Black Panther and Storm in State Secrets Pt I

Previously in The Black Panther and Storm:

For over ten thousand years warrior kings called Black Panthers ruled and protected the isolated and unconquerable African nation Wakanda. In their isolation Wakanda became the most scientifically advanced nation on Earth. T’Challa was the latest Black Panther, and he believed that his great nation was obligated to use its resources to help the less fortunate; defenseless peoples of the world against tyranny, corruption, and megalomaniac super humans.

Black Panther later married Ororo ‘Storm’ Munroe the extraordinary mutant heroine.

Story: State Secrets Pt I

“My name is Raven. I’m a telepath. If you are reading this, it means I’ve won.”

Chapter One

Zhonganhai, Beijing, China

The  high defensive west wall of the Forbidden City could be seen from the meeting room for visiting Heads of States in the Zhonganhai. Whereas the Forbidden City was a wide open tourist attraction that had millions of visitors, the Zhonganhai was a secluded community of official buildings adjacent to the city. It was the most guarded place in Beijing. There were hardly any public details given out on the zone. In essence it summed up Chinese governance-strict and secretive.

Today, the taunt nature of the establishment was taken a step further. Two visitors had entered the premise in an unusual manner. Only four of the security personnel knew of the visitors’ presence.

Ororo and T’Challa, the leaders of Wakanda were escorted into the Heads of States meeting room. At the time, the Premier of China was entering through a door that was on the opposite side. The elected Premier was in charge of the military and the governing council. He wore a Communist styled suit jacket and the expression of a strict schoolmaster. He was in his late fifties.

“Good morning,” he said and bowed.

Ororo and T’Challa followed the custom and greeting. With the formalities out of the way, the Premier went straight for the jugular.

“Have you come here to further insult me?” he asked directly.

“You have to explain in more detail because we surely don’t know what you are speaking about,” said Ororo.

“You didn’t send this?” asked the Premier, sharply.

He thrust forward an opened envelope. Ororo took it and read the contents aloud.

“If you want to keep the Sky Dragon laser a secret, be at the following coordinates and await further instructions.”

She didn’t read the rest of the note, but passed the document onto T’Challa.

“We did not send you that,” said Ororo bluntly.

“We came here to discuss how you would remove the laser from over Wakanda,” said T’Challa forthrightly. “Why would we send this before hand?”

T’Challa was a large muscular man and so his physical presence was imprinted on a room before he even spoke. Lesser men were intimidated by that.

The Premier folded his arms and walked to the window. He chose his words carefully, “I’ve thought about it. Believe me I have. Kindly give me back.”

He outstretched a hand to T’Challa and the Black Panther returned the document.

“So someone other than us knows about the satellite weapon. Then we have to find this person,” said the Premier. He placed a stress on the collective aspect.

“Yes we do,” said T’Challa. “Still you have to remove the weapon.”

“For that to happen, you will have to remove your Hider Machine. One cannot happen without the other,” said the Premier. “Please have a seat and we can discuss this in a civilized manner.”

T’Challa and Ororo complied and they sat on the lone sofa. The Premier took up a position on the nearby seat.

“Now, your Hider Machine can remove cities, whole countries and throw them in another dimension. My scientists say that the technology is based on extreme teleportation.

“You claim that the machine is for security purposes. Notwithstanding that you once lost control of it. So we had to put things in place in case the machine was used on us. The laser would strike Wakanda in retaliation,” said the Premier.

“All that has changed, we haven’t had a breech in security again. The machine is perfectly safe,” said T’Challa.

“You can say that now, but based on your current life style I cannot take that as a guarantee. We also have powerful and capable enemies who may use your machine,” said the Premier. He raised his hand. “Nothing in this world is completely secure.”

“You do realize that we can blast that laser away,” said Ororo. “We are affording you a chance to remove it on your own.”

“You will not destroy it because that will draw suspicion and you don’t want the truth out much like us.” The Premier leaned back. “Your country started this arms race. Now you want to dictate any responses to it. You cannot have it both ways. And if this person,” he raised the document, “lets out the secret then China will have all sorts of weapons pointed at her because of the fear of what will happen if we lose control of the Sky Dragon.”

