Issue #5 (August 2018) Written by Jake Hawkins Featuring:
Black Panther
Storm
Mr. Fantastic
PRIVATE MILITARY BASE SOMEWHERE IN WASHINGTON, D.C.
General David Waller followed his team of security handpicked from a pool of the very best operatives the Secret Service had available as he continued his phone conversation.
"Mr. Secretary I don't care what it will cost, just make sure a team equipped to handle the subject is on call and available should I see fit to send him out again in the near future. With the way things are shaping up in Madripoor that may be the very near future." Waller barked as they walked through a set of doors and out onto the helipad where his private pilot and helicopter awaited him.
"You saw how excited the president was by our results, he has put his full support behind the project. If we can get Fury to cooperate and bring his resources in on this, we may have a weapon that rivals the Russians fabled Winter Soldier." Waller continued as he got into the helicopter and strapped himself in, preparing for takeoff.
As the aircraft began to rise, the wind picked up furiously, shaking the helicopter much to the pilot and General Waller's terror. High in the skies above the helipad and struggling aircraft, the mutant known as Storm floated on wind currents while she manipulated the weather patterns to keep them from taking off.
"We're going to have to sit her down sir! Brace yourself!" The pilot yelled back to the General as he attempted to steady the helicopter and put it down as easily as possible despite the impromptu tornado like winds.
"They're going back down. Get ready to move." Ororo spoke into the range-less communicator provided to her by T'Challa as she generated a thick fog. The Secret Service men rushed across the roof towards the lowering helicopter, fighting through the wind and fog to check on the General. Unbeknownst to them, T'Challa and W'kabi lowered the Quinjet silently towards the rooftop before dropping down behind the group of government agents.
As the General was assisted off the helicopter, his eyes widened in shock and terror as he spotted the pair of Wakandans in the midst of the hazy fog.
"General Waller, I require a moment or two of your time. Allow me to make it clear that I will not be asking again." T'Challa rumbled in a tone that meant nothing short of business. The Secret Service members drew their weapons and trained them on the Wakandans.
"W'Kabi, if you would be so kind." W'kabi nodded at his King's orders before snapping his laser rifle into position and firing at each of the men protecting the General, the ships cannons firing across the rooftop as it mimicked W'kabis movements. They dropped like flies on the roof as T'Challa stepped over their unconscious bodies and approached the General. The Quinjet then destroyed the helicopter just moments after the pilot had stepped out, leaving it decimated much to the General’s horror.
"You send your people to acquire weapons that were stolen from Wakanda. For this, they paid a terrible price at your hands nonetheless." T'Challa accused him as they came face to face.
"Certain measures had to be taken to ensure we came out clean in all of this. You can come here and parade your technology and moral compass on your high horse or you can accept that sometimes for the sake of a country less than savory tactics must be employed. I've heard enough about Wakandan history from Ross to know you're not blind to doing what's necessary to protect your country." The General spat back as he took a few steps away from the angry King.
"Your assumptions of myself or the Kings who came before me are based on the idea that we think as your people do. You sent your fellow countrymen to do your misdeeds and when it backfired you signed their death warrants yourself. Allow me to implore that the distinction between how Wakanda functions and what you view as necessary is a simple one: In Wakanda, no one life is forfeit or above another. W'kabi, has the uplink finished?"
W'kabi checked the status bar emitting from his kimoyo band before looking up at the king. "I've sent the footage we collected from Nicole and Ross, as well as your interaction here with the General to every major American news outlet in the country. And I put it on Twitter.” The General looked mortified at the pair of Wakandans as his phone started to go berserk, no doubt with people flooding the General's line as news about the missing American's and their fate spread.
"While I found your excuse for executing your own men flimsy, maybe a grand jury will be more sympathetic towards your twisted sense of duty to your country.” T'Challa turned and headed towards the lowering Quinjet with W'kabi right behind him as the General watched in despair, sinking to his knees as the realization his life as he had built and known it was over.
