A/N - Hello everyone. Here's a longer chapter for you this week. Today we travel to Wakanda. This particular version of Wakanda owes more to the MCU version than the comics one because the Black Panther films did a great job creating Wakanda on screen.
Disclaimer: The X-Men were created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and belong to Marvel Comics. Harry Potter was created by and belongs to J.K. Rowling. I make no money from this and the only thing that's mine are the original parts of the story.
"Normal Speech"
-Parseltongue-
6) WAKANDA
The day after his birthday Harry traveled with Ororo and her parents to Wakanda. They were accompanied by some of their staff as this was an official visit. Harry learned very quickly that Wakanda had some very good reasons for being such a secretive country. The first reason was that they were the only country in the world in which the metal Vibranium was found. It was one of the foundations of the country's wealth and Wakanda jealously guarded its mines and stock, only allowing a certain amount of it out into the rest of the world at a time. Much of the rest of the world didn't like this and there had been numerous attempts over the years to force Wakanda to release more Vibranium to the world or, failing that, to infiltrate the country and steal some of it, or even attempt to invade Wakanda.
For the most part such attempts were thwarted but they led directly to the second reason the country was so secretive. For their own security the Wakandan people had developed their country's technology to a level much higher than the rest of the world. As a final security measure the country was surrounded by a strong force field that one had to pass through to enter or leave the country and it was strictly controlled by the Wakandan government. Harry was amazed by this shield. He and the other visitors were flying to Wakanda by plane and they had to radio ahead that they were coming and get permission to enter. Harry could have sworn he actually saw the shield become visible when they passed through it. Part of it seemed to slide back one way as if to make a door they could pass through.
"Wow" said Harry as he saw this, "is that shield magical or technological?"
"Both, I think" said Ororo, "they mix magic and technology here without any problems. No other country is able to do so like they do. But if you think that's impressive wait until you see the capital."
Harry had to admit that Ororo was right when he finally saw the Wakandan capital city of Birnin Zana. People often use the term "space age" to describe something ultra-modern or futuristic. That certainly applied here. If Birnin Zana wasn't a space age city then such a thing didn't exist on Earth at all. The place was very futuristic looking indeed with bright metal buildings reaching for the sky. There were elevated trains (which Harry later learned were Maglev trains) traveling around the city while as far as Harry could tell there were few if any cars on the streets.
Even the city as a whole was futuristic although many buildings had some traditional African elements built into them as if to state that tradition mattered even here in such an up-to-date place.
The traveling party was met at the airport by members of the Wakandan royal household who, after welcoming Queen N'Dare and her family to Wakanda, transferred them to a smaller flying vehicle which took them directly to the palace. Harry got a good look at Birnin Zana as they flew and he was very impressed by it. In some ways it was the most impressive city Harry had ever seen, even more than either New York or London which was saying a good deal.
The vehicle finally landed on a private landing area just outside the royal palace. There was a reception committee waiting to meet them and as he was about to leave the flyer Ororo whispered to Harry that the Wakandan Royal Family itself was there to receive them.
"My mother will present you to the king and his family" said Ororo as they stepped out of the flyer behind Ororo's parents. As he stepped down onto the landing pad Harry got his first good look at the Wakandan Royal Family. In the middle of the party was a tall, muscular black man dressed in formal African dress. This was obviously King T'Challa himself. On his right was an older woman whom Harry guessed was probably his mother. On his left was a younger woman, a teenager really, who looked enough like the king that Harry realized she was probably his younger sister.
Both Queen N'Dare and King T'Challa stepped toward each other.
"Queen N'Dare" said the king bringing her hand to his lips and kissing the back of it, "welcome back to Wakanda. It is good to see you again." Harry was surprised that the king spoke English to the queen as he had thought they would have a common language being from neighboring countries. This notion went away when he remembered how many different languages there were in Europe. Maybe it was similar here and they were speaking English because almost everyone knows that language to some degree. Harry hoped it wasn't just because he was there. He quickly dismissed that thought since the Wakandan king hadn't even met him yet and had no reason to do such a thing just for him.
"Thank you King T'Challa" the Queen was saying now, "it is good to be back." Following that the king greeted David and Ororo before turning his attention to Harry. Queen N'Dare stepped over to Harry's side to present him to King T'Challa.
"And allow me to present to you our guest" said the queen, "my daughter Ororo's friend from school Lord Harry James Potter, the Earl of Killigaer in Wales and the Boy-Who-Lived." Harry bowed to the king in a respectful manner.
"We all know about you of course" said King T'Challa to Harry.
"I imagine most people in the magical community do" said Harry wryly, "thank you for allowing me to come to Wakanda with Queen N'Dare and her family."
