Chapter 12: Chapter 12 Wakanda shit is this!
While all this had been happening, me and Klaue had slowly been backing off, until we stood way at the back of the crowd that had formed, our backs against the wall, completely forgotten in the dynastical drama that had begun to unfold.
"En nu?!" Klaue hisses to me, trying to not draw any attention to us, asking what we're going to do now.
"En nu zorg jij voor een afleiding." I lean over as I tell him he's about to be a distraction, grasping the chain of the manacle that keeps his remaining hand secured to one of our guards, who is far more interested in the yelling match between Killmonger and the royal father and son duo.
"Wat?" but as he asks that the chain is broken due to the melting heat of my hand, and I give him a hard shove that sends him flying towards the exit of the hall. Just as Killmonger and Black Panther start their brawl, one of the Dora Milaje spots him, and with a yell of 'the prisoner is escaping!' charges at him, which causes Klaue to bolt, shooting one last poisonous look over his shoulder at me before he's off, half of the guards inside the palace following him out, the rest completely engrossed with the fight that's happening in front of them.
Perfect.
Making my way around the hall, I reach the area behind the throne, where I can spot where the rest of the Golden Tribe is standing, worry clearly on all of their faces, but it's only one of them I'm interested in.
Ramonda.
And there she is, standing behind the throne, one hand kept on the small form of the still 11-year old Shuri while worrying her lip, watching as her son is doing his best to not get the shit kicked out of him by her murderous nephew (as he isn't a charred corpse yet, he's doing better than about 90% of all beings on earth).
With a few great strides I'm standing next to her, greatly startling both her and her daughter, one of my hands on each of their shoulders (though I have to bend a little to reach the tiny Shuri), gripping them with enough force to show them they have no hope of breaking free, but not enough to make them cry out in pain.
"What-!"
"The labs." I cut her off, walking backwards, taking both of them with me, tightening my grip when it seems they're about to protest.
"Lead me to the Wakandan labs." I explain, only to get a scoff from Ramona.
"There's no way in hell I'm taking you to the laboratory-"
This time I cut her off by slowly increasing the heat in both my hands, quickly reaching uncomfortable levels, though not hot enough to start burning them.
Leaning down between them, I force Ramonda to look into my eyes, which appear like two molten pools of lava, before I slowly open my mouth, letting her show the Balrog-like inferno at the back of my throat.
The message is clear: I can go way hotter.
Glancing at her squirming daughter, Ramonda glares at me with murder in her eyes, before jerking her chin towards one of the numerous exits behind us.
"Follow me."
Of course, there are still more guards stationed throughout the palace other than in the hall, and it's clear that the Queen Mother had been counting on that, trusting that I'll find myself suddenly and violently impaled upon their weapons.
Unfortunately for her, I have been spending every day for the last two weeks getting into fights with one of the greatest baseline human combatants on the planet, and every second of every fight was recorded and recalled in perfect clarity by the second most advanced brain on the planet.
That being said, the first guard takes me by surprise.
The very moment we turn a corner in the maze-like belly of the Palace, Ramonda violently rips herself from my grip, taking her daughter to the floor with her in a mad dash. Before I can even comprehend what she is doing, a guard, having apparently heard our approach, jumps out at me from around the corner, swinging his sword around in a wide arc which passes over the floored Royal pair and sending the long blade biting deep into my chest.
Or at least, that's his intention.
Due to being caught off guard within such close quarters, there's no chance for me do dodge or block, so the metal edge of the weapon slices through my shirt and skin with ease, sinking into the raised sternum directly underneath.
And sinking in no further.
Both the guard and me stare wide-eyed at the blade is now stuck in my chest like a demented staple, before our shocked gazes meet. The moment fear rises in his eyes is the moment that terrible haze of anger (which I had pushed down into the depths of my soul, trying to forget its existence ever since the Road Rage incident) rises in mine.
My hands burn white-hot as a snarl that is more animal than man tears itself from my throat, and as the guard falls backward in a desperate move to escape, I shoot forwards, a flaming fist burying itself deep into the man's stomach, crumpling the metal around it and lifting him off his feet.
As the man falls to his hands and knees with a breathless gasp of pain, the sheer anger I feel causing me to growl deep in my chest, a terrible rumbling sound, much like an earthquake. Then, before I can even try to regain control of my baser (and angrier) side of me, I bend down, grabbing the man by his neck-guard and his belt, before effortlessly lifting him above my head.