They stepped back onto the Quinjet as T'Challa began to study the graph charting the peculiar energy signatures while W'kabi headed back to the pilot's chair where Ororo was currently seated.
"Excuse me my future Queen, but you are in my chair." W'kabi said with a deep bow. Storm rolled her eyes before getting up and giving the chair back to W'kabi and heading over to where T'Challa studied the map Shuri had uploaded to the ship.
"I can always tell when you are full of doubt. You had the same expression on your face when we were forced apart from each other." Ororo surmised as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do you remember that day?"
T'Challa took a deep breath as memories began to wash over him. "There's no force known to man that could make me forget. My deepest regrets have a way of compromising me in the most unfortunate of moments, such as now."
"You are far too great a man to question the paths you choose to travel down. When we left each other, you left to become the man I am happy to say I know like my own heart. A man your mother and father could not be any prouder of. You have always had the bad habit of believing decisions you make with your emotions are foolish. Well I say to you King T'Challa, that your ability for empathy is your greatest strength."
T'Challa turned to Ororo, and every molecule in his body urged for him to wrap his arms around her. He wanted nothing more in the entire universe than to feel the familiar warmth of her soft dark brown skin, to place his lips on the nape of her neck as he once did every time he snuck out of from under Zuri's watch as a boy to spend nights in the arms of this goddess. The moment brewing between them was interrupted as W'kabi called T'Challa from the cockpit.
"My King, we are receiving a transmission from the Baxter Building!" W'kabi informed the pair as he charted a course for New York. "Patching Dr. Richards through now."
Moments later a video hologram generated from the control console before T'Challa and the image of Reed Richard's appeared.
"Sorry to bother you, old friend. Good evening Storm." Reed greeted them both politely but T'Challa could tell from the haggard and worn expression he wore than that all was far from right with Mr. Fantastic.
"There is no bother at all my friend, how can I be of service?" T'Challa asked, unwrapping himself from Storm and giving Reed his undivided attention.
"We ought to have this discussion in person. You're in town, correct?" Reed asked as he made a few adjustments on the computer near him.
"We are just a few hours out Dr. Richard's, but why-" W'kabi is cut off mid-sentence as alarms lit up across his monitors, a message reading "DIMENSIONAL BREACH DETECTED" in bold red letters flashed repeatedly in front of the pilot. T'Challa and Ororo watched over his shoulder as they headed directly into the small breach in front of them, unable to do much else as the jet's guidance and control system seized up completely. Seconds later they landed on the rooftop of the Baxter Building as H.E.R.B.I.E floated towards their vessel.
"King T'Challa, Dr. Richards is in his lab. Please follow me." H.E.R.B.I.E instructed. T'Challa nodded and followed the robot, wrapping his hand around Storm's as she and W'kabi trailed behind.
They entered the lab of Reed Richards and saw the star-studded group assembled near Reed's dimensional gate. The massive lab was the only one in the world that could possibly make a man with T'Challas intelligence and resources envious as he shook hands with Mr. Fantastic.
"You found a way to travel faster using your pocket dimension formulas?" T'Challa hypothesized as he surveyed the lab.
"Please don't get him started T'Challa, you know he'll never stop talking. And that's not exactly something we have time for at the moment." Sue Richard's stated as she greeted the King with a hug. W'kabi bowed deeply at the matriarch of the Richard's family before he eyed the dimensional gate H.E.R.B.I.E. was making a few adjustments to.
"I know you have your hands incredibly full T'Challa but I wouldn't have whisked you here so swiftly if I-well we weren't in dire straits." Reed assured T'Challa as they approached the gate.
"Your son, Franklin, I do not count him among those present here. What has happened?" T'Challa asked as Sue looked on the verge of tears at the sound of her son's name.
"He's lost...somewhere in another dimension. We've managed to track what little of his aura I have been able to pick up, but he has been away from his body for too long. We need to find him, and quickly before we lose him forever."
"What is it you require old friend?" T'Challa said as he comforted Sue.