“We understand,” said Ororo.

“I want to wait until this person is found before I make a decision,” said the Premier.

“That’s not acceptable,” said T’Challa.

“That’s non negotiable,” said the Premier. “And that concludes this meeting. My people will work on our end and if we have anything worthwhile we’ll share it with you.”

He rose and bowed. “Thank you,” he said and left through the door.

T’Challa looked across at Ororo as if to say ‘can you believe that?’ Ororo shook her head in dismay to agree with him.

“I could laugh right now,” she said.

“Well let’s get this person and put this issue to rest,” said T’Challa.

His hyper vision caught the snipers moving away from the darkened windows from across the courtyard. Ororo’s electrical view of the environment picked up on the listening devices that were around the room- they had been turned on as soon as the Premier had left.

“Let’s go,” said Ororo.

They exited the room and a general escorted them to the government car in the underground basement.  The heavily tinted car had a local chauffeur and one police escort.

T’Challa and Ororo kept silent because the Wind Rider had signaled that the vehicle was ‘bugged’. The couple made the most of the trip to the docks. They took out their kimoyoes and worked on whatever projects they respectively had. They didn’t’ bother to send any messages from the kimoyoes since those may be intercepted. Occasionally they made face gestures to communicate. The chauffeur would glance back at those moments. And T’Challa would tell him in a commanding tone and in Chinese, “keep your eyes on the road.”

The dockyard was perfect for the secret trip. The various foreign spy agencies mainly focused on the international airports for special arrivals. The Wakandan boat was a small cruiser that had flight capabilities. The interior was enclosed and the vessel had a sleek frame.

The car halted on the dock and the couple got out. Then the car went away. Ororo wore a cap to conceal her natural white hair. Causal clothes covered her slender and curvy figure.

T’Challa also wore causal clothes. He was six foot tall and had a peak human physique.

 Several large container vessels were in port and the Wakandan ship was at the far end of the dock. As the couple walked hand in hand, they observed the various names of the ships that carried cheap manufactured goods all over the world. Upon arrival at their boat, T’Challa said the password and the vessel opened. Then the couple entered.

“Set a course for Wakanda,” Ororo told the onboard computer.

The boat powered up and it gently moved from the dock.

“Was the Premier lying about the document?” asked Ororo.

“Not that I could sense,” replied T’Challa.

“I’m guessing the Mandarin is behind this,” said Ororo cheekily.

“Or someone with the Chinese military,” said T’Challa.

“Or the Hand.”

The couple went into the cockpit. The boat was now in open water.

“Flight mode,” said T’Challa.

Wings expanded from the sides of the boat and the body was raised from the surface of the water. The engines roared as the craft gained speed and then elevated. Once in the air, the craft leveled out.

“In any case, we have to plan for the worst,” said Ororo.

T’Challa went to the mini food compartment; he took out an apple and a knife and handed them to Ororo. Then he got one for himself.

“It would be a shame to have to deal with a whole new arms race,” said T’Challa, before he chewed on a slice of apple.

“That’s money diverted to more intelligence gathering,” said Ororo.

“And we don’t have that much to go around in the defense budget for this quarter.”

“At least we would know where it was going unlike some of the money that we donate,” said Ororo.

“That Orid affair is still bothering you?”

“Yes. They promised to monitor the money. We even went in to check and still most of it disappeared.”

“I can’t forget the look on Morrison’s face as he expressed shame about the level of corruption in his country,” said T’Challa.

“I think we should be more selective next time,” said Ororo.

“I had the notion that officials would be fearful of stealing money donated by us for projects.”

“What gets me is that they don’t consider it stealing. They are just taking their cut. Their percentage,” said Ororo.

“At the detriment of their own people,” said T’Challa.

“I doubt that they considered them ‘their people’. It’s every man for himself,” said Ororo. “You know, we should replace every official in a country that we suspect with drones.”

“You’re joking right?” asked T’Challa smugly.

“Just here me out for a minute, we replace the officials with drones with the knowledge of the head of state.”

T’Challa rested his hand under his chin and grinned. “The unions will probably protest.”

“Then too bad for them, it will be for the public good,” said Ororo.

