Leander walked down the polished stairs, the rhythmic click of his boots echoing against the vibranium-reinforced stone. Zuli, the massive guard, led the way in silence. They bypassed the elevators, which were sleek, glass-enclosed tubes that shot vertically through the tower. Zuli seemed to think that making Leander walk would tire him out or perhaps show him the scale of Wakanda's might, floor by floor.
Leander didn't mind. In fact, he preferred it.
With his Golden Eyes active, the world was a transparent map of wonders. He watched as technicians and workers moved through the corridors, their arms laden with crates of raw, unrefined vibranium. In the outside world, a single gram of this ore could trigger a war or buy a small island. Here, it was moved about like common gravel.
'I have three vibranium arc reactors back at the house,' Leander thought, a small smirk playing on his lips. 'I should probably head back soon. Aunt May will be worried, and the New Year is coming up. It'd be a shame to miss the celebrations after spending so much time in a desert and a hidden city.'
The thought of home grounded him, but the sight of the ore reignited his hunger for power. The Destroyer and Thor had taught him a valuable lesson: the universe was vast, and the power he currently possessed was just the beginning. To stand against the coming storms, he needed to be more than a metal-bender. He needed to be indestructible.
A faint sound of light footsteps reached his ears—a rhythm too quick and precise to be a common worker. Prince T'Challa caught up with them, gesturing for Zuli to return to his post. The Prince's expression was neutral, but his eyes were sharp, calculating.
"I'll take it from here, Zuli," T'Challa said. He turned to Leander. "The King wants me to ensure you find what you're looking for. Our energy center is just below."
Leander nodded, his eyes scanning the Prince. "You know, the defense on your Black Panther habit is top-tier, but the portability is a bit... dated. It's bulky to carry around. You should look into nanotech. It would suit your fighting style better."
T'Challa paused, his African accent giving his English a rich, heavy texture. "Liu... Mr. Hayes. You speak as if you've spent a lifetime studying our designs."
"Just call me Leo. That's what my friends call me," Leander said, adjusting the strap of his bag. "And as for your designs... let's just say I have a very intimate relationship with metal. As for how I know about Wakanda, you wouldn't believe me if I told you. But you can rest easy—I have no interest in making your lives difficult. I'm just here to cultivate. Once I'm done, I'm gone."
Leander's gaze lingered on T'Challa's frame. He could sense the power radiating from the man. The Heart-Shaped Herb had pushed T'Challa's physical stats to at least 21 points across the board—strength, speed, and endurance that broke the limits of human biology. He was effectively a peer to Captain Rogers, though the Herb provided a spiritual connection to the "Ancestral Plane" that the Super-Soldier Serum could never replicate.
"Is this yours?" T'Challa asked, holding up the small metal barb they had confiscated earlier. He handed it back to Leander. "Vibranium is rare beyond our borders. Only a few have ever managed to take it from us."
"Ulysses Klaue," Leander said, taking the barb and snapping it back onto his belt buckle with a satisfying metallic click. "He didn't exactly give it to me willingly. I snatched it from him after he tried to use it on me. He's quite the talker, but he's too greedy to share the secret of Wakanda with the world. He wants it all for himself."
T'Challa's jaw tightened at the mention of Klaue. "That man is a ghost we have been hunting for a long time."
"He won't be bothering you for a while," Leander noted.
The two continued their descent, the conversation shifting into a tactical dance. T'Challa was fishing for origins, for weaknesses, for any clue as to what Leander truly was. Leander, however, was a master of the half-truth. He gave away nothing of substance, keeping the Prince at a comfortable, respectful distance.
As the light began to dim and the air grew cool and damp, they reached the subterranean levels. Suddenly, a small blur of energy jumped out from behind a support pillar.
"Brother! Are you taking him to my lab? Can I come?"
Shuri beamed at them, her kimoyo beads glowing on her wrist.
"Shuri! I told you to stay with Father," T'Challa groaned, putting a protective arm in front of her.
"I am going to the lab anyway," Shuri said, ducking under his arm and leaning toward Leander. "You're Leo, right? I heard T'Challa say it. I'm Shuri."
Leander looked down at the ten-year-old girl. She was three years younger than him, yet he could sense the brilliant, frantic energy of her mind. In the future he knew, this girl would be the technological heart of the world. She would invent the very nanotech he had just mentioned, create the EMP beads that could drop a tank, and stabilize wounds that should be fatal.
"The Genius Princess," Leander said with a genuine smile. "I've heard you've got quite a few inventions under your belt. That sonic-resonance mining tech is particularly clever."
Shuri's eyes lit up like stars. "You know about sonic resonance? Most outsiders don't even understand basic wave-particle duality! My standard vibranium spear isn't even finished yet, but the energy emitter is three times more stable than the old models, and I'm working on a way to—"
"Shuri, enough," T'Challa interrupted, pulling her back. "Go back to the palace."
"No! I want to show him the energy piles!" she insisted, darting ahead of them into a massive underground hall.
They emerged into a cavernous space that defied traditional architecture. In the center sat a series of gargantuan machines—vibranium energy piles. They glowed with a rhythmic, pale blue light, humming with a frequency that vibrated Leander's very marrow.
"These supply power to half the city," T'Challa explained, his pride evident. "They utilize the reactive properties of raw vibranium to create a perpetual, pollution-free energy cycle. The consumption is negligible compared to the output."
Leander walked toward the center of the room, his eyes fixed on the massive vibranium blocks encased in the machines. "Can vibranium actively release energy? I thought it only absorbed kinetic force."
"In its refined state, yes," Shuri said, popping up beside him again. "But raw ore is different. It's unstable. If you process it correctly, you can trigger a release of the cosmic energy stored within the lattice during its time in space. Once it's 'finished' into a product, that energy is locked away."
Leander's Golden Eyes flickered. He looked through the thick containment walls of the facility. Beyond them lay the heart of the mountain.
The cavern was vast beyond imagination. Massive pillars of raw vibranium supported the ceiling, glowing with pale blue luminous cracks that acted as natural lanterns. Maglev trains hissed by on suspended tracks, loaded with ore that shimmered under the sonic dampeners. The white pillars lining the tracks emitted a constant, low-frequency hum—the sonic waves used to keep the raw ore stable and "dim" so it wouldn't explode during transport.
Leander turned to Shuri, his expression suddenly very serious, very intense. He could feel the proximity to his 100% Iron Bones goal.
"Little Princess," Leander said, his voice dropping to a whisper that carried more weight than T'Challa's commands. "Tell me exactly how you trigger that release. How do you make the metal breathe?"