mutates heading for a portal, Lady NegaMorph walking out before spotting Black Panther, grinning toothily with solid black eyes before following her team into the portal.
"That was Lady NegaMorph?" asked Black Panther.
"I don't know. Her eyes were wrong...shit, the Lynches!" snapped NegaMorph, heading for the library Lady Nega had been raiding.
The Web Warriors and Storm went down with NegaMorph. "Careful," said Storm, "You don't know what's happened here."
The library inside had clearly been turned upside down, artifacts in rubble on the floor or torn apart. Black Panther...well, NegaMorph could sense the waves of anger radiating off him. "I'm sure it's insured," he said carefully, checking his scanner before slapping it. "It says they're right here," he muttered.
"I don't see them," said Spider-Man.
Iron Spider was scanning around before he detected two unusual objects with a heat signature. He walked forward, picking up two small marbles, one black and another mauve, the numbers 757 and 785 on them.
"What are these?" asked Iron Spider.
NegaMorph turned first before his eyes widened. "Ooooooh no. Iron Spider, put them somewhere dry...not...one...drop," he said in the air of talking to someone on a ledge.
"Why? What are they?" asked Iron Spider.
"I think that's Chloe and Matt," said NegaMorph, taking the orbs carefully.
"Oh no. Did she implode them?" asked Iron Spider.
"No, she dehydrated them, but this shouldn't be possible. Kala purged them of EXP," muttered NegaMorph.
"You mean like what Leroy did to Chloe?" asked Spider-Man.
"Exactly. But this is new. They shouldn't have ID numbers," said Nega, before saying, "Let's get them out of here. Black Panther, know a good lab? I got a bad feeling about this."
"We need to find out what she took here," said Black Panther.
"And I said we need to find out what they did to the Lynches," snarled Nega.
"Maybe we should split up," said Spider-Man, "Some of us investigate here, the others take them to the lab."
"Agreed. I know of someone who could help you," said Black Panther.
While Black Panther was supervising Spider-Man as they looked through the library, Storm, NegaMorph, and Amadeus Cho were sent to the city's university.
"Ok, this is where the lab is. Wonder who this super scientist is?" said NegaMorph, running the experiment IDs through his tek-pack and only getting the Pan Pacific logo each time with the words 'Project Double Punch: Classified' each time.
"Well, it's got the most impressive equipment I've ever seen," said Cho, "Electron microscopes, zero-gravity centrifuge, a nanotech 3D printer..."
"Ease up, kid," said NegaMorph, "Don't let your drool short out your helmet." He walked up to one. "We got this stuff on the Bladestorm," he sneered.
"I wouldn't touch anything," said Storm.
"Or what? We'd have to deal with an old geezer?" asked NegaMorph. Just then, an orb was thrown at NegaMorph which popped and encompassed him in a forcefield. The surprise caused him to drop the orbs which started rolling across the table they landed on. "STOP THOSE PODS! Then I'll kill whoever did this," he said, adding the last part darkly as the orbs rolled towards a glass of water. "Why is it that experiment pods always gravitate towards liquid?" asked NegaMorph in annoyance.
The pods seemed ready to knock the glass over before the glass was picked up. The young black woman drank the water before saying, "That was refreshing. Now what are you doing in my lab?"
"Shuri, you're trying a new hairstyle, I see," said Storm.
"Ororo? I'm surprised my brother let you back in Wakanda," said Shuri.
"It is business I'm afraid, Shuri. Please let Mr. NegaMorph out of your trap," said Storm politely.
Shuri bent over to examine him, "Hmm...an interesting mutation. I cannot guess what kind of creature he was before. Perhaps some form of dust mite?"
"No, I've always looked like this and I have a name, cheeky," said Nega.
Cho said, "Your brother sent us to help us with a small problem. A supervillain turned two of our teammates into those." pointing to the pods,
Nega corrected him, "She dehydrated them. Usually I'd say add water but the pods should be blank, not numbered."
"If they're dehydrated, that usually means they can no longer be revived," said Shuri.
"Think of it as a modified stasis for transport," said NegaMorph.
"Hmm...interesting. And this has been used on them before?" Shuri asked, putting the 757 pod under a scanner.
"Not like this," said NegaMorph, "They weren't even full experiments before. Not that they should have any experiment DNA in them anymore."
"Hmm...looks like some sort of magical residue. Must have been a spell," Shuri commented.
Nega growled, "Megan."
Cho said, "We should rehydrate them. I think that's the term..."