I know what I'm instinctively about to do before my muscles even tense, but it all happens so fast I'm helplessly to stop it.
Before the shocked eyes of the Queen Mother and her daughter, I slam the palace guard down over my knee, his back breaking with a wet snap. Shuri's scream is suddenly cut off as her mother slams her hand in front of her daughter's wide-open mouth, drawing the little girl closer to her as she looks up at my snarling form in naked fear for the first time.
Fighting my rage down is like trying to swim my way to the surface of a lake of molasses with cinderblocks tied around my feet, it's just so tiring and I feel like giving up multiple times, just let it take control, but with nothing around to fight me anymore, it gradually backs down.
But it's not gone dormant completely; I can still feel it prowling around the back of my mind, just waiting for the next chance to cut loose.
Taking a deep breath, I walk towards Ramonda, who hurriedly shoves the now silent Shuri behind her back, climbing to her feet and gazing at me in defiance, chin lifted high.
I keep walking until were almost chest to chest, before I look down at mine, or more specifically, the weapon that's still stuck in the raised plate of bone that my sternum has become after my first transformation.
When I see her eyes looking at the sword as well, I focus the heat in my chest to increase, the glow of my heartbeat now becoming visible underneath the cloth of my rough shirt.
The blade starts heating up until its glowing white-hot at the place where it's stuck in my flesh and as the metal starts to slowly melt, it slides out of the wound, falling to the marble floor with a clang and a smoking hiss.
Sure, far more painful than just taking it out, but it apparently works as an intimidation tactic on the Royal pair, as Ramonda has her lips pressed together in a thin, nearly non-existent line, while Shuri is staring at me with eyes wide as saucers.
Bending over closer to Ramonda, I growl at her, rage still singing in my glowing veins.
"No more games. No more tricks. The labs, your Highness. Now."
We meet only half a dozen guards on our way to the labs after that.
None of them last longer than ten seconds. While the wave of anger doesn't take over again, it does hurry me along. My muscles are capable of lifting more than three tonnes. Their muscles can resist far less than that.
I don't bother fighting them, or disarming them, simply sending superpowered punches and kicks through whatever defence they try to put up. It's rather like watching someone throw their hands up, expecting for it to help them survive getting hit by a truck.
Maybe some of them survived, but I don't bother to check the broken bodies I leave behind, pushing Ramonda and Shuri along in a hurry. The longer I'm here, the higher the chance of the Wakandans killing Erik or Klaue, which increases the chances of my own discovery significantly.
Finally we reach the labs (I suspect that Ramonda has been taking the long way round) and I finally lay my eyes on that which I have breached one of the most advanced countries in the world for.
Because, right in front of me, is one of the Panther Habits resting on a mannequin.
Leaving the suit (for now), I throw the Queen and her daughter (the small child petrified in silence after seeing me snap the first guard we came across in half over my knee) inside the lab, before approaching one of the multiple terminals that fill the advanced laboratory.
Grasping her bruised shoulder, Ramonda tilts her head high, giving me the coolest, most disapproving look I have ever seen in either life as I navigate the terminal, gathering her crying daughter in her arms.
"Do you honestly think you can get away with this? This laboratory is protected by the most advanced security programs in the world. Even if you were to breach it, the people of Wakanda won't forget the blow you have struck against us today; our War Dogs will hunt you down. There is no place on this Earth that you can hide where they will not find you. They are everywhere. Than could be anyone. You'll never be safe."
"Really? Ulysses seems to have been doing just fine for over three decades before I came along though." I blandly reply, which briefly stuns the Wakandan Queen into silence as I breach the security system and start downloading all of their data onto the heavy duty stick I've taken with me.
"W-What? How did you do that!" Ramonda asks in shock, the idea that her scientists have been outsmarted clearly not something she knows how to deal with.
The answer? Homework.
Or more specifically, spending literal days reading through programming manuals and watching just about every instructional video I could find on the internet. With my ever expanding knowledge about programming came an ever increasing supply of databases that I could access, as my hacking skills increased with every target that I managed to hack which allowed me to hack more difficult targets and so on and so forth.
Combined with a brain that can think about twice as fast as the normal human can, and there was hardly any system that could keep me out.