“Playing devil’s advocate here, the drones may be considered foreign labor entering the bureaucratic structure. Then who will train the drones? The same people that they will be replacing?”

“We’ll think of something,” said Ororo.

“Then again which country is going to admit that it can’t run its affairs? If they need drones to carry out some tasks then why not replace the whole government structure with drones and get rid of the civil servants?”

“Or we could do what we did with Aranzi and clone the head of state thereby controlling the country on our terms,” joked Ororo.

But it was a bitter joke. She didn’t like that they had resorted to conning the world in order to save Aranzi from its insane ruler, Alex Soberk.

The mood in the conversation changed to a dark tone.

“We promised never to go down that path again,” said T’Challa.

“I know,” said Ororo seriously.

“Well so far the clone is working.”

T’Challa said those words with a sour taste in him mouth, because the scientist that pioneered the Wakandan clone technology had done a disgusting deed in order to refine it. It was a matter that placed a blemish on T’Challa’s thoughts about using the clone no matter if it was being done for a good reason.

With regards to the real Soberk, he had been T’Challa’s foil. He was equally influential in world affairs, powerful and apart of the superhero community. It was their ideologies that set them apart. T’Challa was a selfless person while Soberk was an egotistic show boater.

“Let’s make a date to check up on Soberk’s resting place,” said Ororo.

“Would tomorrow be good?” asked T’Challa.

“That would be fine.”

“And we’ll eventually have to do something about Balthazar. I’m not comfortable with him being still free, albeit that he’s dormant for now,” said T’Challa.

“It will take a serious containment spell to keep him.”

“A part of me doesn’t want to hurt him, though.”

“It wouldn’t hurt to speak with him,” said Ororo.

“That’s a next thing. I don’t feel the clone could fool Balthazar,” said T’Challa.

“What are you basing that on?”

“A gut feeling.”

“At least we got the clone to allay the world’s fears about Balthazar,” said Ororo.

“For the time being,” said T’Challa.

Soon the aircraft was entering Wakanda’s airspace. The couple was heading for their home in the interior but had to make a detour to the Administration Building, because a sealed document had arrived with their names on it.

“Strange mail,” said Ororo. “Can’t we get a normal day once in while?”

“Normal? What’s that?” asked T’Challa in jest.

Ororo nudged his shoulder and laughed.

At the office T’Challa and Ororo scanned the foreign mail package in private. The package had come through the system created to help other countries. Ororo checked for electrical activity associated with a bomb and she found none. T’Challa’s hyper senses discovered nothing out of sorts.

“No scents, no finger prints,” said T’Challa. “Perfectly sterile.”

He opened the package; a note was inside of it. The message was written in bold type face and it stated:

I KNOW YOUR SECRET. SOBERK IS YOUR CLONE. IF YOU WANT THIS TO REMAIN QUIET MEET ME IN PERSON. NO DISGUISES. THE COORDINATES ARE…

The location was the same as the one the Chinese were suppose to meet their blackmailer.

“Someone thinks they are pretty smart,” said Ororo. “We should check on the real Soberk just in case.”

“Maybe the blackmailer assumed that we would do that,” said T’Challa. “Whoever it is must be probably three steps ahead of us.”

“Your assuming that this is a lure. He may not have anything concrete and he’s pushing buttons to see our reactions.”

“Correct,” said T’Challa. “Only you and I know about the clone.”

“So the blackmailer might be someone who knew Soberk in great detail then. A person capable of spotting the fake,” speculated Ororo. “Someone that we over looked.”

“Highly likely.”

“That will be a long list to go through,” said Ororo.

“And the meeting is tonight so we don’t have much time to place surveillance on all his associates,” said T’Challa.

“One thing that the blackmailer didn’t count on was our connection with China. We’ll inform the Premier that we also received a message leaving out the details,” said Ororo. Then she smiled as the mystery solved itself in her mind.

T’Challa also smiled at the same realization.

“This is a setup,” said Ororo. “The blackmailer is not going to show up. He wants Wakanda and China at each others necks.”

“Another possibility is that he wants us to do something for him,” said T’Challa.