"We should...if they weren't displaying numbers they're not supposed to have," said NegaMorph. He paused, looking at the tek-pack's findings. "Yeah...they shouldn't. We need them somewhere where not even a drop of water can get to them," he said coldly.
"I thought they were your friends," said Cho.
"And if it's proper experiments inside those pods, neither of you can deal with them. They'll flatten the city."
There was a rumble of thunder and Ororo said, "Would you two stop it? Don't you think there are bigger issues?"
"Yeah, we already have my lunatic niece on the loose. Lets just put these pods in a lockbox and call it a day," snapped NegaMorph, slamming his fist into the table, the pods jumping into the air and bouncing around.
"Careful with the ping pong balls," said Shuri.
"GRAB THE-" screamed NegaMorph before the two fell neatly into the relocated glass, the water starting to fizz as two growling yellow rising from it. "...pods." finished NegaMorph glumly, the loud whine as the pods activated making the humans of the group grip their ears. "Ok, that's louder than usual," said NegaMorph before there was a big flash.
The smoke from the flash cleared to show two experiments on the table, shaking their heads. One looked similar to Melty, with a blue-and-white zebra-striped color scheme, his eyes green and his wings seemingly better suited for flying. The other one was alot more familiar to NegaMorph, Silva's experiment form stretching and looking around in confusion.
He was about to move before his tek-pack's voice said in his head, "Experiments located. Experiment 757: Blackout. Designed to neutralize enemy citadels via power outages. Experiment 785: Hotwire. Advanced sabotage and commander experiment. Designed to work with Blackout. Powers include Snafu-level sabotage abilities, energy manipulation to override locks. Remailing files classified. V-630 is to absorb targets. Long live the Emperor."
"I only absorbed virus clones," muttered NegaMorph, "And how comes I've never heard of these guys?"
"Subjects are Pan Pacific experiments destined for the EXP commander program. Detain and absorb," repeated the tek-pack as Shuri and Cho slowly approached the two experiments who were looking at them curiously.
"Matt? Chloe?" asked Cho.
'Chloe' blinked before saying in confusion, "Gabba?"
Something was nothing clicking right with NegaMorph. For one thing, 'Blackout' didn't look anything like Matt's experiment form. And Silvia had resurfaced recently so she shouldn't look so confused.
'Matt' was glaring however, snapping something in Tantalog to Silvia who suddenly began smirking. NegaMorph knew that sort of smirk. "Shuri, I'd hide your breakables if I were you," said NegaMorph.
On cue, the experiments jumped over Shuri, 'Matt' leaping up towards a computer. "Blackout na tula...HAHAAHA!" laughed 'Matt', before biting down on the computer, the lights in the lab starting to fade off and on.
"You're not the only one that can throw lightning," said Storm as her eyes glowed white.
Chloe...well, Silvia grinned, her antennae glowing. Suddenly, the sprinklers in the lab went off, making them reflexively jerk back due to being wet. But soon, the falling water turned into mist before condensing into clouds. "I also control the rain," said Storm pointedly.
However, the two experiments were gone, some damp pawprints headed for the door which was open. "Tell me you have a security team," said Nega glumly, squeezing the water out of his hat.
"This is Wakanda," said Shuri.
"Please tell me you've grown out of that 'I don't need my big brother looking after me' phase," said Storm.
Cho said in shock, "What was wrong with them? There was no reason for any of that."
"'Reason' isn't something experiments follow," said NegaMorph, "Their programming however..."
"The city...they'd really attack us?" said Shuri in shock.
"Well, 700 series experiments are designed to attack large cities," said NegaMorph.
"I have to tell T'Challa," said Shuri in a panic before the lights flickered again before going out.
"I'm guessing the people in Wakanda don't have many blackouts, right?" asked NegaMorph.
"No. We have redundant reactors in case of a power failure," said Shuri before the lab's alarm came on.
"Yeah, this may cause a little panic," said NegaMorph.
The two experiments sniggered as they saw several soldiers run into the blacked-out reactor chamber before scrambling into a vent. Blackout finally said, "Hotwire...where do you think we are?"
"I'm...I'm not sure," said Hotwire. She had these flashes of memories of being someone else. Being more than one someone else.
"You got that displaced feeling too?" said Blackout, peering down a grate to see more guards.
"Probably more than you do," said Hotwire. Her brain was throbbing as she tried to make sense of the memory flashes.
"Maybe we got deployed and mindwiped after our last mission? 777 said that was what Earthgov does all the time," said Blackout.
"I...I don't know," said Hotwire.
"So what's the plan? Mayhem?" said Blackout eagerly.