"Of course" said the king, "we do not often allow outsiders into our country, especially those from the west, but we all know the story of you and Lord Voldemort. Many of our citizens would be happy to meet you."
"I'll be happy to meet them too" said Harry, "as long as they don't make too big of a deal over me. It was a long time ago and I think that whatever happened to save me from Voldemort was really my mum's doing anyway."
Fortunately for Harry no one made a huge deal over him during his visit to Wakanda and he was very glad about that. He stayed in the palace along with Ororo and her family and had a very nice room in the guest quarters with his room being next to Ororo's room.
Harry found Wakanda to be a fascinating place. The mix of futuristic technology with traditional African culture made for a very vibrant society and there were things to see almost everywhere he looked. The royal family itself was quite remarkable. The king's mother, Queen Ramonda, was a formidable woman who reminded Harry quite a bit of a cross between Professor McGonagall and Augusta Longbottom although with more steel and less of an obvious temper. She was not a woman to cross and Harry heard it whispered that she retained considerable influence with her son and the government.
King T'Challa's younger sister, Shuri, was said to be a brilliant inventor and her lab was supposed to be a place of technological marvels. Unfortunately Harry didn't get to see Shuri's lab so couldn't say of his own knowledge how true this was. However having seen Birnin Zana Harry thought that if he had to place money on it he would have bet on the rumors about Shuri's lab being true.
As for King T'Challa himself he was every inch the proud and competent ruler. He was an experienced warrior and statesman and it was clear that he knew about almost everything that happened in his country. Even more than that he was the country's protector above simply being its king. When Harry had still been in Kenya Ororo had told him about the legendary protector of Wakanda, the Black Panther. Harry had actually heard the name in passing before from Professor Xavier but the professor hadn't told him or his teammates anything about him beyond the name. Ororo filled in the details for Harry now.
By tradition the ruler of Wakanda held the position of the Black Panther. It was not a ceremonial position. It was earned through rites that were unknown to outsiders but every ruling king or queen had to earn the position in order to be deemed worthy to rule. T'Challa's father, King T'Chaka, had been the Black Panther before him, and his predecessors before that. The powers that the position granted included superhuman senses, enhanced strength, speed, stamina, durability, healing, reflexes, and so on, and so on.
The Black Panther was not unknown outside of Wakanda. In addition to Professor X knowing about him the Fantastic Four had met and worked with him in the past and he was known to the Avengers too. Even the ICW knew about him. Dumbledore certainly knew about him although he'd never met the man. Dr. Strange also knew about him. Now Harry knew about him, although only as King T'Challa. He hadn't seen the king in action as the Black Panther and didn't expect to either since if he did it would mean that something was wrong.
Of course something's always wrong somewhere when you run a country and Wakanda was no exception. Queen N'Dare was in Wakanda along with members of the governments of the other countries that bordered it to discuss matters concerning recent attempted incursions into Wakanda by outsiders in attempts to seize some of the country's Vibranium. Wakanda's neighbors were involved because some of these outsiders had been caught attempting to use some of their territory as bases from which to infiltrate Wakanda. None of those countries would allow this if they could prevent it as none of them wanted to have Wakanda as an enemy. It seemed, however, that somehow agents had been getting through the shield anyway and Wakanda had called a conference to see what could be done to prevent such incursions from happening again from both sides of the shield.
Not much was known about these attacks but strong evidence pointed to the mastermind behind it being one Ulysses Klaw, known better in the supervillain community as Klaw, a person who had complete control over all aspects of sound. Over time he had converted himself into a being composed entirely of sound made physical and solid. Since the right frequency and / or resonance of sound can affect, well, almost anything he was a very powerful person. He was also one of T'Challa's arch enemies and it didn't surprise the king when evidence seemed to indicate that the country's shield seemed to have been affected by an unknown sonic device of some kind. If Klaw was involved that was only to be expected.
None of the above mattered very much to Harry. He wasn't part of the discussions and wasn't privy to any of it anyway. He didn't know much about Vibranium beyond what the general public knew except that Captain America's shield was made of the stuff. As his stay in Wakanda went on he did notice that he was the only white person that he saw anywhere. He wasn't much surprised by this as he knew how rare it was for westerners to be allowed to enter the country. As such he shrugged off the occasional suspicious glance or glare he got from the odd Wakandan now and then. He understood it and didn't hold it against them.