Finishing my download of all of the information on advanced Wakandan technology that's stored on site, I pocket my trusty stick again, and turn back towards the Panther Habit-
"To hell with you, monster!"
- only to get punched in the face, hard, which sends me flying into the terminal I had just used, it's metal folding around my massive frame.
As I work my jaw, feeling the tooth that had been knocked loose slide around in some superheated blood, I lift my eyes to see Ramonda standing in front of me, her form one of regal confidence and justified anger, wielding those panther-themed gauntlets that Shuri would end up using, though these seem… unfinished, compared to the ones her daughter would wield in five years against Killmonger.
"How does that feel, miscreant? These are Wakandan-made weapons! They shall bring about your fall, swifter than any Stark-weapon ever could!"
And with that, she pulls back one of her arms, before sending her panther-gauntlet at my head again, the blue glow at the front of her hand nearly filling my vision.
Before I catch her punch.
Though I try my best not to show it, doing so had broken nearly every bone in my hand (I bite my own tongue in order not to scream out in pain), but seconds after the impact, they are already rapidly healing, which causes my hand to heat up immensely.
I can feel that darker side of me rising up in anticipation, but I desperately fight to stay in control of my actions, my respect for Bruce Banner rising to immense new heights.
He had to deal with something far worse than this on a daily basis, and yet managed to work in third-world countries as a doctor, spending his time helping people, which can't have been the most stress-free job environment.
It was honestly a miracle we weren't all dead yet.
Glaring at the Wakandan Queen, I swirl my tongue around in my mouth for a moment, before spitting out my tooth to the side, the blood sizzling against the metal floor the moment it lands.
"W-What?" Ramonda briefly seems stunned, before she recollects herself masterfully, and with a controlled expression of ice-cold rage sends her other gauntlet towards my side, aiming for my liver.
Having learned from my newfound experience, I catch this punch by the plating around her forearm, instead of meeting her attack head on. Rising from the wreckage of the computer, I loom over the fuming Queen, and start crushing the metal of her weapons underneath the strength of my hands.
"Trust me, your Highness. You don't hold a candle to someone like Stark. You managed to make these after years of access to one of the most versatile materials on the planet, using a lab others have made for you over the span of hundreds of generations. He made the Arc Reactor, the greatest piece of technology any human has ever produced, in a cave."
Finishing my rant, I raise both my hands, forcing hers up as well, until she's struggling to remain standing on the tips of her toes.
"What's your next move, my Queen? You're out of options." I rumble, but Ramonda's eyes simply flash in defiance.
"Not entirely."
And with that, she twists her hips, sending her leg flying forwards, and as close to me as she is, her aim is true: it comes crashing straight into my family jewels. Pain explodes in my nether regions as my gut gives a violent twist. With a pained grunt, I let go of her arms, sinking to my knees as I try to blink away the stars in my vision.
Extremis kicks in almost immediately, soothing the pain, but before I can recompose myself, Ramonda has taken advantage of my temporary weakness, and sent her gauntleted fist crashing into the sweet spot on my chin, knocking my head back as I nearly bite the tip of my tongue off.
Still reeling from those blows (had I still been a normal human, they would've been enough to floor me) I'm too slow to defend myself against her next attack, and briefly my vision is filled by a purple glow before her mangled (but clearly still functional) gauntlet slams into my face and I can feel my nose breaking with a spurt of lava-like blood.
As I'm bent over, blood flowing from my smashed nose, the Queen rears back for another punch, but by then the roaring anger inside my mind has become unbearably loud, so once more I allow myself to lose control.
Right as her glowing Vibranium gauntlet descends towards my face, I turn towards her with an animalistic growl leaping from my chest. In that same twisting motion, my left arm comes round in an arc, crashing into the side of her gauntlet, slapping it to the side. Simultaneously, I heat up my right hand, and before her daughter can even let out a wail of horror, slash it across Ramonda's throat, the cauterized wound smoking as the woman stumbles back, shock written across her face.
As Black Panther's mother collapses to the floor, her daughter runs at me with a grief-filled wail, tiny fists raised in a futile gesture, before I grab her by the throat, and lift her up, her feet dangling several feet above the floor as she keeps struggling.