"Well...for lack of a better idea...why not?" said Hotwire.
Blackout looked through the grate again. "I think they heard us," he said.
A hail of shots blew the grate out at that, sending the two experiments down into the corridor.
"Fancy toys," said Hotwire, "I look forward to breaking them."
"We have them...are you sure they are a threat? They're a bit short," said one of the guards into a communicator.
For some reason, that struck a nerve with Blackout, more than it usually did. "Short?" he snarled.
"Well, yeah, but we're not that short," said Hotwire.
"So...get em?" asked Blackout, the guards looking surprised.
"Oh, after you," said Hotwire.
Blackout grinned wider before yelling "MEEGA NALA QUEESTAAA!" leaping at the nearest guard with manic laughter.
Meanwhile, Shuri and the others were trying to find the errant experiments. "Could they have gotten far?" asked Shuri. "We're not even sure if they're still-" started Cho before there was a crash not too far away.
"That way...trust me. One learns the difference between a normal bang and an experiment bang," said NegaMorph bluntly, walking in the direction, pausing at a door before stepping to the side before opening it, just in time for a knocked-out guard to fly through.
Inside, they could see Hotwire and Blackout tearing out computers. "Is there a particular pattern to this?" asked Cho.
"I think they're getting accustomed to their new surroundings," said NegaMorph, "Venting out some steam before they really get started."
They watched as Hotwire pointed to a specific computer, Blackout cackling before literally diving into it, showers of components flying out, a glow coming from the hole.
"Uh, I think we may need to take cover," said Storm. Her knowledge of science mainly lied in meteorology, but she was pretty sure the glow was a bad thing.
A second later, the console exploded, a blackened Blackout splatted against the wall, cackling dizzily, before more consoles began to spark and explode too. "Overload detected. Shutting down affected sections," said the computer. Hotwire grinned evilly at them, her arms behind her back as the lights went out.
"Those two could destroy every machine in Wakanda," said Shuri.
"Oh, not so impossibly superior now?" asked NegaMorph dryly.
The lights flickered back on at that, showing the two experiments were gone, a trail of soot petering out at a vent. "Gotta admit, they've got style," said NegaMorph.
"And dangerous," said Cho, asking, "You knew their names, what else do you know?"
NegaMorph paused before his tek-pack passed him a small pad. "Let's see here. Designed on contract for the New Systems Military for special operations. Hotwire got accidentally sent to the Empire. They were awaiting a patch. They...oh blitznak...they were tested on a Mars orbit station. They broke out the test section and nearly caused a reactor meltdown..." he said with concern.
"Let me guess: Mars was a green and prosperous planet before that," said Shuri.
"Don't be silly," said NegaMorph, "Mars has always been red and barren." NegaMorph sighed. "New Systems Military's in another dimension, 32nd century, I believe," he explained before he asked, "Where's this city's main reactor?"
"Not far away enough," said Shuri with worry.
"Ok, rule one: Don't bother sending the army. Even a normal experiment could run rings around an army unit. Small teams better," said NegaMorph, concentrating.
"Should we get T'Challa?" asked Storm.
"Yeah. These are 700 series experiments. Big trouble. Plus they got trained by their world's military," said NegaMorph.
Shuri immediately got on her communicator, "T'Challa, things got much more difficult than I thought. The newcomers' conditions have gotten worse. They've broken out and may be heading for the city power plant."
"Is it serious?" asked T'Challa.
"If they start a meltdown, it could be," said Shuri.
"Alright. I will double the-" began T'Challa before Nega growled and grabbed her arm.
"No, you need to go there personally. They'll wipe the floor with an army. Take it from someone who used to be on the receiving end," he snapped manically before realizing what he was doing and letting go, dusting Shuri's arm with a polite and nervous smile, muttering, "Why couldn't Megan have woken up their EVO sides instead? They had tempers, sure, but they were reasonable..."
"Very well. We were about finished in the library anyways," said T'Challa.
"I'll meet you there. I have an idea where to find a cure." said NegaMorph darkly.
The siege of the library was certainly a success for Lady NegaMorph, though not all of her minions felt the same way. "I didn't even get to fight anyone," moaned Falcore.
"There, there," said Iceshaide as she massaged his back, "You'll get your chance yet."
"It's not fair. I get some cool abilities and Megan has us run," snarled Falcore, his eyes literally blazing.
Taurus snapped, "Ah shut it. What happened to 'we shoulda stayed in New York'?"
"I've been given godlike powers. I should have a chance to use them," snapped Falcore.
"Already letting it get to your head, Falcore?" asked Akhlut.