On his first day in Wakanda Harry was asked if there was anything in particular that he wanted to do or see while he was there. Without any hesitation he said that he wanted to see a Wakandan Warrior Dragon. King T'Challa consented to this and on the very next day Harry and Ororo were taken to one of the main habitats where these dragons lived. They were accompanied on this excursion by a woman named Ayo whom Harry learned was the second in command of the Dora Milaje, a body of Wakandan special forces, all of whom were women. Harry could tell by just one glance at her that Ayo was an experienced warrior and not someone whom he wanted to fight, even with his magic and mutant powers to help him. Ayo, however, was not hostile towards him and calmly explained to him about the dragons they were going to see.
"We call them Warrior Dragons because they are warriors in their own right" said Ayo, "although they serve Wakanda and are loyal to it we are not their masters. They are our equals and we are proud to serve alongside them. If needed they can act on their own for the good of the country."
"Wow" said Harry, "that's very impressive."
"Is it not Earl Killigaer?" replied Ayo using Harry's mundane noble title, "they are as much citizens of Wakanda as we are, as are all sentient beings who live in our land."
"You're much more progressive than Britain and most of Europe, that's for sure" said Harry, "although I think America is closer to where you are at least."
"Perhaps" said Ayo, "but I hope now you understand why we are so protective of our dragons and why we do not allow any of your so-called western 'experts' to get their hands on any of them as if they were common beasts."
"You don't need to convince me" said Harry, "I'm well aware that dragons are sentient. I had a very interesting conversation with a mother Hungarian Horntail named Lexirri Sofara last November."
"Is that so?" asked Ayo with a raised eyebrow, "you know the spell of Parsel Translation?"
"Yes" said Harry, "but I didn't need it to talk to her. I'm a Parselmouth."
"Are you indeed?" asked Ayo now with two raised eyebrows.
"I'm descended from Salazar Slytherin" said Harry, "and he was famous for speaking to reptiles."
"I see" said Ayo, "perhaps the dragons will be willing to speak to you. But be careful. They are not to be taken lightly."
"I believe it" said Harry, "Ororo, you were at the first task. Why don't you tell Commander Ayo about what happened there?"
"Gladly" said Ororo with a smile and she told Ayo about how Harry had arranged for Lexirri to speak directly to the audience in words they could understand. The fallout from that event was still ongoing as more people since that day had begun using the Spell of Parsel Translation themselves and had discovered that not only did it work but that dragons really were sentient, intelligent beings. A revolution in human / dragon relations had begun and there would be no going back from it as dragons would eventually take their places in the larger world as sentient beings with the same status and rights as other non-human sentient beings like centaurs, goblins, etc.
"I am impressed Earl Killigaer" said Ayo when Ororo finished the story, "that was a very good thing you did for that mother dragon. Perhaps there is hope for you westerners after all. Now look lively. We have arrived at our destination."
The border of the habitat of the Warrior Dragons was indicated by a wooden fence but it was only a human sized fence. There was nothing to stop any of the dragons from coming and going as they pleased which, Harry realized, was another sign of the high esteem the dragons commanded in Wakanda. There was no viewing area for visitors to see the dragons from a safe distance. No, everything was open here. Ayo led them some distance past the fence and told them stop where they were.
"They knew we arrived even before we crossed the boundary to their home" she said, "one or more of them will either come to see us, or they will not. It is entirely up to them."
Ayo fell silent and the three of them waited. At first nothing happened. Harry began to wonder if any of the dragons would come. Then he felt the air move, not like the wind was blowing, but more as if something was pushing it as it displaced it through movement. He could sense something approaching, something big and this was confirmed when he heard the sound of something landing with a THUMP nearby. Looking in that direction Harry saw that four large foot prints had appeared in the ground though he couldn't see any feet attached to the prints.
-Wow!- Harry said although it came out sounding like a hiss, -you can turn invisible? That's wicked!-
-Thank you- Harry heard a reply from the unseen speaker, -but I'm not actually invisible. I'm chameleonic in nature much like as if I were disillusioned. As a result I am able to appear invisible when needed. Behold.-
The air around the speaker seemed to shimmer and change color but what was actually happening was that the speaker was changing its own hue to become more visible.
So it was that Harry saw a Wakandan Warrior Dragon. To say he was blown away would be quite accurate even if his feet stayed firmly on the ground. He remembered Ororo's original description of these dragons as "beautiful, magnificent, and terrifying." Seeing one now he agreed with everything she said. The dragon was magnificent. It was bigger than any dragon he had ever seen or even heard about. It was a good deal larger than the Hungarian Horntail he'd faced the previous year and it was obviously quite strong as its powerful body made clear. It was also intelligent. One look at its face and you could tell that this dragon was more than just an animal. Much more.
As for its appearance, well it was a mixture of different shades of green and tan that was evenly spread out over its body in something very like a camouflage pattern which, Harry supposed, was actually rather appropriate for a warrior.
-So- said the dragon addressing Harry directly, -you are a Speaker.-
-Yes- said Harry, -it's a pleasure to meet you.-
-The pleasure is mine- said the dragon, -I do not often meet Speakers. There are a few in Wakanda but not many.-
-You're ahead of Great Britain- said Harry, -as far as I know I'm one of only two Speakers there and the other one is out of circulation. Mind you, there could be more but Britain has long considered being a Speaker a dark talent even though it isn't. If there are other Speakers in Britain they, quite understandably, keep their ability to themselves.-
-That is too bad- said the dragon, -now whom do I have the pleasure of talking with?-
-Oh forgive me- said Harry, -where are my manners? I'm Harry Potter.- The dragon looked at Harry with surprise.
-Harry Potter?- said the dragon, -THE Harry Potter?-
-You know of me?- asked Harry in equal surprise.
-If you're the Harry Potter who made it possible for Lexirri Sofara to speak to humans in words they could understand then yes, I know of you.-
-How do you know about that?- asked Harry, stunned at what the dragon said, -I wouldn't have thought Wakanda would care very much about a European school tournament.-
-We dragons have our own ways of getting news- was the reply and the dragon looked rather smug as he said it, -methods that we keep to ourselves and which we do not share with humans.-
-I see- said Harry, -that makes sense.-
-Now then- said the dragon, -you may call me Kamanda. That means "Commander" in your English tongue and aptly describes my position in my community. It's not my real name but we only share those with our nearest kin and closest friends. Names have power you see.-
-I know- said Harry, -even though he's been defeated in Europe, and especially in Britain, there are many people who are still afraid to say the name of Lord Voldemort and continue to call him You-Know-Who.-
Kamanda looked amused by this.
-Your dark lord calls himself 'Lord Flight From Death?' Ha!- the dragon said.
-Yeah he doesn't sound very scary when you put it like that- said Harry, -but I met him more than once and he really was that bad.-
-I'm not saying he's not- was the reply, -but his name is silly.-
-I suppose it is- said Harry, -I never thought of it like that though. Still, my former headmaster once said to me that fear of a name increases fear of the thing itself.-
-Sage words indeed my friend- said the dragon, -now I think we should include your companions in our conversation as they both look a bit uncomfortable at not knowing what we're saying. Do you know the spell of Parsel Translation?-
-Yes- said Harry who pulled out his wand and cast the spell for the dragon's speech to translate to English.
"That's better" said Kamanda who turned to look at Ayo and Ororo, "hello Ayo. Thank you for bringing Mr. Potter to meet me. The others in my squad will be sorry to have missed him. And you – " here Kamanda turned and looked at Ororo, "– you look familiar. I've seen you before, have I not?"
"It's quite possible" said Ororo, "I've been to Wakanda before and I saw some of you Warrior Dragons on one of those visits. It's quite possible you were one of them. We didn't speak though so I can't be sure of that. I'm Ororo Munroe, Crown Princess of Kenya."
"Well met Your Highness" said Kamanda, "and I was right. I do remember seeing you once before but that was some time ago. Nice to formally meet you."
The three humans and one dragon talked for a while longer before Kamanda said good-bye to them and went back deeper into his home habitat while Ayo conducted the two visitors back to the royal palace where the story of Harry speaking with Kamanda in the dragon's own language soon made the rounds of almost everyone there. Harry noticed over the next few days that a lot of people who had been indifferent or suspicious of him when he first got to Wakanda now gave him looks of curiosity mixed in with some new respect. Queen Ramonda herself explained to Harry that Warrior Dragons were known to be quite choosy over whom they talked to (although they always made time for the King and the leaders of the military). For one to speak with Harry, who was not only a foreigner but a white westerner as well, was unprecedented.
During the course of the visit Harry didn't see much of Queen N'Dare as she was involved in the talks with King T'Challa and the representatives from the other governments. This didn't mean he was bored. There was still lots to see in Wakanda and Harry thoroughly enjoyed his time in the secretive African nation. It helped that Ororo was usually with him as it's more enjoyable to sightsee with a friend than it is alone.
In the early morning of Saturday, August 5th, Harry woke up feeling restless and with a feeling of foreboding that he couldn't account for at all. He hadn't seen any signs that there was something wrong but that didn't necessarily mean anything. Due to this feeling he couldn't fall asleep again so he got out of bed and went over to the window. It was getting light out although the sun wasn't up yet. It was that time of day before things really begin to happen, when most people are still asleep and the area is still quiet. From his window Harry could see a large part of Birnin Zana and it looked very peaceful with no one that he could see out in any of the streets. The sky was mostly clear and the air of the morning was cool. In short it was perfect flying weather.
With a jolt Harry recognized the source of some of his restlessness. He hadn't been out flying in quite a number of days, not since he'd left Britain to head to Africa. No wonder he was restless. For someone who loved flying as much as Harry did being on the ground for extended periods of time was not fun. Now was his chance to remedy that. It was still early enough that, provided he wasn't out for too long, there wasn't much risk of his being seen by anyone.
Harry quickly got into his X-Man uniform, flew out through window of his room, and soared off into the morning. As usual flying made his cares disappear and he intended to enjoy every minute of it that he could. In order to minimize the chances of being seen he flew higher than he usually did and faster too. Before he knew it he'd left the city behind and was out over the countryside.
'Whoa' Lightning thought to himself as he slowed down, 'don't want to go too far or I might not get back before someone misses me.' He stopped where he was and hovered slowly turning around to take in the scenery in all directions. He could still see Birnin Zana but it was fairly small against the horizon.
"I've obviously flown further than I thought" Lightning said to himself, "well I'll take in the panorama for a few moments and then I'll head back. That should be safe enough."
Slowly he turned in place to take a look at the Wakandan countryside. It was a beautiful, lush country from what he could see. He wondered where the Vibranium mines were but decided he didn't need to know that and it might seem suspicious if he was too interested in them.
As he was preparing to return to the city he saw something flying toward him in the distance. It was very far away so it had to be very big for Lightning to be able to see it. With a jolt of surprise he realized it could only be a Warrior Dragon. What was it doing here? And why did it seem to be heading towards the city? A thousand scenarios ran through Lightning's mind but he quickly realized that the first thing he needed to do was to let the dragon know that he wasn't a threat since there was no way the dragon wouldn't see him.
The dragon did see him as it got nearer to him and changed it's direction slightly so as to fly directly at him. Lightning held his hands out in a sign of peace.
-Hail great Warrior Dragon- hissed Lightning as the dragon drew near to him, -what brings you toward the city today?-
The dragon stopped abruptly right in front of Lightning. It stared at him for a moment and sniffed him. Then it said the last thing Lightning expected.
-Harry?- said the Dragon in a voice Lightning recognized, -is that you?-
-Kamanda?- said Lightning in surprise, -you know me?-
-I recognized your scent- was the answer, -everything has a unique scent and we Warriors remember every one we smell. How are you able to fly? And why are you dressed like that?-
-In addition to being a wizard I'm also a mutant- said Lightning seeing no reason not to answer the dragon, -I can control electricity and I'm telekinetic which is how I'm able to fly. As for what I'm wearing? It's the uniform of a mutant superhero team I'm part of. We're called the X-Men, though I don't know if you've heard of us -?-
-I've heard of you- said Kamanda, -everyone in the magical world has heard of the X-Men ever since you fought and beat Voldemort in June.-
-I didn't know the news had traveled quite so far.- said Lightning. Kamanda gestured with his head for Lightning to fly alongside him as he started heading toward the city again.
-I can't stay here talking- the dragon said, -an alarm that something is wrong was triggered at the habitat and I'm going to see what's going on and to determine if I and my fellow dragons are needed. Fly beside me and we can talk as we go although I'm moving quickly.-
-I can keep up- said Lightning.
-In answer to your question- said Kamanda, -yes, we have heard about the fight with Voldemort and his Death Eaters. Which member of the team are you?-
-I'm Lightning- said Lightning. Kamanda looked over at him with a strange expression which Lightning realized was a look of respect, something that looked distinctly odd on the face of such a large dragon.
-I see- said Kamanda, -you're the one who struck the final blows that took Voldemort out of the fight.- Kamanda gave a off a wheezing sound that Lightning realized was his way of laughing.
-And you're also Harry Potter!- said Kamanda with clear amusement in his voice, -how many people know this?-
-Very few- said Lightning, -and I'd like to keep it that way,-
-Which is undoubtedly why you wear a mask- said Kamanda, -I won't tell anyone but don't be surprised if some people who might see you in your X-Man guise realize who you are. As far as I know there are no other white people in Wakanda right now.-
-So I was told- said Lightning, -that's why I'm up so early. I wanted to minimize the chances of being seen.-
-Why are you out here?- asked Kamanda as they approached Birnin Zana.
-I just wanted to go flying- said Lightning sounding a little plaintive. Kamanda chuckled.
