Black Panther and Storm in The Mists of Kun Lun
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: The Mists of Kun Lun
Prologue
The world can considered a very large laboratory and with the right mind along with money any number of things can be done. That was Shogen’s view.
He watched as the doomsday clock reconfigured itself as another hour passed. The clock in its original shape was a cube. There were no dials or digital displays. The clock was set through forces only Shogen understood. Once the clock was set it counted down by changing its features, turning its many blocks into different patterns.
Chapter One
Tibet
Maria Henkel was in a joyous dream. She was back in the Harlem public school she attended as a child. Her teacher Luke Charles was on the board and she hung on his every word. He wore a white and green African garb that hid his arms at times. His clothes were strange much like his accent.
Her attention was drawn to the advent of smoke in the classroom. She raised her hand to point out the situation to her teacher.
“Yes Henkel,” said Luke Charles.
“Smoke sir,” said Henkel and pointed to the door.
“You have to get up,” said Luke Charles.
Those words snapped Henkel out of her dream. She awakened in her bed that was inside the Dragon Saber monastery. There was a peculiar scent inside the bedroom and she found difficulty breathing. She went to the window and opened it.
The man appeared from nowhere outside of the window. A black mask covered his face and he wore a military helmet. Startled, Henkel moved back. Then she heard the shot from the rifle that the man pointed at her.
Meanwhile
Wakanda, the Administrative Building
“I will be straight with you Kana,” said T’Challa. “I want to bring the White Gorilla clan back into the thick of things and I want to use you to achieve that objective. Do you have a problem with that?”
“I figured as much when Shuri assigned me over here. I have no problem as long as you remain straight with me. I also think that you are a person who does not like ‘yes men’ around him and I was never a boot licker,” said Kana.
“You guessed correctly,” said T’Challa. “This is your office.”
T’Challa opened the door and walked inside the small office. There was the customary desk and computer.
“What is it I’m supposed to do here?” asked Kana.
“Paper work,” replied T’Challa.
Kana sat in his chair and rested his hands on the desk.
“What’s the first assignment,” said Kana.
T’Challa was impressed since he expected a little whining from Kana. The man was in his early twenties. He was an elite commando for last three years. He had the ability to throw almost any object with accuracy and enough force to be lethal.
“I’m putting you on a team,” said T’Challa. He was thirty five years old and well built.
“I thought that I was teaming up with you, Ororo and Shuri,” said Kana.
“Not right now. I’m putting you on a team with Franklyn Richards to gain experience at this level,” said T’Challa.
“Who is he?”
“He is a kid. But don’t let that fool you. Franklyn is an omega mutant with reality changing capabilities. He has travelled as far as the 41st century as a both a child and as an adult. He is very experienced. The name of his team is Fantastic Force.
“You will run two missions with them afterwards I want detailed reports,” said T’Challa.
“Okay,” said Kana.
“He will be picking you up in the next two minutes,” said T’Challa
“Here?”
“Yes. His teleportation configuration has been cleared for the building,” said T’Challa. “Good luck.”
Then T’Challa left the office. He made mistakes before in trying to mend relations between the White Gorilla clan and his. Kana seemed like the last hope of any future unification of the once friendly clans. The schism between the two clans impacted negatively on the wider Wakandan society. T’Challa could not allow that to continue.
The Marsh Lands
The women slowly painted the spiritual markings on Ororo’s body. The yellow and blue circles and lines were intricately placed by skillful hands.
“We are done,” said one of the women.
Ororo opened her eyes and looked at herself in a mirror that was presented to her.
“They look beautiful,” said Ororo.
“Now you are ready for the meditation,” said another woman.
The group was inside the council room that was next door the mediation grounds. This was Ororo’s first time at the mediation ceremony that the Marsh Landers performed.
Normally there was tension between the government and the Marsh Landers, but Ororo wanted to understand these people better from the inside.
The Marsh Landers were mystics and the ceremony was a means for them to be in tune with nature. Ororo being a mutant weather manipulator relished the chance to perform the same meditation she did privately with the group.