"The gate needs a stabilizer that will be able to withstand the massive energy output it will require to remain open. I know you developed one made from vibranium back when you were a teacher in Harlem." Reed explained as he tinkered with the gate's control panel.
"I remember that. You wanted to see if brief trans dimensional travel was possible to the Djalia." W'kabi told T'Challa, who circled the gate as he examined its properties for himself."
"I'm surprised you read my research." He told Reed as the Thing joined them near the gate.
"Please T'Charley, you've known stretch long enough ta know that he'll read damn near anything if ya give him the chance." Ben Grimm chuckled as he slapped the Wakandan King on the back.
"I keep some of my advanced prototypes with me on the jet. W'kabi, if you would please?" W'kabi nodded and headed back towards the rooftop.
"W'kabi and I will take a team to scope out on of the dimensions on your list." T'Challa informed Reed and Sue, much to their confusion yet happiness.
"Are you sure? We aren't exactly positive what is on the other side of any of our destinations. Who knows what you could be walking in to?" Sue advised T'Challa, who shook his head at the thought of changing his mind.
"There are no ends on this earth I would not go to for my own family. I have no problem doing the same for you and yours, Susan." T'Challa informed Mrs. Fantastic, who hugged the King much to his surprise. Sue stepped away and helped Reed finish his final preparations as Storm leaned close to T'Challa's left ear.
"Thank you." She told him with a kiss on the cheek.
"For what, may I ask?"
"For reminding me once again why I love you." She flashed a smile that lit up the entire block, and it was only the return of W'kabi that got his attention off of Ororo. W'kabi handed the stabilizing unit to Reed, who placed it in into the framework of the dimensional gate before booting up the program that started the large mechanism.
"H.E.R.B.I.E., I want you with T'Challa. If things go in the wrong direction, you make sure you get these people back here safely." Reed instructed the android.
"Yes Dr. Richards." Answered the robot as everyone watched T'Challa scanning the gateway with a ray from his Kimoyo Card.
"What's with the fancy phone gizmo T'Charley?" Ben asked as he scratched his head in confusion.
"Well as Sue noted, we are going into completely new world's very much blind." He explained as he finished scanning the gateway before motioning for Ororo and W'kabi to follow him. "I'd prefer to put my best foot forward, even when stepping into the unknown." They headed back to the rooftop as Reed, Sue, Ben and the New Warriors gathered together by the now fully operational dimensional gate and prepared for departure. Moment's later Reed and Ben saw a portal exactly like the one being generated by the dimensional gate open in the skies right outside the Baxter Building before watching T'Challa's Quinjet zip through. As soon as they cleared the portal, it disappeared.
"Heh. He scanned the spatial properties and frequency of the gate to create a flash dimensional window. That man can't ever let me have a moment to shine." Reed shook his head before returning to the task at hand.
Inside the Quinjet T'Challa, Storm, and H.E.R.B.I.E. watched as W'kabi struggled to control the ship as it rattled through the portal. "These energy readings are vastly unstable. We'll be torn apart before we reach our destination at this rate!" W'kabi anticipated as he pulled up on the thrusters.
"Have faith old friend. I upgraded the hull and secondary plating for heavy space travel, we should be fine even under these conditions." T'Challa explained as H.E.R.B.I.E. brought a map up on his screen.
"We seem to be reaching the wormhole's end, King T'Challa." The android updated the group as they exited the portal and looked in complete astonishment at what they saw.
DOWNTOWN LOS ANGELES THE YEAR 2035
The city lied in complete destruction, Ultron bots patrolling the city streets below as a curfew warning flashed across massive screens positioned throughout the downtown district. W'kabi watched with sickened unease as a squadron of Ultron bots led a group of humans in shackles through the streets and into a large, hovering vehicle. They paused as they watched the ship pass overhead, immediately assessing the threat the passengers in side may pose.
"H.E.R.B.I.E., can you access their communications relay?" T'Challa asked as he press a few keys on the console next to W'kabi, causing the ship to scan the surface below them.
"I've made several hundred and eighty-eight attempts in the few minutes we have been in this dimension King T'Challa. All of them have been unsuccessful." H.E.R.B.I.E. responded.
"What on earth could have possibly happened to make this possible?" Ororo mused uncomfortably just as an alert flashed in front of the team.
"My King, we have a group of bogies closing in on us!" W'kabi informed them as he studied the radar that appeared to his left. Sure enough the hologram showed twelve objects moving towards the ship with uncanny speed.
T'Challa's mask and uniform began to form over the green and black royal dashiki he wore as he headed towards the control console in the middle of the ship. He pressed a key and a video appeared in front of him that showed surveillance from the rear of the ship, giving him a closer look at their pursuers. Twelve elite Ultron Sentries soared towards the Quinjet, firing plasma bolts that rocked the ship.
"Beloved, I could use some of your unique assistance." Ororo nodded as her eyes went white and she focused her immense power on the task at hand. A heavy blizzard began to form in, the temperature and snow hindering the Ultron Sentries pursuit. The lead sentry scanned the ship as the snow continued to come down, he and the remainder of the group fighting through the hazardous weather conditions to catch their prey.
"Mutant subject detected. Order code: Immediate execution!" The lead sentry spread the order amongst the rest of the sentries before once again picking up speed.
"Kimoyo, activate priority defense twelve. Set controls to manual." T'Challa instructed the operating system as he passed Storm and sat in a small, one seater cockpit on the side of the ship. T'Challa slid into the pilot's chair and the control's lit up as he raised the ship's gun's. His hands flew across the panel as his radar locked on to the remaining bogies. The panther king immediately launched a missile from the jet into the middle of the pack of Sentries, the resulting controlled electromagnetic explosion forcing the robots to drop lifelessly from the sky.
SURVEILLANCE AND COMMUNICATION TOWER HOLLYWOOD HILLS
From inside a large room we see dozens of wires and cables running into the throne like seat where Ultron Prime sat, his direct video feed into the lead Sentry cutting out just as the missile exploded. He raised a hand and made a fist out of anger, the power stone imbedded into his body shining a bright blood red. He pressed a key on his seat before he finally spoke.
"Command Sentry 749, there is a hostile aircraft heading towards your sector. Bring it down immediately. Should there be any survivors, I want them brought to the nearest population control facility." Ultron ended the message before he patched into his surveillance cameras in the area near where T'Challa and company were headed, preparing himself for the entertainment that was imminent.
From inside the Quinjet, T'Challa exited the gun control cockpit and joined Storm and H.E.R.B.I.E., who had retaken their positions near W'kabi as he desperately tried to locate a safe zone for them to land.
"I haven't been able to contact the Avengers nor SHIELD, it seems our communications are being jammed completely by the signal coming from that group of relay towers." W'kabi stated gravely.
"H.E.R.B.I.E. have you managed to pick up Franklin's aura signature yet?" T'Challa asked as he turned to the robot.
"I have not your highness. Although my scanners are being affected by whatever is jamming the Quinjet's communications system, I can assure that Franklin is not in this dimension." H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot answered.
"We need to get out of the sky quickly. W'kabi, is the stealth mode still operational?" T'Challa asked as he took a seat in the co-pilot's chair.
"Negative my King, it was knocked offline in the attack from Ultron's drones." W'kabi replied tersely.
"I spent so much time studying your...ambitious and unique brand of thinking King T'Challa, the first thing I knew that needed to be ripped from your arsenal is the element of surprise. Not that you truly had much of one." The cold, lifeless voice of Ultron echoed through the ship as the three of them turned to see H.E.R.B.I.E. screen now showing the image of Ultron Prime.
"Ultron, cease this hunt immediately!" T'Challa commanded, his anger for the situation at hand spiking.
"That is not a viable option T'Challa. Unfortunately for you, Ms. Monroe, and your stooge you are all in direct violation of this planet's one and only law." Ultron replied matter of factly.
"And what law would that be, monster?" Storm replied, full of defiance even in the face of the odds mounting against them.