-I can understand that- the dragon said, -there's really no other way to travel.-
-You got that right- said Lightning with a grin as they entered the city limits and flew above the buildings, -where are we going?-
-I'm following the signal I received- said Kamanda, -it looks like it's leading us straight to the area around the royal palace.-
-Oh boy- said Lightning, -that doesn't sound good.-
-Let's see what it is first- the dragon replied, -stay close and be ready for anything.-
-You don't have to tell me twice- said Lightning, -you know the area much better than I do. Just tell me what you need from me.-
-I'm going to change my hue to blend in with the sky- said Kamanda, -so anyone looking up will have to look very hard to see me. I want you to watch me when I do this as it will make it easier for you to know where I am.-
-Okay- said Lightning and he looked directly at Kamanda. Just like back at the dragon habitat the color of Kamanda's body changed to match the blue of the sky. Because he watched this happen Lightning was still able to faintly see Kamanda by the distortion of the air around him. Lightning had to admit that if he hadn't been watching Kamanda change his appearance he wouldn't have spotted the dragon even if he'd looked straight at him.
-You still know where I am?- asked Kamanda.
-Yes- said Lightning.
-Good- said Kamanda, -we're almost at the palace grounds. Watch out for any guards. I will reveal myself if it looks like they're taking hostile action toward you.-
They both focused on the palace and its grounds which they were now about to enter. Before they did, however, there was a high-pitched squeal of sound that came from up ahead, and it HURT! It wasn't that it was especially loud just that whatever resonance it used was painful to hearing. Fortunately Lightning and Kamanda were far enough away from it that it didn't affect them too badly.
-Ow!- said Lightning clapping his hands over his ears and working extra hard not to lose his concentration as a fall from here could easily kill him, -what was that?- The sound he just heard reminded him of how he'd been tortured when he was Magneto's prisoner on Asteroid M although it wasn't as loud. That wasn't something he wanted to experience again.
-I think I know- said Kamanda who didn't seem to have been affected at all by the sound, -though I hope I'm wrong-
Kamanda wouldn't say any more just then. He flew on with a grim determination in his manner. Lightning kept up with him and soon they were over the palace grounds. They were approaching the compound from one of the sides. The front was to their right and the back to their left. Lightning glanced to the left and saw movement. He gestured to Kamanda and the two turned toward the area behind the palace. They slowed down and moved in closer as stealthily as they could.
-Follow me- Kamanda hissed and he landed on the palace roof facing the rear. Lightning wondered how the roof didn't break considering how heavy Kamanda must be but tactfully didn't say anything. Kamanda seemed to know what he was thinking because as Lightning landed next to him he told the young mutant that the entire palace was reinforced both technologically and magically to withstand just about anything, including the collective weight of several Warrior Dragons landing on the roof at once. Lightning thought that made a lot of sense.
-Look- Kamanda now said and Lightning looked down from the roof at the garden behind the palace. There were several people lying on the ground not far from the palace doors. By their manner of dress they were obviously guards. All of them seemed to be unconscious and at least a few of them had their hands to their ears.
"That looks familiar" muttered Lightning to himself as he looked further to see if he could find what had taken out the guards. It didn't take long for him to find what did it, or rather who did it. Not far from the unconscious guards a man was standing pointing some kind of – Lightning didn't know if it was a gun of some kind, or prosthetic over his right hand or both. Whatever it was there was some sort of gun barrel coming out of it that he was pointing at the guards. As for the man himself Lightning didn't know what to make of him. It looked like he was a wearing a mostly red costume but it seemed to fit him so closely that Lightning thought it was more like he had red skin instead. And his face, when Lightning saw it, was unlike any he'd ever seen, with one exception. With slit eyes and seemingly having no hair (or a very tight skull cap) or a visible nose this person had more than a passing resemblance to Voldemort if the latter was crossed with a robot since the man's face did look a bit mechanical.
-Who's that?- Lightning asked Kamanda although he didn't really expect an answer. To his surprise, however, he got one.
-That's Klaw- growled Kamanda, -how dare he come back to Wakanda!-
-Who's Klaw?- asked Lightning.
-He's the man who murdered King T'Chaka- said Kamanda, -no matter what he's here for we must stop him.-
-I hear you- said Lightning, -what should we do?-
-If you can distract him for just a moment or two- said Kamanda, -I can get into position to blast him to ashes from above. He can't see me yet but he has power over sound so he could find me if he tried. I don't want him to know I'm here until it's too late. I'll let you know when to get out of the way.-
-Okay- said Lightning, -good luck Kamanda.-
-You too Lightning- replied Kamanda. Lightning nodded and took off first. He circled for a moment and got into position above Klaw who hadn't noticed him yet. He threw out his hands and fired two blasts of lightning which hit the ground right in front of Klaw who jumped back in surprise and looked up just in time to see Lightning flying straight at him. Before he could do anything Lightning walloped him in the face with his right fist knocking him over. Klaw was soon on his feet again though and looked up at Lightning who was hovering above him.