The white haired and blue eyed Ororo was led out of the council house and into the meditation grounds. Men and women were seated together on the dry earth. The group had their legs crossed and eyes closed. Their bodies were also painted in the same manner as Ororo’s. The ground was shaded by the crowns of majestic Nemyan trees.
The thirty year old Ororo sat down with her hosts and meditated. She tapped into the rhythm of the Earth.
Tibet,
Henkel was grazed by the bullet and she fell to her side. She kept on the floor and crept to the pants that she had flung off before going to sleep. She thanked God for her untidiness.
She got to the pants and took out the small satellite phone. Then she speed dialed T’Challa aka Luke Charles.
Henkel heard noises behind her and she knew that the shooter had forced his way through the window. The rifle went off again.
Chapter Two
“Do you sense that?” asked Ororo.
“I do,” replied T’Challa.
The couple stood on a bank that overlooked the Xhinto Valley that was apart of the Kun Lun Mountain Range. Her focus was on the movement of the air currents that flowed down the side of the mountain. She knew that T’Challa was attuned to nature as she was. It was a commonality that they had.
“It has a graceful rhythm,” said T’Challa.
“Indeed,” said Ororo.
“Did you pick up the truck engines?”
“Of course?” replied Ororo. “And a small aircraft is headed this way.”
“It has an extremely small motor,” said T’Challa.
“Must be a spy plane,” said Ororo. “Here it comes.”
The predator spy plane flew across the couple who were in invisible commando uniforms. The plane looked like an innocuous model plane used for hobbyists. The transparent orb at the center gave away the plane’s true purpose. Several camera lenses moved around like eyes.
T’Challa scanned the source of the transmissions to the spy plane from the mini computer in his face mask. Then he told Ororo the coordinates.
“I will check that out,” said Ororo. “You go to the monastery.”
“All right,” said T’Challa.
The couple hugged each other and then separated.
T’Challa headed east. He made light work of the terrain that was made up of fields and patches of dry earth. The Dragon Saber monastery resided on the cliff of the Hanso Mountain.
An anti teleportation field was around the mountain so T’Challa could not use his time space sword to reach the monastery quickly. He made up for the hindrance by climbing the mountain side with the use of claws from his gloves.
Henkel’s connection to the military activity in the area made no sense to T’Challa. Henkel was just a nineteen year old woman from New York who came to the Kun Lun region. She was a straight A student in his class and had kept the characteristic throughout her life. Henkel being involved in anything wrong seemed preposterous.
From what T’Challa understood the Chinese secret service was behind whatever operation was being carried out. There was a communications black out in the area and only the government agency could do such a thing. If not for the satellite phone that Henkel used she would not have got in contact with him.
He considered Henkel a friend and she attended his wedding. That made T’Challa suspect that Henkel may have got herself involved with a local guy from the area and that was the reason for the trouble. Then again, that scenario didn’t seem likely for this level of response from the Chinese.
T’Challa reached the cliff and saw several masked soldiers outside of the monastery. There was another thing. A large satellite dish was in front of the monastery and it made a constant clockwise sweep. The satellite dish was mounted to the tray of a truck.
T’Challa thought: “What is going on?”
He sniffed the air and his hyper sense of smell told him that there were other people within the monastery.
He made to move across the courtyard and enter through the side. Suddenly the satellite dish swung around and pointed at him. The guards became alert and drew their weapons.
T’Challa got a wave of transmissions over his scanner.
“It must be one of them,” said someone.
“Team One engage. Team Two remain inside the monastery.”
The guards pointed their weapons at him and fired. But something else had caught T’Challa’s attention. He felt strangeness in the air like it had been altered.
Chapter Three
The surveillance center was setup like a military camp. Tents and trailer trucks were bunched together and guarded by heavily armed men.
Ororo noticed that the satellite dishes around the surveillance center suddenly were focus on her. A spy plane came over her and then it hovered.
“Halt,” said a voice from the spy plane.
Ororo felt a sudden burst on the magnetic fields around her and then she realized that her uniform’s invisibility was gone.