My attention shifts from the dying Queen to her crying daughter, but the moment my gaze lands on her, I rail against the all-consuming haze in my mind with a horrified roar, powering through the lethargic feeling from before, desperation fuelling me. Killing children is a line that I shall never, ever cross, not even when someone else is in the driver's seat, so to speak.
If the dark manifestation of the rage inside me is surprised by my sudden fighting spirit, it doesn't show it, and as it slowly backs down, all that I'm getting from it is a sort of disgruntled sensation.
The moment I'm fully in control again, I let the struggling Shuri fall to the floor with a shocked gasp. My breathing is hurried, but I ruthlessly try to suppress the panic that it threatening to rise up within me.
As I'm bent over, hands on my knees, trying to control my breathing, I look up at the soft crying sounds the little princess is making, seeing that she's abandoned her short-lived attack on me and instead has crawled over to her fading mother, cradling the Queen's head in her lap, all the while calling out to her to not leave her in between her sobs.
Ramonda raises a trembling hand towards her daughter's tear-stained cheek, caressing it softly with a shaky smile, before the expression slowly fades away, her gauntleted hand falling to the grating of the laboratory with a metallic clang.
And just like that, Ramonda, Queen Mother of Wakanda, is no more, leaving her crying daughter behind, cradling her corpse.
Briefly I consider what to do with the distraught princess before I settle on just knocking her out cold with a soft tap to the head. Stepping towards the kneeling little girl, she looks up slowly at me, tears filling her eyes. Then her face twists with the most hatred I have ever seen someone display, her lithe form shaking with barely contained rage.
"I'm gonna kill you. I'm gonna grow strong. And then I'll kill you."
For a moment, I just stare at the young Shuri, seeing the burning hate within her gaze, before my expression softens somewhat as I go down on one knee, bringing our eye-levels closer together, lifting a hand and holding it in front of her forehead.
To her credit, she doesn't shrink away, nor even do so much as flinch, instead just staring at me with that murderous look in her tear-filled eyes.
"I believe you."
And with that, I flick her in her head, causing her head to snap back, her eyes rolling back into her head as she slumps down next to her mother, unconscious (I know, I checked).
Stepping over the Royal mother and daughter duo, I walk towards the Panther Habit, ripping it off its mannequin and quickly shoving it inside my backpack.
With that, I turn my back on the science wing and start making my way to another part of the Palace I had passed on my way to the labs, its smell immediately catching my attention.
I think I found the location of the Heart-Shaped Herb.
There are hardly any people near the gardens and only two guards on opposite ends of a walkway, though they're clearly nervous at all of the commotion that is happening in and around the Palace.
Since stealth isn't really an option (not that I'm in a mood to try it anyways) I instead decide to run up to the guard closest to me, and just as he turns around with an alarmed shout, spear raised in defence, my hand shoots forwards, smashing through the wooden base like it's a tooth pick, and grabbing the man by his breast-plate, the metal buckling underneath the strength of my grip.
By that time, the second guard is approaching us in a run, spear lowered in an attacking position, a roar on his lips.
Which is when I throw the guard in my hand straight into him, sending both to the ground with an almighty crash, either knocking them out or killing them (I neither feel the need, nor have the time to check on which it is).
Now unopposed, I finally lay my eyes on one of the most bullshit power-ups in this universe for the first time.
The Herb itself is very odd to look at, the soft purple glow somewhat off-putting. It's all fine and dandy to see glowing stuff that you know has been made with CGI on the big screen in the cinema, it's another matter entirely to see something in real life that's glowing, especially when it has no business doing so.
Still, I quickly rip a few bushels from the ground and stuff them inside my back-pack as well.
I briefly contemplate ingesting one of the leaves right now (or why even stop at one? Why not eat this entire garden like some demented goat? Wouldn't that make me even stronger?) but since I don't know how long the acid-trip will take once I do, while being defenceless for the duration of its mystic effects, I quickly decide that I should get the hell out of dodge first before trying.
Slinging my backpack over my shoulder, I briefly gaze around the Royal Garden, the glowing flowers swinging softly in a peaceful little breeze. Tens of thousands of years of staunch tradition had been based around the mystic powers of these plants. To the Wakandans it represents a link to their earliest history, the land they currently live in and the land they will end up after they die.
To me, it's a liability.
Given how many people will want my head after killing the Queen, I can just imagine several people ingesting the leaves for its power in their quest for revenge.