"Who are you?" demanded Klaw.
"I'm Lightning" said Lightning.
"I know of you" said Klaw with some recognition, "you're one of the X-Men. What are you doing here?"
"I'm a guest" said Lightning, "I was invited. The real question is what are you doing here? And why did you take out those guards?"
"My business is my own" said Klaw, "and you'd be well advised to stay out of it, even if I now owe you for that sneak attack."
"I can do more than that" said Lightning who reached out with his telekinesis, grabbed Klaw and lifted him up into the air.
"You can't hurt me" said Klaw, "I'm made up of pure sound made solid and you can't hurt sound – but I can hurt you!" He held out his prosthetic weapon and fired a sonic blast at Lightning who reacted quickly to avoid being knocked out. As fast as he could Lightning broke Klaw's attack by slamming him into the ground.
"You can't avoid me for long" called Klaw getting back up again, "my mastery over sound is absolute. You're foolish to challenge me alone."
-Lightning get out of the way!- Kamanda called down. Lightning heard him and smirked at Klaw.
"Who says I'm alone?" Lightning asked Klaw and quickly flew out of the way. A huge shadow suddenly appeared over Klaw who looked up and was shocked to see Kamanda become visible above him. He began to point his weapon at the dragon but before he could use it he was engulfed in a torrent of dragon fire that Kamanda breathed down on him. Lightning shielded his eyes from the brightness of the flames.
After a few moments Kamanda stopped his fire which soon went out. Klaw appeared to be unharmed.
"If I were still human you would have burned me to a crisp" he said looking up at Kamanda, "too bad for you I'm solid sound now and you can't burn sound." Klaw stepped forward and suddenly staggered a couple of steps before righting himself, then staggering again. He appeared to be very dizzy and was visibly fighting to regain control of his movements.
"Maybe you can't harm sound" said Lightning, "but you can distort it a good deal."
"That won't save you" said Klaw as he continued to try regain his equilibrium. Once he did he raised his weapon up toward Kamanda and fired a sonic bolt at the dragon. Lightning threw up a telekinetic shield that caught the sound and reflected it back at Klaw who absorbed the sound into himself.
"Nice try" Klaw said, "too bad it was for nothing."
"It was not for nothing" said a new voice that came from behind where Lightning and Kamanda were hovering. Lightning looked back and saw that the Black Panther had arrived and was standing on the back steps of the palace. He looked just as Lightning had heard him described. His suit was black and covered every inch of him including his entire face. None of his skin was visible anywhere. If Lightning hadn't known that he was really King T'Challa he wouldn't have had any idea who he was.
"Their stalling of you" said the Black Panther, "gave me just the time I needed to prepare to deal with you Klaw. You shouldn't have come here. That was very foolish of you."
"You can't stop me" said Klaw, "my control of sound is absolute. I'll kill you just like I killed your father."
"Not if I have anything to say about it" said Lightning who again used his telekinesis to pick up Klaw and slam him into the ground. He did this three times before the Black Panther told him to stop.
"Thank you for your help Lightning" he said, "you too Kamanda. I can deal with him now. For your own safety take this." The Black Panther tossed something up to Lightning who caught it. It was a metal wrist band of some sort.
"Is this Vibranium?" guessed Lightning.
"Yes" said the Black Panther, "put it on and it will protect you. Vibranium absorbs sonic energy. As long as you have it Klaw can do nothing against you with his power just like he cannot use it on me either as my suit has Vibranium threads woven in it."
"Handy" said Lightning as he put the band on his right wrist, "what about Kamanda?"
-Don't worry about me- said Kamanda who held out his right foreleg for Lightning to see. There was a very thin band of Vibranium that ran around his leg.
-Where were you hiding that?- asked Lightning.
-It was always there- was the answer, -I'm guessing you just didn't see it. Enough talk now. The king is going to deal with Klaw.-
Now that all three of the defenders were protected from Klaw's sonic power the only thing left for him to do was to physically attack his foes. Since Lightning and Kamanda were both hovering up in the air beyond his reach he attacked the Black Panther instead. That was a mistake on his part. He might have been good in a fight but the Black Panther was much, much better. Not only had he learned how to fight as part of his training growing up but the superhuman powers that being the Black Panther granted him meant he outclassed Klaw right from the beginning.
With his sonic gun rendered ineffective Klaw only had full use of one hand in a fight. He could use his gun as a club of sorts but that was all he could with it. It didn't take long for the Black Panther to overwhelm him and put him down for the count. Once that was done the Black Panther gestured for both Lightning and Kamanda to land.