"Which reminds me, you'll need a better name to go with your new look," said Iceshaide, "Pity Dark Phoenix is already taken."
"I like Falcore," said Falcore sulkily.
"Well, you don't look much like a falcon anymore," said Iceshaide.
"It's my name," said Falcore in a final tone before saying, "Unless you have a better one."
Iceshaide pulled out her phone and did a little digging around on the internet. "Hmm...Umbra and Penumbra are too obvious, probably already being used," she said, "How about 'Antumbra'?"
Falcore paused before he said with a grin, "I like it."
"Big whoop," said Akhlut, "We're still stuck here."
Lady Nega walked in at that, "Enough."
Antumbra said, "What now, oh insane leader?"
"With the Codex, we can finally begin the unsealing," said Lady NegaMorph, "Then, all of this land, then all of the world, shall fall under the command of-" Just then, there was the sound of a cell phone ringing.
Lady Nega paused, her eyes glowing red and she snapped, "What have I said about phones during work hours?"
The minions said in dull unison, "Set to vibrate."
"Good, now whose phone is ringing so I can turn them into a toad?" asked Lady Nega.
The group pulled out several cell phones, except for Antumbra, on account that he was still learning his new powers and he'd melted his by accident.
"Erm...boss? I think it's yours," said Taurus cautiously.
Lady Nega's expression did not shift as she slowly took out her phone and looked before saying rather unconvincingly, "Well done...that was a test to see you're following the rules." Then she muttered, "crapcrapcrapcrap."
The others stared at her expectedly. Lady Nega's eye twitched and she snapped, "What?! Do I need to answer it before all of you?"
"Seems only fair. You did accuse u-" began Akhlut before being hit by the threatened toad spell.
"GET OUT!" screamed Lady Nega, the others falling over themselves to run, Lady Nega looking at the toad'ed Akhlut who gave an affronted croak before she said "Fine, you can stay." before answering.
"Gary, if you're trying to crawl back to me, you've picked a bad time," snapped Lady Nega.
"You've been a very bad girl, Megan," said a dark, familiar voice.
Lady Nega paused, in her defense having never heard this tone of voice, before she said carefully, "Mr. Anderson, I told you, I sent the rent before I-" before the voice snapped "YOU KNOW EXACTLY WHO THIS IS!"
Lady Nega winced and held her phone at arm's length before saying nervously "Uncle?"
"Giving up so soon? Good. There's a lot you have to make up for," said her uncle's voice.
"Uncle...I'm...I'm a grown woman now and future empress of this planet so-" she began before a shadow tentacle came out of her prone and gave her what the gang would call 'the uncle slap'.
"Did I say you could be a villain?" snapped NegaMorph before his usual snide, "It's a fool's game. The real credits are in selling the surplus armory and taking bets on the Lynches' fights."
He cleared his throat as he realized he'd gone off track. "Anyways, you've got a lot of making up to do. Starting with undoing the voodoo you put on Matt and Chloe," said NegaMorph.
"Why should I? They'll keep you nice and busy while I do while I escape," said Lady Nega proudly, adding "I only copied one of your tricks, Uncle."
"Do you know what you've woken up?" asked NegaMorph.
"Original Silvia and Draconus," said Lady Nega before having to hold the phone at arm's length again.
"NOT EVEN CLOSE, YOU HEDGE-WITCH!" snapped NegaMorph, TURNING THEM INTO KAIJU AGAIN WOULD HAVE BEEN BETTER THEN WHAT YOU LET LOOSE!"
Lady Nega said in confusion to herself, "Kaiju? What the hell did I miss?"
NegaMorph snapped in a more level tone, "Did you ever think what the original experiments used for their EXP strains were programmed for?"
"What? Angel and 627?" asked Lady Nega.
There was the sound of a hand smacking a plasma forehead. It made a wetter sound than you would expect. "I never really told you how the EXP virus worked, did I?" asked NegaMorph.
"It used experiment DNA, all 627 of them to make mutagen." before she paused as NegaMorph corrected "All 785. Not all the samples were used."
"What are you talking about? There aren't any experiments after Kala," said Lady Nega.
"So where do you think Contrinus came from? Her ID is 750. Or what about Kala? Hers is 777." snapped NegaMorph.
"Yeah, Kala was the last one. There weren't any experiments made after her so how can there be 785?" asked Lady Nega.
"Incorrect. There were at least 8 made after her, not to mention the 700s that came before her. Hotwire and Blackout. Experiments 757 and 785. AND YOU LET THEM LOOSE!" yelled NegaMorph.
"Who?" asked Lady Nega.
"They're sabotage experiments. They like to cause reactor meltdowns," said NegaMorph, pausing to let it sink in.
"Uh...Wakanda uses cleaner energy, right?" asked Lady Nega. "Cleaner? Yes. But also more powerful. The explosion they'll set off will go all the way to Madagascar!"
"That'll crack the planet in half!" screamed Lady Nega.
NegaMorph said, "So...a good idea to take that spell off, right?"
"Um, sure," said Lady Nega.
"You did have a way to break the spell, right?" asked NegaMorph.
"Yes...maybe...no," said Lady Nega, wincing from the words sent at her, which we cannot repeat here.
Just then, Akhlut let out a croak. "Shut up!" hissed Lady Nega.
"Who was that?" asked NegaMorph.
"Oh, one of my minions who's been given a toad out," said Lady Nega.
"If he's telling you that you're an idiot, he's right," snapped NegaMorph before snapping "FIX THIS OR FACE AN UNCLE'S WRATH!" before the line went dead.
Akhlut made another croak. "You ever tell the others about this conversation and you're a Frenchman's entrée," snapped Lady Nega.
Akhlut tried to stick her tongue out, only for it to shoot out, stick to a bug-eyed Lady Nega's nose and reel in the toad. "Urgh...I'm gonna work on the cure," muttered Lady Nega.
The power plant was actually...smaller than the group expected. It was about three stories high, but it didn't take up as much space as power plants in other countries. "Wow, didn't think you could make a power plant this small and efficient," said Spider-Man.
"What's it run on? Vibranium?" asked NegaMorph sarcastically. This got NegaMorph a few funny looks. "What? You don't expect me to believe vibranium can be used as an energy source. I thought it was just for, well, everything else," said NegaMorph.
"It is indeed used for power. If your friends damage this..." said Black Panther darkly.
"Yeah, yeah, everything's gone between here and Madagascar," said NegaMorph.
Iron Spider looked up at the power plant before asking, "How can you use vibranium for power?"
"Well, because of the kinetic-absorbing properties-" started Shuri.
"Shuri, that is a national secret," said Black Panther sternly.
"I'm just giving him the bare basics," said Shuri, "It's not like he'd be able to replicate it." There was a distant 'boom' at that.
"Ok, what's the plan?" asked Storm.
"We keep those two out of the plant until their cure arrives," said Spider-Man, "At least this place is easier to defend."
Several drones detached from the power plant at that, gaining some height before turning towards them. "You did remember to put us on the friendlies list, right?" asked NegaMorph.
The drones began firing at that, at everyone. "How did they get to the drone controls?" asked Shuri.
"You don't want to underestimate experiments," said NegaMorph before shooting back at them.
Blackout peered over his sister's shoulder. "What's the fun in letting some dumb robots have all the fun?" he asked, having finished tying up two unconscious guards.
"Those heroes outnumber us three-to-one," said Hotwire, "We wanna get in there, we need them occupied."
One of the drone feeds went dead at that. "You lost a life," said Blackout with a grin.
Hotwire glared at him before pressing a few buttons so the drones would compensate. "Just get past that damn blast door."
"Hey, this takes a lot of work," said Blackout, "This thing's sealed pretty tight."
"Stop making excuses," snapped Hotwire.
Blackout glared at Hotwire before trying to lever his claws into a crack before yelping as he just bent his claw. "Stupid damn DOOR!" he snapped, ripping a section of wall off before throwing it at the door. Blackout paused before glancing back at the wall. "Well, duh," he muttered to himself before he started ripping at the wall next to the door.
Hotwire glared as another drone feed went dead before she snapped, "CAN YOU KEEP IT DOWN?" turning in time for the now wall-less door to fall forward.
"Ta daaaaa," said Blackout proudly before saying, "You got game over." pointing to where the last feed was gone.
"Whatever. Let's blow this pop stand," said Hotwire.
Blackout nodded, the two starting down the corridor before Blackout added, "I gotta ask...how are we gonna survive the explosion?"
"We're indestructible," said Hotwire.
"Yeah, but are we indestructible enough?" asked Blackout.
"Look...this is our job," snapped Hotwire, not saying she had similar misgivings. The numbers on the explosion they'd cause were...big.
"You ever wonder why it is thought?" asked Blackout.
"Oh, don't start that again," said Hotwire, "That's the kind of talk that got us-" She stopped as she clutched her head.
Blackout paused, coming back over to her. "You ok, sis?" she asked.
"Yes...no...doesn't matter," said Hotwire, trying to push aside memories that didn't seem like hers.
"Maybe we should just leave? There's other places to smash," suggested Blackout.
"This is what we were designed for," snapped Hotwire.
"I'd prefer to not die," snapped Blackout, before the two turned to see drones come into view "Did you already reprogram them?" asked Blackout.
The drones began firing on them at that. "I didn't know there was more!" snapped Hotwire, her eyes and antenna glowing and one drone shuddering before its optics changed colour and it began firing on its fellow.
"Only one?" asked Blackout incredulously.
She paused before snapping, "Stop fighting!" The two drones turned to look at her. "Go shoot the heroes!" she snapped smugly, the drones flying past her. "You coulda just reprogrammed the entire building. It's not like it'll recover in time," Blackout said.
"Hey, this is very sophisticated tech. Even that one hacking experiment would have trouble. What was his number?" asked Hotwire.
"629," said Blackout, peering round the corner and getting a blackened face from a blast. "More guards," he rasped.
"Oh for goodness sake," snapped Hotwire in exasperation.
"Just get em, you wuss," laughed Blackout, ripping a panel off the wall and throwing it at the guards.
"Hey, I'm a general. Generals don't fight. We command," said Hotwire haughtily. A blast parted her fur at that. "On the other hand..." she said before firing a lightning bolt.
While Wakanda could boast of the finest security in the world, there is one thing that the guards lack: experience. So few people have been able to even breach Wakanda that they've never really had to deal with any intruders in the plant, let alone superpowered ones.
Black Panther, as such, was understanding then when the heroes burst into the plant's main security room to find the guards on duty tied up.
"You know, when the outer ring becomes too impenetrable, the center becomes soft," said Spider-Man.
"Where did that come from?" asked Iron Spider.
"I kinda cribbed it off of Iron Fist. I think I paraphrased it," said Spider-Man.
"They're heading for the reactor. We heard them arguing," said one of the guards in a worried voice.
"Then we cannot afford to waste time," said Black Panther, "We must take them down."
NegaMorph said, "Hey, that's still our friends. They may not be in control of themselves but we're not just blasting them." He added under his breath, "Blasting might not even scratch 'em."
"Your 'niece' doesn't seem to be arriving with their cure anytime soon," said Black Panther pointedly.
"She'll find a cure...if she knows what's good for her," muttered NegaMorph.
"Until then, we have to get those two out of the plant," said Storm.
The room shook at that, the computer saying, "Primary stabilizer failure...backup activated."
"No more talk," said Black Panther before rushing towards the reactor room.
"Dammit!" snapped Lady NegaMorph as the cure spell fizzled out again.
"Is there a problem?" asked Antumbra tauntingly.
"Nothing some roast chicken won't solve," muttered Lady Nega in an annoyed tone.
"I'm the one who does the roasting now," said Antumbra, dark fire appearing in his hand.
"That just looks like fire. You're just another creature of shadow," said Lady NegaMorph in a bored tone, holding out her hand and the flame snuffing out.
Antumbra frowned and said, "C'mon, I have to have some kind of fire to go with this look."
"Like I'd tell you," sneered Lady Nega, a glowing orb forming. "Finally," she said happily as it split into two.
"You know you're not much good at undoing what you've done," said Antumbra mockingly.
Lady Nega glared. "You know, it'd only take me 5 minutes to undo you," she snarled.
"Like you could-" started Antumbra before suddenly clutching at his throat.
"You really think I didn't add something to those serums? A little shadow magic of my own and you're mine," Lady Nrga snarled, squeezing her fist before releasing her 'grip' on Antumbra. "Now if you'll excuse me, I need to stop a pair of genetic experiments from blowing up a tenth of the world," said Lady Nega before walking out.
Antumbra glared. "This isn't o-...did she say a tenth of the world?" he said with worry.
The reactor room was...smaller than Hotwire or Blackout anticipated. Granted the turbines did take up a good deal of the room, but it was nowhere as huge as the reactors in a hydroelectric or nuclear plant. "Huh, efficient people," commented Blackout.
"Just start crossing wires. This doesn't look like a brute force job," Hotwire snapped.
"Sure, and you get the getaway car running," said Blackout.
"Just do it." snapped Hotwire, looking around and noticing something. "Where's the power cables? Or the emitter for wireless transfer?" she muttered.
"They probably designed it aesthetically as something or other," said Blackout.
"No, I can't even sense juice in the walls. Blackout, breach the casing," Hotwire ordered.
Blackout stared. "That'll blow the reactor with us in it," he snapped only to scream and roll into a ball as Hotwire said "Ok...I will." sending a blast into the casing...only for nothing to happen.
"A trap," she snarled.
"Who builds a fake reactor?" asked Blackout, knocking on the turbine.
"Someone who wants to make sure intruders do not take things they are not meant to," said a voice, the two experiments turning. There stood the King of Wakanda, his younger sister, and his possibly-ex-girlfriend. "I shall say this once," said Black Panther, "Surrender now and I shall be lenient."
The two experiments backed up, growling before their shadows melted together and rose up into NegaMorph. "You're wasting time, experiments never surrender," he sneered, picking them up by their scruffs only to yell as the two both bit his hands at the same time and dove into a vent with cackles. "Little trogs!" he snapped.
"We have to keep them from the real reactor," said Shuri.
"Wait, this isn't the reactor?" asked NegaMorph, "Then where is-"
"It wouldn't be much of a secret if we told you," said Black Panther.
"They'll be headed there anyway! Hotwire can sense power!" snapped NegaMorph, adding "So maybe this isn't the time to play secrets?"
Shuri sighed before walking to a small door that seemed like it would lead to a utility closet. She opened it up to reveal a machine about two-thirds of a man's size and emitting a steady hum.
"That's it?" said NegaMorph bluntly.
"It's extremely efficient," said Shuri proudly.
The wall behind Shuri exploded outward, Hotwire landing on her shoulders, her antennae crackling. "Thanks, thought I could sense it. Any other surprises? Please say no. This mission's driven me to the breaking point and when I'm in a bad mood, my behavior's...well..." she said, lightning crackling between her antennae which she aimed close to Shuri "...a little shocking."
She got an annoyed look as Blackout's voice from the hole laughed, "Was that the best pun you could come up with?"
"Oh, like you can come up with better puns," snapped Hotwire.
"It's barely relevant to the situation," snapped Blackout, "I mean 'my behavior's a little shocking'. Is this really supposed to be shocking?"
Hotwire put a paw to her face, muttering various plans about murdering family before she said, "Ok...let's try again...you tell me about any more booby traps or I deep fry her nervous...where's the guy in black?" she asked, noticing Black Panther had vanished while she was arguing.
"I'm right here," said NegaMorph in annoyance.
"Not you!" snapped Hotwire.
"I'm the only one in black here," said NegaMorph. Storm cleared her throat. "Ok, I'm the only guy in black here," said NegaMorph.
"You barely qualify as a guy," said Blackout.
"Same for you," retorted NegaMorph.
"Ok, given we're all playing dumb, where's the king?" snapped Hotwire, holding her antennae closer to Shuri with a glare. At which point, Storm sent a lightning bolt at Hotwire's antenna, which acted as a natural lightning rod.
Shuri dove to the side as Hotwire shook in the air, her fur standing out before she fell down with a groan. A second later, a black blur shot out with a snarl, Blackout's teeth bared as he shot at her throat. However, he was stopped in midair as something appeared to grab him.
"Lemme go...LET ME GO!" he roared, struggling in the air and clawing.
Black Panther became visible again, holding Blackout by the scruff. "This has gone on long enough," he said.
"That...human fried my sis. I'LL RIP HER THROAT OUT AND STRANGLE HER WITH IT!" roared Blackout.
Hotwire gibbered "I wanna pet the tiger...where did it gooooo?"
"So much for them being super geniuses," said NegaMorph dryly.
"Ah, shove it, you slug," snapped Blackout sulkily.
"Excuse me, there are ladies present," said Black Panther.
"More than you know," said Lady NegaMorph's voice, the woman appearing in the middle of the room.
Of course, the heroes in the room would have wanted to seize her before she got away. That went for the one antihero as well. But Lady NegaMorph had taken the precaution of casting a cone of slowness around the room.
"Now then, Uncle. You wanted me to cure these little pests," Lady NegaMorph said calmly, an orb in her hand.
NegaMorph's fingers twitched as he tried to reach his dear niece, preferably her throat.
"Hey...I'm wanted and not in a good way. I can't have you getting through to my good side," laughed Lady NegaMorph, before the orb split into two, each shooting into one of the experiments.
"Well, that should take care of that. Can't have them blowing up the city. I'm not done with it yet," said Lady NegaMorph, "I'll be seeing you all later." With that, she vanished, seeming to fade into the shadows, her smirk the last to go.
Hotwire was the first to be able to speak. "I'm feeling funny..." she groaned. A glow the same colour as the orb that hit her covered her at that, her snape shifting and growing with crackles till the glow vanished to reveal Chloe, (happily back in her clothing).
A similar glow covered Blackout who also started growing. When it was finished, Black Panther was left holding the bigger and heavier Matt.
Chloe just blinked slowly. "Why do I feel like I should apologise? And what the hell's going on?" she said carefully.
"And why am I being held up like this?" asked Matt, "And for that matter, where are we?"
"It's a long story," said NegaMorph.
"Perhaps we should save that for later," said Black Panther, "There's still a witch on the loose."
"She'll be long gone. Probably while we were chasing the Lynches," said NegaMorph, adding, "It's what I'd do."
"She came to Wakanda for a reason," said Black Panther, "And I'm sure she's far from done here."
"All we can do is wait. If she doesn't want to be found. I only found her cause she was smug over her little spell," said Nega.
"Still, we should be more proactive in finding out what she is after," said Black Panther.
Matt's wristcomp beeped at that, Matt answering "Helloooo?" in a careful voice.
"Matt, you're back?" asked Spider-Man's voice.
"Uh, yeah, did I go somewhere?" asked Matt.
"You got something worth talking about?" asked Chloe as she answered her comm.
"Uh, yeah, I think we found out what that fetish thing was for," said Spider-Man.
"Ok...lay it on me," sighed Chloe, pinching the bridge of her nose.
"Well, apparently it's connected to a figure in ancient Wakandan mythology," said Spider-Man, "I'm not sure if this is translating right, but does 'Shadow King' mean anything to anyone?"
Matt, NegaMorph, and Chloe noted the change in the room. "It's an ultimate evil thing, isn't it" asked Matt.
"Why would you say-" started Shuri.
"It's always an ultimate evil!" snapped Matt.
"It is the subject of a dark legend from ancient Wakanda," said Black Panther.
"Though mostly, it's used to make young children behave," said Shuri.
"Oh, as in 'go to bed and sleep tight or the boogeyman will get you'?" asked Chloe.
"Boogeyman?" asked Shuri in confusion.
"The story meant to make sure all good little girl and boys eat don't stay up all night," said Matt.
"There are variations of that kind of thing all over the world," said NegaMorph, "But I'm guessing the Shadow King is a different matter."
"Most of those creatures are only tales," said Black Panther, "The Shadow King may be far more than that."
Operating in Wakanda meant one would need a base that was well below the radar. And Moses Magnum had spent months covertly setting up an underground base. It was minimalist, but it was a good staging ground for when it was time for their big plan. The girl mage was proving useful too. Her little diversion had allowed her to actually be more efficient than his usual minions.
"Status report," said Magnum.
"The tunnel into the catacombs is almost done," said one of his men, "Just one more push and we're in. But after that..."
"We can get past any traps the original builders made," said Magnum with a smirk.
"But later additions-" started the tunnel foreman.
"Later additions? The Kings of Wakanda have been trying to forget about the deepest catacombs for centuries," said Magnum, "The new king has no idea what's lying beneath his feet."
"But they're Wakandan traps..." said another of his men.
"That's why we brought these," said Magnum, gesturing to the many boxes in one room, containing enough weapons and armors for a private army.
He walked off as his men began to equip themselves before, when he was sure he was alone, he opened a small bag on his belt. He pulled out an ebony fetish. It was smaller than the one Lady NegaMorph had, only as big as his thumb. There wasn't room for much more than a scowling face on it.
The fetish's eyes began to glow before a voice snapped, "Moses..."
"We're almost ready," muttered Magnum, "Soon we'll be under the palace. I assume the girl is suitable for your needs?"
"She is sufficient. Her followers are problems. They council her to show caution," hissed the voice.
"One of them has already left her. How much longer before the others leave too?" asked Magnum with a smirk.
The eyes glowed brighter and a stab of pain shot into Magnum's head. "Take this seriously, Magnum. If they were going to leave, they would have. Deal with them, Magnum, before I decide YOU aren't useful."
There's another chapter that I waited a little too long to post. But at least it's in time for Black History Month. And it features two of the most prominent African characters in Marvel Comics, Black Panther and Storm (who also happen to be one of my most favorite couples from Marvel as well). We've also got a few villains associated with them, Moses Magnum and the Shadow King, though I've taken a few liberties with both of them.
And we've got a little change in the ranks for Lady NegaMorph. Manticora has left and Falcore has been upgraded. His Antumbra form is based off of Galarian Moltres, in case it wasn't obvious. We'll be having Matt get an upgrade too, but that may not be until next chapter.
The next chapter is coming out tomorrow so keep an eye out for it and please review.