“Either way, we should go, but cautiously,” said Ororo.

“Then cautious it will be,” said T’Challa. “By the way, it’s actually refreshing to thrash out these scenarios with  you.”

“Actually thinking like we do would send someone insane if they couldn’t speak to anyone.”

Ororo went to her desk and dialed the number for the Soberk clone. Usually the clone contacted them each day for a debriefing.

“I’m checking up on the clone,” said Ororo.

T’Challa rapt a pen on his desk and he mentally continued to analyze the situation. He thought about Ororo’s point about the confusion that the person intended  would erupt between China and Wakanda.

“Maybe confusion is useful to the person as a distraction,” pondered T’Challa.

Meanwhile, Ororo listened to the husky voice of the clone. It reported nothing unusual in the past days. Ororo ended the call and a question came in her head.

“Could he have told someone?”

Then she blew it off since the clone was completely obedient to her and T’Challa based on the engineering that the couple had designed.

“He said nothing strange has occurred,” said Ororo.

“All right then, let’s prepare for tonight,” said T’Challa.

They made a video call to the Chinese Premier.

“I was not expecting to hear from you so soon,” said the Premier.

“We got a package similar to yours and for the same meeting place. We believe that the person is either trying to divert our attention from somewhere else or putting us at each other throats,” said T’Challa.

“How can I trust that what you are saying is true?” asked the Premier.

“Trust has to be formed along the line for us to reach anywhere,” stated Ororo.

“All right, say that I do believe you, what is your course of action?” asked the Premier.

“Inform your people that we will be there. The person setting this up will not know about our collusion. We’ll see how things go from there,” answered T’Challa.

“Very well,” said the Premier.

“Good day to you sir,” said Ororo and then she ended the transmission.

Chapter Two

Aranzi, Africa

The hut was situated at the base of the mountain range that ran along the south border of the country. Inside Raven and the real Dr. Alex Soberk waited patiently.

Raven was in a camouflage pants and grey vest. Her vivid red hair fell on her shoulders.

She was in the process of recalibrating the weapons and cleaning them. She wanted no malfunctions for when they stormed the caves Balthazar rested inside of. T’Challa and Ororo had left a teleportation barrier and machine guards at the entrance of the caves.

Soberk was on the cot on the other side of the hut. He was reading a book written by an explorer of the Limbo dimension. The explorer had worked for the organization that Soberk had destroyed.

Raven glanced at him. She had given Soberk a pendant that turned him into a human whenever he was not using his magical energy. His human body was not all that fit. There were no bulging biceps and chiseled muscles. He looked like a regular guy who didn’t over do it at the gym.

Soberk caught Raven’s glance. She turned away when he stared back at her. Then he continued reading. He had no feelings for her because they hardly knew each other. He may have flirted with her during those months that her organization was badgering him, but it was all in innocence. He could sense that she felt nothing for him either. Their relationship was based purely on fulfilling their self interests.

Raven wanted to protect herself from the people hounding her because of the state secrets she possessed on several countries. They wanted her dead. It was Soberk’s fault. After he had destroyed the organization, its affiliates reassessed their situation and decided to go their separate ways. Soberk had killed most of the personnel in the headquarters and Raven was the only survivor.

Soberk looked at his watch. There was still a long way to wait and he was becoming bored. Even though, the book was interesting it could not substitute human interaction.

“Weren’t you afraid to enter Limbo?” asked Soberk to start a conversation rolling.

“Why would I be?” fired back without facing him.

“I’m just asking.”

“Have you decided on my offer as yet?”

“I made up mind two hours ago,” said Soberk.

Raven paused and turned to him. “Well?”

“You can run your operation from Aranzi,” said Soberk.

“No strings attached,” said Raven.

“No strings attached.”

“Perfect,” said Raven and she resumed her work.

“Now tell me something. What is your background? You know all about me, but you’re a mystery to me.”

“I don’t like to talk about myself, so can you drop it,” said Raven.

“Fair enough, but these people who are after you, weren’t they target your loved ones to get your attention?”

“Nice try,” said Raven.

“I’m just trying to be polite. I could do a truth spell and you’ll spill everything,” Soberk joked.