That's just proper narrative at work there.
Besides that though, if my plans work out then Wakanda will end up exposed to the world at best or destabilized at worst. In either case, the outside world will know about the Herb and its powers, and every single spook, criminal or even ordinary citizen will fantasize about being on the same level as the iconic Captain America.
Briefly a horrifying image passes in front of my mind, of Hydra-labs with fanatics being enhanced with the leaf, breeding an army of supersoldiers, or the Fingers, unbelievably dangerous already after spending so many lifetimes in the shadows, now with even more dangerous enhancements, an Alexandra unburdened by the failing of her body or the fear of true death looming over her.
Taking a deep breath (literally), I set all of it on fire.
Getting out of the chaos that has become the Golden City (it seems that Klaue has managed to set off bombs or something, as parts of the city are on fire, while judging by the sounds of battle coming from the palace, the fight between Killmonger and Black Panther is still going strong) is easier than I had feared it would be.
In all of the disorder, people have abandoned their vehicles, and I jump on the nearest bike I can find, its frame groaning underneath my weight but thankfully holding. With a roar of the engine (a sound lost amongst the cacophony of noise that is the distressed city) I blast off towards the jungle, not slowing down for people, obstacles or even when I enter the jungle itself.
I don't plan on stopping until Wakanda is way behind the horizon.
It had taken two days of running away from Wakanda like the Devil was on my heels (the bike ran out of fuel after four hours of going at top speed), but I finally managed to burst from the stifling jungle, finding myself on a dirt road that seemed to trail off into a tiny little collection of hovels way off into the distance.
Meeting up with Sterns is surprisingly easy; he has the only motorized vehicle in this little town in the middle of nowhere. What's really surprising though, is that he seems to now hold a rather high position within the village's hierarchy, something like a medicine man after treating a wave of illness that struck its people.
Walking through the low-tech rural village, I make my way towards the biggest house there, the truck parked next to it like some massive metal steed come from the future. The villagers look at me with weariness in their eyes, quickly getting out of the way of my massive form, but they don't seem to fear me completely.
Seems like Sterns has been telling the local populace about me then.
Entering the house of what is either the chief or the Mayor of this little town, ducking my head in order to not make a hole in the tiny doorframe, I lay my eyes on my partner in crime for the first time in more than three weeks.
He doesn't seem all that happy to see me.
Glancing from me to the man sitting next to him, Sterns leans over, saying a couple of softly whispered words, prompting the man (chief? Mayor? Warlord?) to give a nod, rise from his seat and walk outside, ducking around my form still standing in the door opening.
Regarding me with an unreadable expression on his face, Sterns gestures towards the now vacant seat. Somewhat tense at the silent treatment the scientist is giving me (not that I had expected hugs or anything, Sterns and me were more accomplices than real friends, but his cool demeanour was setting me on edge) I take the seat, placing my trusty backpack between my booted feet.
After a brief silence, Sterns is the one to start talking.
"For a while there I thought either Klaue had left you to get lost in the jungle, Killmonger completely flipped and tried to kill you or Wakanda found a way to actually kill you."
I can't even tell whether he's satisfied at that not happening or disappointed, so I just shrug.
"Klaue kept his word, oddly enough, and Erik managed to keep it together until we were inside El Dorado itself."
"And yet there's a rather glaring lack of either person present."
"Last I saw, Killmonger was kicking the shit out of Wakanda's prince and protector, and Klaue was running off with half their military might behind him. They'll be fine."
At my explanation, Sterns raised an surprised eyebrow (which combined with his enormous forehead gives for some rather… interesting effects).
"Any reason for you not currently sitting on the throne there?"
It wasn't that I hadn't thought about conquering Wakanda for myself. But I was a white mutant, which means that I would never be accepted by their populace and have to spend much of my time either ruling or swatting down rebellions.
My Twelve Step Program (though by now the amount of Steps had more than doubled) also required me to remain mobile, which was impossible if I was King of a country with the intention of actually staying its King.
But the thing that had convinced me the most that I should just leave Killmonger to raise hell in there and probably unleash a civil war, was the fact that it would inevitably reveal the country to the world.
Organizations as S.H.I.E.L.D. had been aware of Wakanda's true nature for years already, but the more public agencies (CIA, Interpol, UN and the like) still had no idea.