"Thank you both for your help" said the King of Wakanda to the two of them once they were both back on the ground, "Klaw is not someone to take lightly and I am glad you were both willing to face him."
-Thank you your majesty- said Kamanda, -I was just doing my duty.- Lightning quickly translated what Kamanda said to King T'Challa who wasn't a Parselmouth.
"Oh course you were" was the reply from the king, "Kamanda, if you would please return to your home now and inform your fellow dragons that the situation has been dealt with I would appreciate it."
-Of course- said Kamanda before turning to Lightning, -it was good to work with you Lightning. Please visit me again before you leave Wakanda if you can.-
-I'll try- said Lightning. Kamanda took off and headed back the way he'd come leaving Lightning alone with the Black Panther.
"How did Klaw get into Wakanda?" Lightning asked the king, "shouldn't the shield have kept him out?"
"As you yourself said earlier sound can be distorted" said the Black Panther, "and it can also be used to affect other things. Klaw used his control over sound to distort some of the shield to create an opening in it that he could slip through. This also explains how those intruders we have caught in recent months have been getting into the country. Klaw must have been behind them."
"Why did he come himself this time?" asked Lightning.
"He is an old enemy of this country" was the reply, "he killed my father when I was an adolescent but I turned his weapon back on him that day and he lost his right hand because of it."
"Is that why he has that gun thing, or whatever it is, where his hand was?"
"Yes" said the Black Panther, "he was still human back then. Now, as you know, he is sound made solid."
"I'm not going to ask how that happened" said Lightning, "I suspect I wouldn't like the answer."
"Probably not" said the king, "if you ever do decide you want to know go ask Reed Richards."
"What?" asked Lightning, "Mr. Fantastic?"
"He knows all about it" was the reply. Lightning considered this for a moment.
"Will you be able to keep him imprisoned?" he asked the king.
"Yes" said the Black Panther with grim satisfaction, "we will put him in a cell made completely out of Vibranium. He will not get out of that and we will finally be able to try him for his crimes against Wakanda."
Lightning nodded before taking off his wrist band and holding it out.
"I guess you want this back" he said.
"You can keep it if you wish Mr. Potter" said the Black Panther. Lightning's eyes went wide at this but after talking with Kamanda earlier he wasn't all that surprised. Still, he had to know.
"You know who I am?" he asked. The Black Panther looked at him. Lightning had the distinct feeling that he was grinning underneath his mask.
"Of course I do" was the reply, "other than you and Klaw there are no other white people in Wakanda right now so it was not hard to figure out."
"Great" said Lightning with sarcasm, "that means everyone who sees me as Lightning will know. I was hoping to avoid that by coming out to fly before people would be up and about."
"If you go back to your room right now no one else needs to know" said the Black Panther, "I assume you flew out through your window?"
"Yes" said Lightning.
"Go back that way and get changed" said the king, "I will not tell anyone you were here. You can keep the wrist band. If anyone asks just say it was a gift."
"Okay" said Lightning, "It was a privilege to fight alongside you your majesty."
"And I thank you again for your help" said the Black Panther with a nod, "you will join me for breakfast and we can talk more then. Now go."
Lightning didn't need to be told again. He took off, flew over the palace and returned to his room where his window was still open. He went back into his room and shut the window behind him. He stood still for a moment to collect himself before moving to begin taking off his X-Man uniform which he folded up and put away.
"What a way to wake up" he muttered to himself before stripping down completely and heading to his bathroom for a shower.
At that time in a secret headquarters in central New York Bolivar Trask was activating the next step in his plans.
"Good work in bringing that mutant to me" he told his helpers, "now I want you to get a magical for me. It may take some time though so be cautious and thorough with what you do. Get one from Europe or Britain as they won't be nearly as well protected as the ones anywhere else because they still live so far behind the times." He gave his helpers information about where he was sending them. In silence his helpers nodded and left to carry out his orders.
(To Be Continued)
A/N - That's all for now. Klaw first appeared in Fantastic Four #53 while he was still human. When he reappeared in issue #56 he had converted himself into the being of solid sound that he would subsequently be known as. Except for his prosthetic arm his sound powers were not carried over to the MCU where he's just a normal human villain - and is also dead.
Vibranium was shown to be able to absorb Klaw's sonic power in Fantastic Four #56.
The Wakandan Warrior Dragons are the only aspect of Wakanda in this story that is original to me but if any of you writers want to use them in your stories feel free to do so. Just please credit me for their creation if you do. (And let me know too as I'd be interested to see what people might do with them.)
Next week Harry returns to the U. S. Meanwhile please take a moment to leave me some feedback. Constructive comments are always welcome but no flames or trolls please. Stay safe and well everyone.