Raven looked over her shoulder and gave him a ‘cut’ eye.

The truth was that she was nervous, because victory was so close. She had learnt about Soberk’s exile from the clone’s mind. In the vision she saw the landmarks that were around Soberk’s resting place. She knew it was the Limbo dimension; she got maps and other information for a rescue mission. Since it was the Black Panther and Storm, chances were they left a monitoring device or a guard. With that in mind, Raven retrieved a beast from the organization’s remote lab and she took it to the Limbo dimension. She was correct about the guard and while the beast did its job, she broke Soberk out.

Once Soberk was returned to power and her position solidified, she would approach the same people who wanted her dead and offer them a deal. Still before any of that happened she needed to wait a few more hours.

Soberk would be cocky throughout, she could count on that level of self confidence he possessed. If only she knew that it was pretence.

Soberk continued with the book. Inside he itched to use his mystical powers. He was also nervous because Balthazar may become confused on seeing two Soberks.

“Think positive,” thought Soberk.

He briefly remembered the moment he awoke to Raven’s urgings. He thought it was a dream.

“Get up!” she had shouted.

He rose and after a few fact finding questions he followed Raven’s lead. She told him to create a portal back to Earth since she had no means to. Still she knew exactly where they were headed. Soberk took them to the hut that they presently used.

Raven then started the next phase of her plan- distracting the Wakandans. Soberk teleported her all over the world for the plan to be a success. She sent the messages to China, Wakanda and a third country. China was chosen randomly but the third country wasn’t.

Soberk learned a few things about Raven from the manner in which she ran the operation. For starters, she took great risks. Even with the rescue attempt, she based everything on the hope that he would be able to teleport them. Secondly, she did not know entirely what she was doing. Sometimes she made haphazard decisions. Soberk put that down to stress.

What he didn’t understand was the reason she wanted to work with the people seeking her head. What was really her motivation?

Soberk rested the book on his chest and he looked at his hands-his human hands. Oddly he felt no great relief. He had accepted his previous disfigured form. Still he saw the benefit of turning into a human looking person every once in a while.

Soberk shifted his thoughts on the clone.

“That creature is sleeping in my bed, basking in my glory,” mumbled Soberk.

“You said something?” asked Raven, turning to him.

“No,” he replied. “Not to you.”

“Are you done with the book?”

Soberk watched it. “Yes.”

“And remember to leave T’Challa and Ororo alone when everything is completed. They will be tied up for years with what I did,” said Raven.

“How can you be sure of that?” Soberk asked with a slight rage. He wanted to eliminate the Black Panther and Storm. “Politics changes daily. Enemies become allies and vice se versa.”

“Trust me. This will stick,” said Raven. “There will be no getting around this for them.”

“You better be right,” said Soberk in finality.

“I know I’m right because their biggest weakness is that they over analyze things,” said Raven.

Soberk looked at her with interest. “Well go on,” he said.

“Once you make them believe that you are ahead, they will over compensate to overtake you. They will look at different scenarios and find plots within plots. In essence they would have overlooked the simplest explanation.”

“You really are crazy to believe tricking T’Challa and Ororo is so simple.”

“Have you ever heard the expression that your strengths are your weaknesses? That was how my organization was able to take down the foes that were a hundred times greater than us,” said Raven with pride.

“I’m willing to give your theory a try simply because I failed with my last tactics against them,” said Soberk.

“You will not be disappointed,” said Raven. “Trust me; they will not see this one coming.”

Chapter Three

Vienna, Austria

The Glosing cemetery was on the eastern side of the city. The bright headlights a car came through the north side gate. The car drove onto the narrow lane that ran across the cemetery. The vehicle slowed and stopped in front the statue that was in the center of the cemetery.

 The Chinese agent exited the vehicle. T’Challa and Ororo were waiting in the darkness. The agent sensed them and he shined a torch light on the couple. Ororo was in her black combat uniform. T’Challa was in the ceremonial Black Panther habit and the computerized time and space sword was magnetized to his back. The couple exchanged eye contact with the Chinese agent. He had arrived on the allotted time for the meeting.