“Hmmm. You are not one of them, how disappointing,” said the voice from the spy plane.
“Identify yourself,” said Ororo.
“You first,” said the mystery person.
“I came here for Maria Henkel,” said Ororo.
“Really now and if I hand her over you will simply go away?”
“Yes,” replied Ororo.
“If only we lived in such a perfect world,” said the person. “You are under arrest for espionage in Chinese territory.”
“I don’t think so,” said Ororo.
“You dear to address the Emperor’s son like that?” asked the person.
“I don’t care whose son you are,” said Ororo.
A gust of wind lifted Ororo above the camp and the spy plane followed her.
“Hold on. We may have a misunderstanding, come into my tent and we can discuss a peaceful resolution,” said the person.
“Which one?” asked Ororo.
“The large blue tent to the right,” replied the person.
Ororo hurled a bolt of lightening onto the tent and thunder cracked across the camp.
A commotion started in the tent as a fire was doused and several men ran out.
The apparent speaker on the spy plane came out of the tent and walked over to where Ororo hovered. He put up his hand to her catch attention. He was in his early thirties. His shirt sleeves were rolled up; he wore a tailor made pants and combat boots.
“That was uncalled for,” said the man.
“Who are you?” asked Ororo.
“Shogen, the Emperor’s Son.”
“Okay let me lay down the law. You will tell me everything and obey my orders or I will sweep you all away to Siberia,” said Ororo and thunder rumbled along the Kun Lun Mountains.
“Settle down lady,” said Shogen. “I still want to talk.”
“Speak. What are you doing here?”
“I’m on a quest to find the guardians to the Jade Emperor, my ancestor,” replied Shogen. “Unfortunately that cannot happen now since you would have drawn the attention of the national army. That means that I cannot stop what I needed the guardians for.”
“Tell me,” said Ororo.
“Sorry it is none of your concern. You may carry out your threats since they have no affect on the future right now,” said Shogen.
He called out a soldier and said, “Release the prisoners.”
“The rest of the soldiers will remain where they are until the authorities arrive,” said Ororo.
“That won’t do,” said Shogen. “You forget I’m a descendant of the Jade Emperor and you are just another super powered freak.
“It’s time to demonstrate my powers,” said Shogen and snapped his fingers.
Ororo waited for some kind of instant manifestation from Shogen.
“Well,” said Ororo.
“You here it now?” asked Shogen.
Ororo didn’t hear it but felt the movements in the atmosphere. War planes were headed for the area.
The guards brought the prisoners out at gun point. They were ten monks and Henkel. They appeared to be in good health.
“Take them,” said Shogen.
“I’m still handing you over to the authorities,” said Ororo.
“I own the authorities as you will see shortly,” said Shogen. “So what is your next move?”
Ororo lifted the prisoners on a gust of wind and brought them next to her.
“Sto-“ said Henkel.
“Shush,” said Ororo. “Are these all the prisoners?”
“Yes,” replied Henkel.
Eight warplanes flew overhead.
“Stay calm,” Ororo said to the group.
“The monks are kind of use to levitation,” said Henkel.
“I going to move us very quickly now,” said Ororo. “And rain is coming.”
Chapter Four
The sudden thunderstorm covered Ororo’s retreat and hampered the fighter jets. Henkel advised her on a suitable location where they could hide. The group went into a cave that was in the vicinity of the XhenValley.
“Is anyone hurt?” asked Ororo.
“No,” replied the group.
Henkel hugged Ororo.
“Thanks for coming,” said Henkel. “Where is T’Challa?”
“At the monastery,” replied Ororo.
The monks huddled together and spoke in a language that Ororo’ didn’t understand.
“What’s going on over there?” Ororo asked Henkel.
“I don’t know. I haven’t seen them since I retired for bed,” replied Henkel.
“How is it that you’re in the monastery?”
“I come every year.”
The monks turned to the women. They all looked the same regretfully to Ororo. Then one of the monks spoke in English.
“Thank you for saving us,” said the monk, and he bowed to Ororo.