The moment they found out there was a country that was decades ahead of the rest of the world?
People would be screaming for open borders and global trade faster than you can say 'Vibranium'.
Wakanda would refuse of course, prompting everyone to immediately ignore their protests and send in their covert groups in to acquire their tech (while grinding Wakanda down with diplomatic bullshit), which would cause Wakanda to kill them, causing international tensions.
Organizations like S.H.I.E.L.D. would be so busy averting World War 3 I could basically continue with my plans unopposed, completely forgotten in the grander scheme of things.
That was the idea, at least.
"The throne looked very uncomfortable. 'Sides, I'm a wanderer at heart: sitting on one chair for the rest of my live just sounds horrible. I'd much rather just travel around the world, you know? See the sights, meet new and interesting people, steal their artefacts, beat the shit out of their protectors, that kinda thing."
Sterns's face remains completely unresponsive in the face of my blatant lie, before he frowns slightly ('slightly' of course being a subjective term in his case, as his eyebrows drawing together caused the facial equivalent of tectonic plates shifting).
"During the time that I've hung around you, I have turned into a mutant, have seen you come back to base shot up and burned, have seen men go up in flames and explosions, and have more guns pointed in my direction than I had ever wanted in my life."
The small hut is filled with an oppressive silence after the scientist's rant, with him staring intently at me, while I'm just tensing my muscles underneath my shirt in preparation for a fight.
Suddenly the tension is drained away as Sterns lets out a mischievous grin.
"So, where are we going next?"
At my incredulous expression, Sterns just snorts in amusement.
"In half a year, I have seen the borders of known science advanced by decades. My brain has reached levels of understanding I couldn't even have dreamed of before, because I simply didn't possess the computing power to even comprehend such levels. If you think I'm backing off now, then you got another thing coming: I'm going to see this through Mr. McCole."
Briefly I feel stunned at my accomplice's words, before I hesitantly put my hand out towards him.
"Partners then?"
Without hesitation, the smaller man grips my hand in a firm handshake, determination written across his face.
"Partners."
I'm more moved than I thought I would, but my new and improved brain quickly provides me with an explanation: as of right now Sterns is the first friend I've made in this universe.
As a child I was completely focused on preparing myself for my Plan, dedicating myself to mastering engineering and programming since Phase One of the MCU was centred so much around Iron Man, making me forgo making connections with other people.
Even during the execution of the Program I had only ever seen other people, including Sterns, as chess pieces, pawns for me to use in order to increase my own power, until there was no force in the universe that could ever harm me.
Until now.
Shaking myself from my contemplations, I let out a grin, opening my backpack.
"You know, I brought a souvenir for you."
"Really? Of all things I had expected from a nation like Wakanda, a gift shop hadn't been one of them."
Grinning at his joke, I withdraw the Panther Habit, and place it on the rough wooden table in-between us. Sterns's eyes widen in amazement at the suit, running nimble fingers across the woven material with an exited look on his face.
Before he can say anything about the advanced suit in front of him, I place my stick on top of the suit. At his questioning look I explain with a grin.
"All of the data I could snatch from the Wakandan labs. That right there, doctor, now has some of the most advanced human technology on the planet stored inside. Enjoy."
"That's some gift shop…" Sterns mutters to himself in awe, before he looks at the Heart-Shaped Herb bushels that I withdraw from my back-pack, one eyebrow raised as I start plucking the glowing leaves (which still freaks me out, by the way).
"This is what makes any ordinary man capable of taking on a Erskine-level enhanced human by just eating a single leaf. So, I'm going to eat all of the leaves. However, due to its mystical properties, I'll probably go into a deep meditative state, so I couldn't ingest it while still in Wakanda."
Hearing the scientist scoff at the mention of magic, I can't help but grin, thinking about the feats displayed by Doctor Strange, who arguably gave the best showing against Thanos amongst all non-god beings (though Iron Man himself fought the Titan with such sheer awesome the Galactic Overlord himself complimented him).
"Do not be so quick to dismiss Magic, Doc. There are species out there who are so advanced that Magic and Science have become indistinguishable from one another, like in the case of the Asgardians. In fact, I'm suspecting that Vibranium itself isn't a naturally occurring material at all. It's properties are something truly unique, and given the mystical element it possesses I'm thinking that the chunk that fell to Earth so long ago instead comes from such an advanced civilization."