The agent was slim built and had a clean shaven face. He wore a trench coat due to the damp weather. In a relaxed manner, he looked at the sky. The Chinese spy satellites were  in place over the cemetery.

So too were the Wakandan spy satellites. T’Challa and Ororo even had two drones stationed a block away from the cemetery in case they were needed to follow someone or provide assistance.

T’Challa recognised the Chinese agent from the superhuman program that China had created. The agent was the most powerful one from the group.

Within a minute of the Chinese agent arrival, another car entered the cemetery.

“This could be it,” Ororo whispered to T’Challa.

The car halted near to the Chinese vehicle. The driver kept on the lights and came out. He wore a heavy jacket; but his face. His face was easily identifiable as he was one of the most famous men in the world.

T’Challa couldn’t believe it. “Steve,” he said.

Steve Rogers aka Captain America was in a stern mood. “T’Challa, Ororo,” he said emotionlessly. He stared suspiciously at the Chinese agent. “Who might you be?”

“That’s not important,” answered the Chinese agent.

“Steve what are you doing here?” asked T’Challa of his family friend.

“I could ask the same of you. But I’m under orders to help capture anyone I meet here. I’m afraid that’s going to be you,” said Captain America.

“Steve wait, lets talk about this first,” said Ororo.

“I’m sorry. I’m following orders,” said Captain America. “I wish there was an alternative, but I too want some answers.”

T’Challa heard the background noises of helicopter engines and military boots entering the cemetery.

“S.H.I.E.L.D,” said T’Challa.

“Not S.H.I.E.L.D, something far worst,” commented Captain America.

Ororo sensed the approaching danger and she rose majestically on a wind current. Out of the darkness appeared the Mystec Soldier. It flew passed Ororo and swung around. She was shocked to see  America’s newest weapon so soon again.

“Did the American government setup us up? It seems unlikely,” thought Storm.

The Mystec Soldier aimed one hand at her and the other at the Chinese agent. The silver machine fired energy beams. Storm dodged the attack although the energy grazed her. Likewise the Chinese agent flew out of the danger.

The humanoid Mystec Soldier fired lasers from its eyes that struck the Chinese agent; knocking the man unconscious.

“I summon the mist,” said Storm and atmosphere reacted to her appeal.

The isolated mist concealed the cemetery. Ororo rose higher, only to be impeded by an invisible force field.

“We’re trapped,” she muttered.

The Mystec Soldier was at her heels.

Aranzi, Africa

Raven and Soberk battled through the two dozen robot sentinels that guarded the passage to Balthazar’s cave. Soberk in his magical form was unstoppable and he took the lead. His skin was hard and brown. His eyes were a luminous green.

Raven trailed behind with rifles and grenades launchers.

An emergency alert was sent from the caves to T’Challa and Ororo, but the force field blocked the transmission from reaching their kimoyoes.

After six minutes, the battle was over. Soberk called out to Balthazar. The head of the gigantic mystical creature rose out of the earth. Its head was flat and dragon like.

“Soberk it has been so long since you last called on me,” said Balthazar in a thunderous voice.

“I was captured by an enemy,” said Soberk.

“Tell me who did this to you,” said Balthazar in anger.

“I will take you to their accomplice. We’ll deal with that one. He wears my face,” shouted Soberk.

As he spoke, Raven dropped a note on the ground. Soberk then teleported them to the Great House which was the seat of power in Aranzi.

The clone was standing on the balcony when Soberk and Raven appeared. Soberk powers were no match for the clone’s.

“This is the one,” said Soberk forcefully, hiding his fear that Balthazar would hesitate.

The clone turned sharply to the intruders. A moment later an unseen force had ripped him to shreds.

“What of the others?” asked Balthazar.

“We’ll deal with them in time, right now we have other business to attend to,” replied Soberk and he looked at Raven.

She stared back him, knowingly. Everything was going according to plan. Soberk then teleported them in a sphere of fire to meet with the people who were hunting Raven.

The Gosling Cemetery

The Black Panther and Captain America squared off while the battle between Storm and the Mystec Soldier occurred overhead.

T’Challa had known the super soldier for years and had considered him an ally.

“I don’t want to fight you,” said T’Challa.

“It’s out of my hands,” said Captain America. He removed the jacket. He wore a blue military uniform. The famed circular shield was attached to his back.

“Then I will give you an option,” said T’Challa.

In a flash, the Black Panther leapt onto the statue and somersaulted into the forest of crosses and other religious symbols. He told the sword to teleport him and Storm away from the scene. But the force field prevented teleportation.

T’Challa heard Captain America coming behind him. Steve Rogers was also a peak human. The star on his shield shined in the flashes of lightening that Ororo manipulated.

“Use your shield,” thought T’Challa.

The Black Panther ran to the side to catch Captain America’s attention. Then T’Challa sprinted away; he kept one eye on the Mystec Soldier. Steve released the shield and it bounced off multiple surfaces on its way to T’Challa.

The Black Panther sensed it; he turned swiftly and detached the sword. With a baseball bat swing, T’Challa knocked the shield towards the Mystec Soldier. Chung! Vibranium titanium alloy had struck Asgardian metal. The Mystec Soldier had received the blow to the head and it stopped.

T’Challa called Ororo on the kimoyo as he continued his escape. “Honey meet me at the south side, we’re breaking out of here.”

“It would be quicker if I picked you up,” said Ororo as she swooped down; having spotted T’Challa.

She manipulated two mini tornadoes that took up the Chinese agent and T’Challa. In a burst of speed she carried them to the south wall. They were ambushed by laser fire from a shadow unit on the ground.

T’Challa pressed a button on the sword’s handle and the nano robots that sheathed the sword raced into the hilt. “Where’s the force field?” he asked Ororo.

Storm sensed it. “Just ahead. It is unlike anything I’ve come across,” she said.

T’Challa made a diagonal slash and the dark force blade caused a large tear in the force field. Upon exiting, their kimoyoes received the distress message from the Aranzi caves.

“We have to get there,” said Storm.

“On it,” said T’Challa.

They were teleported into the cave network. They came upon the strewn remains of the robots. Ororo rested her husband and the Chinese agent gently onto the ground.

“Did you learn anything from Steve?” asked Ororo.

“Nothing,” said T’Challa. “I think his handlers were also duped.”

“For America to send both him and the Mystec Soldier-,” said Storm. “Now what happened here?”

T’Challa sniffed the air. “Soberk was here and someone else.”

“The clone?”

“No the real one,” said T’Challa dreadfully.

He saw Raven’s note on the ground and picked it up. He read it aloud.

“My name is Raven. I’m a telepath. If you are reading this, it means I’ve won.”

 “Don’t bet on,” said T’Challa as he crumpled the note in his fist.

“Raven,” said Ororo.

“The person we over looked,” said T’Challa.

“T’Challa the clone,” said Ororo.

The couple teleported to the Great House. It was not long before they came across the remnants of the clone on the balcony.

“It’s unlike Soberk to not stay around to gloat about his handiwork,” said T’Challa.

“We’ve been out thought on this one,” remarked Ororo.

“And I was wrong not to follow up on your suggestion to visit Soberk,” admitted T’Challa.

Ororo didn’t say anything.

“We’ll have to take a step back and access this thing in entirety,” said T’Challa.

Then they teleported to Wakanda.

Chapter Five

The White House, Washington D.C

President Bollinger was totally dissatisfied with the failure of the operation. It was apparent on his face as he listened to the debriefing from the Security Advisor.

“Did Captain America’s link with the Black Panther affect his performance?” asked Bollinger.

“I’m not sure in all honesty,” answered the Security Advisor.

“Okay. Still  what occurred verified the intel, China and Wakanda were making a deal about our Spire Project,” said Bollinger. “I want a thorough search for Wakandan spy apparatuses that are stealing state secrets in all agencies pronto. If you can’t find anything then it means that you weren’t looking hard enough.”

“Yes sir,” said the Security Advisor.

“Also I want every major river checked for any of those dormant Wakandan stealth ships. This nation has dragged its feet too long with Wakanda and in that time they have planted themselves in our country. Well those days are over,” said President Bollinger.

Next Story: State Secrets Pt II

~ by blackpantherfanstories on July 21, 2010.