“What did Shogen want from you?” asked Ororo.
“The dragons from the stars,” replied the monk. “He believes that they make contact with us.”
“Do they?” asked Ororo.
“Not directly,” replied the monk.
“Can you be clearer?”
“We sense them at times. The legend of their visits to our world was passed down to us.”
“I have to return to the monastery to check on my husband. I’ll be back,” said Ororo.
“Be careful,” said Henkel.
“Stay put,” said Ororo, and then she flew out of the cave.
The thunderstorm was still present. Ororo flew as fast as she could to the monastery.
Ororo found the place vacant when she arrived. She scanned for bio electricity and found nothing.
She flew around the monastery to make sure and then went inside. Ten minutes later, Ororo emerged with no luck. She turned on the tracker in her kimoyo to locate T’Challa’s and there was no signal.
“Where is he?” asked Ororo.
Chapter Five
T’Challa was conscious but bounded to a stockade in the center of the plaza. A small city was around him. He smelt the strange odor of beings that were inside of the nearby buildings and felt their eyes on him.
He was tired for some reason like a parasite drained him slowly. He tugged on the stockade with no success in breaking free.
There was light in the grey sky. The peculiar color of the sky made him certain that he was not on Earth.
He just needed to be patient and wait on his captors to reveal themselves. Soon after, T’Challa felt a presence behind him.
A thirty feet tall reptilian creature came in front of him. It resembled a black dragon. The beast moved softly despite its size.
“Do you understand me?” asked the dragon in clear English. Its breath washed over T’Challa.
“Yes,” replied T’Challa. “What is this place?”
“Wrong question, a better one would be how longer do you have to live,” said the dragon.
“And what is the reason for my execution?” asked T’Challa.
“No fear is in your voice,” said the dragon.
“Does that surprise you?”
“Not really. You are a soldier. I want to know who you work for.”
“I’m T’Challa the Black Panther leader of nation the Wakanda. I’m a soldier for my people.”
“Leader of a nation, how odd so am I,” said the dragon. “Why were you at the monastery?”
“I’m on a rescue mission for a friend,” replied T’Challa.
“What does this friend look like?”
“A young woman, dark hair, brown eyes, she was staying at the monastery.”
“I’ve seen her,” said the dragon. “So you weren’t there for the elders?”
“I went to safeguard anyone that needed it.”
“I would have said the same thing if I was in your circumstance,” said the dragon and it faded away.
T’Challa believed he was in the city of K’un L’un that his friend Danny Rand aka Iron Fist spoke of. The mountains of Tibet were named after the mythical city.
The locks on the stockade opened and T’Challa fell forward from his fatigue.
“What is causing my weakness?” he muttered.
He heard footsteps and heartbeats. He looked up and saw that the city dwellers came out of their homes. The people were humanoid. There were children, adults and the elderly. Their clothes were made from light fabrics and varied in colors and styles.
T’Challa forced himself to stand upright.
The people formed a ring around him. He looked at them blankly and avoided eye contact.
“What now?” he asked.
Someone was pushed out of the crowd; it was one of the guards at the monastery. He was still in his combat attire. Seven other guards were tossed out of the crowd.
T’Challa felt the presence again and turned. The dragon looked down on him.
“Only one of you can leave and that will be the last man standing,” said the dragon. “To do otherwise will mean an eternity in the Ninth Hell.”
T’Challa scanned the guards. They seemed healthy and not weakened like he was. They looked at each other and from their body language decided to take on T’Challa first as a group.
T’Challa glanced back for the dragon, but it had disappeared again. The crowd was quiet.
The guards formed a circle around T’Challa and edged closer. They waited on a signal. Then it came in the form of a grunt.
In T’Challa’s weakened state finesses was not an option for the battle. He needed swiftness and brutality. He inhaled deeply as the trap closed on him like the jaws of death.
His opponents were like snails in his eyes. He seized one and used him like a bat to knock the away the others. T’Challa tore into them before any re group could take place. His punches took all his will and they had to count. Then T’Challa exhaled when the last guard fell.
The crowd remained silent and T’Challa wanted to know if he still was to be released. He looked for the dragon and saw a man in the beast’s place.
The man was six feet seven inches tall. A colorful three headed dragon tattoo was exposed on his barrel chest. A mask hid half of his face. The clothes he wore were made from a silky material.
“Who are you?” asked T’Challa.
“The Dragon Emperor.”
“Will I be released or is there some trickery involved?” asked T’Challa.
“You are free,” said the Dragon Emperor.
Several people from the crowd took up the guards.
“What’s going to happen to them?”
“Death,” replied the Dragon Emperor.
“I can’t allow that,” said T’Challa.
The Dragon Emperor was stone faced. He slowly glared at T’Challa.
“This is my world and the law states that unwanted outsiders are put to death,” said the Dragon Emperor. “The reasons for such a law should not escape a leader such as you.”
T’Challa felt like falling; he slowed his breathing to combat the urge.
“What did you do to me?” asked T’Challa.
“I wanted to know what you were made of thus the reduced the strength,” replied the Dragon Emperor. “I will take you to the citadel for healing.”
The emperor extended his hand and T’Challa cautiously held it.
Then the two men teleported into the chamber that reminded T’Challa of the insides of a spaceship’s hull. Only the emperor and T’Challa were there. T’Challa noticed that a giant Jade Tiger was painted onto the ceiling.
An emerald crystal turned slowly on a pedestal in front of the men.
“Touch it,” said the Dragon Emperor.
T’Challa did and he felt his strength return.
“Your chi is indeed strong since a weaker person’s hand would have been burnt by the crystal,” said the Dragon Emperor.
“More tricks,” said T’Challa.
The emperor smiled slightly.
“I need allies in your world.”
“I don’t know you that well,” said T’Challa.
“That can be improved upon,” said the Dragon Emperor. “Farewell for now.”
Then T’Challa vanished from the chamber.
Chapter Six
Ororo hovered over the monastery and was about to leave to head into the valley when T’Challa appeared.
“Where have you been?” she asked, and flew down to him.
“I believe it was K’un L’un the city,” replied T’Challa.
“Tell me more on the way,” Ororo said and lifted them into the sky. “We have to get back to Henkel.”
“How is she?”
“Shaken but fine,” replied Ororo.
They ran through their various exploits.
“Shogen capitulated too easily for all the trouble he went through to lock down this area,” said Ororo.
“There must be another part of this operation,” said T’Challa.
“What do you make of the Dragon Emperor?” asked Ororo.
“I couldn’t get a good reading on him, and why does he want allies in this world? I will have to discuss it with Iron Fist,” said T’Challa.
Ororo used her kimoyo to find out if the communications dampening field was still in the area and she learned that it was gone. She then told T’Challa.
The couple landed at the cave entrance. Henkel greeted T’Challa warmly and the monks bowed in respect.
“Ororo told me what happened,” said T’Challa.
“This is all like a dream to me because it is so unreal,” said Henkel.
“What are the monks going to do from here on?” asked Ororo while she turned to the men.
“We will return to our home,” said the leader of the monks.
“Is that safe?” asked Henkel.
“We have no choice but to carry on our duty. I doubt that we will be troubled again,” replied the monk.
“Well I want to return to New York right now,” said Henkel.
“Not a problem,” said Ororo.
Chapter Seven
Shogen watched the doomsday clock reconfigure itself as he flew back to Shanghai. His private plane was escorted by the fighter jets.
His plan to use K’un L’un as a safe haven was foiled. The search for K’un L’un was the main reason that China wanted to keep Tibet as a province. Shogen’s ancestor the Jade Emperor was believed to have ruled the city.
The Chinese Premier would not like hear about the failure, still he would accept it since Shogen was respected by the state.
Time was running out so the experiments needed to be started as soon as possible. Shogen turned to his notebook and saw the heading of this next task.
Next Story: The Red Skull Diaries
Followed by: Wakanda Confidential
The Dogs of War