"Existing." Ultron answered as H.E.R.B.I.E. began to hack the Kimoyo system and shut down the Quinjet's engine, sending the jet spiraling towards the ground. As the jet plunged towards earth, a group of Ultron Sentries operating a turret cannon in the vicinity spotted the aircraft and fired immediately, rocking the ship and its passenger's. Moments later the ship came crashing through a crop of buildings, demolishing everything in its path before finally slowing to a halt. T'Challa's seatbelt quickly dissolved as he saw Storm land in front of the ship, having slipped out before they crashed.
T'Challa and W'kabi exited the ship, W'kabi strapping his rifle onto his back as his Kimoyo band and his Wakandan military handgun both glowed a dark red as they came to life. The gun had been a present customized to his liking by Okoye, the day he had been named chief of security. It was at this moment as T'Challa's kimoyo band radar showed the hostiles landing just outside what was left of the building that W'kabi thought of his wife, and if he would ever get the opportunity to see her again. He locked eyes with T'Challa, and he felt guilty at having such thoughts. His King had never failed him a day in his life, and surely, he would not do so now.
H.E.R.B.I.E. floated out of the wreckage, the menacing digital image Ultron chose as a cruel face still on his screen.
"I don't know how you've resurrected yourself T'Challa. I highly doubt it was the doing of that false idol I destroyed when I raided your country to create the very weapons surrounding you. So please, humor me as to how you are alive? My memory servers can recall the very day I destroyed you and your Queen." Ultron brought up a video on H.E.R.B.I.E.'s screen that was timestamped with the date "12/28/2027". The footage played as it showed a pregnant Storm defending herself in the golden palace against an onslaught of Ultron Sentries invading before she was finally overcome. The video continued as it showed T'Challa's neck snapped by the power and reality stone wielding Ultron Prime, who then sat on the throne.
Sick of Ultron's games, T'Challa raised his Kimoyo card and pressed a key that read "Activate re-looping sequence". H.E.R.B.I.E.'s screen suddenly went black and he dropped to the ground with a clunk.
"What did you do?" Storm asked as she recovered from what she just saw and focused on the danger they were currently in.
"I fed him a virus Tony and I have been concocting for the better part of the last four years for just such a moment as this. It'll bring H.E.R.B.I.E.'s main functioning systems back online mostly intact while also shielding him against any further tampering from Ultron." T'Challa explained as he dove back into the ship, returning a few beats later with two black cases, tossing one to W'kabi as he made a few calculations on the holographic radar emitting from his kimoyo band.
"Eight more Sentries are headed in this direction my King." W'kabi informed T'Challa as he studied his own kimoyo card.
"Beloved, I need you to do what you do best." T'Challa told Ororo as he got into position. Storm nodded before she began to rise into the air just above the ground, her eyes turning white once again. Outside the wreck of a building, the Ultron Sentries began to close in on crashed Quinjet when suddenly near hurricane level winds began to sweep towards the Ultrons. Massive chunks of debris ripped off the ground and flew towards the Sentries, knocking out a wave as more headed towards the crash site.
"Now W'kabi!" T'Challa shouted as Storm began to conjure strikes of lightning at the Sentries continuing towards them. W'Kabi tossed the case towards the assaulting robots as he avoided a hail of dark matter bolts from the Sentries. The case came apart and formed into a black and silver turret that immediately began to rain laser blasts at the Sentries mercilessly. T'Challa dove over a fallen beam and rushed across the battlefield and toward's the ever-expanding squad of Ultron's, tossing his one case ahead and to the left before generating an energy shield in one hand and a spear in the other. He deflected a few blasts in his direction before decapitating the Sentry in front of him.
The turret from T'Challa's case joined W'kabi's in laying down cover fire but not doing much damage to the vibranium shelled Ultron Sentries. Unbeknowst to the trio, a Sentry lands silently behind them and immediately blasts Storm out of the sky, sending her crashing into the wreckage below!
"Ororo!"T'Challa rushed back towards where Storm went down but is immediately engulfed by a circle of Sentries!