That would explain a lot, especially given Wakanda's enormous leaps in technological advancement after finding the miracle metal. Despite the incredible difficulty shaping the kinetic-absorbing metal into complex shapes, Wakanda had gone from wielding sticks and stones to overtaking the European Industrialisation, completely skipping several fundamental steps.
But since its mystic properties apparently included talking to deceased forefathers, there was a possibility that echoes from its original creators seeped through enough through the Astral Plane in order to give them the necessary knowledge. It would also explain the alien feel that El Dorado had to it, if its citizens were influenced by hyper-advanced aliens on a subconscious level.
During my musings, I've finished plucking all of the leaves (around 40 to 50 in total) and gather them in my massive hands in a little heap.
Sterns regards me warily, still mulling over what I had just told him, rubbing his chin as he looks at the glowing, mutated leaves in my hands.
"How are you-"
CHOMP!
"What is wrong with you!? You just don't put glowing foreign plants inside your mouth like that! What if you turn out to be allergic!"
"Ethrmith."
"What?"
Quickly swallowing the leaves down (ugh, so bitter. And… metallic?) I repeat myself.
"Extremis. Even if the leaves have adverse effects on me, I'll survive it."
Briefly looking at me completely gob-smacked, Sterns eventually throws his hands up in the air with a huff of despair, before grabbing the Panther Habit and the stick from the table and making his way outside.
"Just… just lie on the table and try not to die, I guess. Honestly, some people…" the scientist continues muttering as he walks away, grumbling under his breath at my rash actions.
"Sterns!" I call out to him, and as he turns back towards me with a questioning expression on his face I'm overcome with doubt.
Should I tell him about the darker side of me which has been rearing its ugly head more often lately? We just shook on being partners, yes, but do I trust him with this? Can I trust him with something that I barely dare to acknowledge myself?
Yes, I was willing to go to incredible lengths in order to make myself untouchable, but losing my mind was not a sacrifice I was willing to make.
"… Thanks. For wanting to be my friend. I… I haven't really had any, before."
I can tell that Sterns knows that isn't what I was about to say, but after a pause he apparently decides to let it go, just giving me a smile.
"Sure thing Michael. Now go lay on the damned table and trynot to burn us all in the worst case of fever in human history, got it?"
And with a laugh he's gone, leaving me chuckling to myself inside the chief's hut.
Getting up, I lie down on the rough table (which groans worriedly as I do, but I don't crash down immediately, so it's all good), fold my hands on my stomach and close my eyes.
Darkness fills my vision as I feel the world steadily falling away, before I feel like I'm floating in a great void, swirling around in an all-encompassing nothingness. Briefly I fear that I've overdosed or something, but before panic can set in (it's only then that I realize all my emotions have been muted) the darkness starts solidifying around me, for a lack of a better word.
Time is utterly meaningless when there's nothing around to experience it, and only after what feels like an eternity, the blackness around me had finished shifting enough that I feel ground underneath my feet.
Which brings my attention back to the fact that I actually have a body again.
Glancing down at what I suspect is my astral projection, I'm extremely confused.
It's my body.
My original body.
The one from my first life, where this place was nothing more than a scene on the silver screen in my local cinema.
But it's off.
It's recognizable as a human body, physically there's nothing wrong with it (other than some slight chubbiness around the middle), but the angles are… wrong. Like the breaking of an image when seen through the surface of water, or through a lens or something, only deepened in a dimension I can't really put my fingers on.
Studying it for too long makes me feel dizzy, so I shake my head and look in front of me.
Where I can see an enormous, swirling form made of smoke, two violet stars of light glaring down at me from a height stories above me, the power (and anger) unmistakeable.
There's no change in its facial expression (for all that it really has a face to speak of, with it being a smoking manifestation and what not), but as it speaks the very air reverberates with its words.
"PLANEWALKER. YOU DO NOT BELONG HERE. YOU HAVE TAKEN THAT WHICH WAS NEVER MEANT FOR YOU." Bast, the Panther God, who is responsible for leading Wakandan souls to the afterlife and who guided Bashenga into becoming the First Black Panther, speaks to me, hear words slamming into my brain with an almost physical weight to them.
And she sounds pissed.
"Well. Shit."
Fun Fact: One of the features of the early Iron Man suit used to be rollerskates.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone