"Suri."
Seeing Fenris and Scott rise and head for the council chamber exit, T'Chaka quickly called out to his daughter from the throne.
"Father."
A slender Black girl rose at once.
"You will serve as their guide. Show our two friends the civilization and scenery of Wakanda properly."
T'Chaka stressed the point. "Make absolutely certain they feel at home."
"Yes, Father."
Princess Suri nodded with confidence, then quickly left, hurrying after Fenris and Scott.
"Professor Xavier, I hope my daughter can act as a guide for your two students. If these outstanding young people can become friends, then perhaps that too can serve as a symbol of the friendship between Wakanda and your people."
T'Chaka turned to Professor X and spoke with a genial smile, laying on the flattery thick.
"Hypocrite."
Faced with T'Chaka's goodwill, Magneto gave a cold snort from the side. His eyes drifted shut as he placed most of his attention on Fenris instead.
"I'd like to see exactly how this kid keeps getting stronger."
Wakandan royal palace.
After leaving the council chamber, Scott let out a long breath instead.
Professor X's dominance had filled him with pride, and he had thoroughly enjoyed being looked at with awe and reverence. But being stared at by that crowd of oddly dressed people the whole time had still made his skin crawl.
"Fenris, this country's culture is really weird."
"That guy with the huge plate in his lip kept staring at me for no reason…"
Scott's nonstop chatter kept ringing in his ears, but Fenris's attention had already flown elsewhere.
A few breaths later, his eyes lit up, and his gaze locked onto a metallic building in the distance. "There."
"What?"
The undisguised brightness in Fenris's eyes made Scott's pupils contract sharply. "Fenris, you're not planning to…"
"Don't ask so many questions. Just come with me."
The resonance was growing stronger and harder to suppress. In the next instant, layer upon layer of shifting light rippled through the space before them.
Without a second thought, Fenris grabbed Scott by the arm and yanked him into the Mirror Dimension.
"Huh? Where did they go?"
A few seconds later, Princess Suri appeared where the two of them had just vanished.
But the bright corridor was now empty.
"That's strange. Weren't they just here?"
Suri looked around in confusion, but found nothing.
Thinking of her father's instructions, she had no choice but to take off what looked like an ordinary Kimoyo bead from her wrist.
"Pull up the surveillance footage from here."
As both a princess and Wakanda's most gifted scientist, Suri naturally had extremely high clearance. Accessing the palace's security recordings was effortless for her.
Soon, the Kimoyo bead lit up, and an exquisite holographic projection appeared in front of her.
Through the projection, Fenris and Scott could clearly be seen leaving the council chamber side by side.
But not long after, the two of them paused for a few seconds by the corridor window. Then, some inexplicable glow seemed to flare before them, and the footage abruptly blurred for an instant.
When everything returned to normal, both of them had vanished completely from the image, leaving no trace behind, as if they had never been there at all.
The footage continued to play, and moments later Suri saw herself appear in the recording.
"What?"
Watching two living people disappear right before her eyes, Suri's gaze trembled, and the Kimoyo bead in her hand nearly slipped and fell.
Wakanda's palace surveillance system had been personally upgraded and refined by her several times over. A basic malfunction like image distortion should have been impossible.
"Was someone interfering with the cameras from the shadows?"
"But even if someone was helping them, how did they disappear like that? Invisibility?"
"Are mutant powers really this ridiculous? Do they just completely ignore science?"
Suri frowned and unconsciously paced over to the very window where Fenris had been standing moments earlier.
She replayed the footage several times, but aside from that inexplicable burst of light, she still found nothing. The recording had left behind no usable clues whatsoever.
"They vanished all of a sudden. So where were they trying to go?"
Unable to puzzle it out, Suri raised her head absentmindedly.
A sleek fighter craft silently swept through the sky and landed on Bashenga Mountain in the distance.
That was the headquarters of Wakanda's scientific division, as well as the primary source of Wakanda's vibranium.
…
At the same time, inside the Mirror Dimension.
Fenris and Scott stood side by side as the ground beneath their feet rose in rolling layers, carrying them rapidly toward distant Bashenga Mountain.
"A meteorite falling from the sky actually created a country like this."
Inside the Mirror Dimension, Scott could freely take in Wakanda's completely different culture and scenery without restraint.
Along the way, this advanced technological nation, blending rugged tradition and civilization, left even someone as widely traveled as him clicking his tongue in wonder. "Fenris, how big do you think that meteorite must have been?"
"Millions of years have passed, and they still haven't used it all up. Even now it's still supporting the rapid development of their technology."
"I don't know either. But we should find out soon enough."
Following the pull of the resonance, Fenris picked up speed again.
"Indestructible, and capable of absorbing and storing all kinds of kinetic force, heat, even energy. It may have weaknesses, but they hardly matter."
The moment Scott learned of vibranium's miraculous properties, he immediately set his sights on it. "The adamantium in Logan's body is indestructible, and we all know exactly how strong that alloy is."
"Now that we know vibranium exists too, then maybe…"
If they could bring vibranium back and let Hank study it properly, then with Hank's genius, once their current equipment and suits were upgraded, the X-Men's combat strength and survivability could shoot up by a huge margin.
Most importantly, if he had vibranium protecting his whole body, he would never need to fear being caught at close range again.
In battle, he could unleash his full power without restraint, without having to worry so much about his own safety.
With the Sentinel crisis drawing closer by the day, a material like vibranium appearing before them right now was like aid arriving in a snowstorm. Against Sentinel robots, it could practically be called a strategic asset.
"Sure. Later we can just have Professor X mention it to King T'Chaka and ask them to give us a few dozen tons of vibranium."
Fenris waved his hand, sounding perfectly matter-of-fact.
"Good point."
Scott nodded in full agreement, completely unaware that outside Wakanda, vibranium was traded by the gram.
"We're here!"
While Fenris and Scott chatted off and on, their speed never slowed. By the time their conversation reached that point, they had already arrived at the summit of Bashenga Mountain.
An imposing, majestic building stood quietly atop the peak, and not far from it was a passage leading straight into the mountain and deep underground.
From time to time, Wakandan aircraft swept in from the horizon and descended precisely into the enormous tunnel.
"This is the headquarters of Wakanda's scientific division. Most of their vibranium is gathered from here. If nothing unexpected happened, that meteorite should be down below."
The surging ground beneath their feet slowly settled. Fenris stood quietly before the massive structure, his emotions roiling. "And that giant Black Panther statue we saw earlier is on the mountainside below. It's one of Wakanda's landmark monuments."
"Let's go in."
Perhaps because of their dramatic arrival in Wakanda earlier, the place looked like it had been thrown into chaos. Even after Professor X's psychic suggestion, the crowds and machines moving back and forth were still busily at work.
Fenris paid no attention to the futuristic spectacle around him at all. He went straight inside the building first.
As Wakanda's scientific center, its security level was no weaker than that of the palace.
For an ordinary person to enter, they would have to pass through countless layers of defense and a bewildering array of identity checks. On top of that, the building materials were heavily infused with vibranium. For an outsider, whether infiltration or direct assault, the odds of success were effectively close to zero.
But in the Mirror Dimension, which technology could not detect at all, all of that tight security was nearly meaningless in Fenris's eyes.
He merely moved a thought, and the space around them began to churn and fold. After a dazzling series of changes, the scientific center embodying Wakanda's greatest technological achievements had completely shed its defenses before him.
"Fenris, if even Wakanda's core territory is this easy for you to come and go from, then with this magic, wouldn't you be able to go anywhere in the world?"
Scott watched Fenris walk right through the main entrance in broad daylight while everyone around remained oblivious and all those powerful devices failed to react at all. After staring for a moment, he hurried after him, full of envy.
"Earth isn't as simple as you think."
Fenris shook his head as though it were nothing worth mentioning. "This kind of spell works fine against ordinary people. But if you try using it to slip past the truly powerful, you're just asking to get yourself killed."
"I see…"
Scott blinked, only half understanding.
To him, people like Fenris, Professor X, and Magneto already stood at the very peak of power.
As for the stronger beings Fenris was talking about, Scott could not even begin to imagine them.
Fenris had no interest in explaining all that to Scott anyway. As Tony Stark continued changing, the world was growing more dangerous by the day.
The gods of myth and legend, the mighty Infinity Stones, the Celestials, Galactus… one by one, all of them would appear in time.
And the only thing he could do was keep growing stronger before that age truly arrived, until he became powerful enough to protect himself and the people around him.
"Wakanda's technology may rely too heavily on vibranium, but it definitely has things worth taking."
Following the route Fenris carved through the space ahead of them, the two of them kept descending.
Along the way, as he looked at all the advanced technology around them, Fenris rubbed his chin, already thinking about bringing Hank here sometime.
The goal was simple: strip this place of all its technological成果, digest what was useful, and make it his own.
"Fenris?"
As the leader of the X-Men, Scott was staring at all the impressive equipment around him too, practically drooling.
With technology like this, the X-Men's strength could rise by several more levels.
"Mm."
Meeting Scott's hopeful gaze, Fenris nodded, giving him a definite answer.
"That's fantastic!"
Scott's eyes lit up.
"Hm?"
Their pace was getting faster and faster, but halfway down, Fenris suddenly let out a soft sound of surprise. "Scott, wait here for me a moment. I'll be right back."
"Huh?"
Scott froze for a second. Before he could react, Fenris vanished from sight.
With nothing else to do, Scott could only stand there and wait.
Fortunately, Fenris did not make him wait long. Soon, Scott saw him reappear carrying several strange plants that glowed with a soft, luminous light.
"What's that?"
Scott reached out curiously and touched the flowers. They felt smooth, and a faint fragrance clung to them.
But aside from glowing, they did not seem particularly special.
"These aren't just flowers. They're called Heart-Shaped Herbs. They're sacred plants only Wakanda's kings have ever been allowed to use."
Fenris carefully stored the Heart-Shaped Herbs away before explaining, "After consuming one, the user gains physical abilities, strength, agility, and endurance far beyond normal people. That's the real reason the Black Panther is called Wakanda's protector."
"Physical abilities far beyond normal people?"
At those words, Scott's eyes widened instantly, and bright red light flared behind his ruby-quartz visor. Fenris thought for a second Scott's power was about to spiral out of control again and instinctively stepped back.
"Fenris, you absolutely have to save one Heart-Shaped Herb for me."
Scott's voice was trembling slightly as he spoke.
His power truly was strong, and its destructive force was terrifying. Under the sustained impact of Cyclops's energy blasts, even something like a Sentinel robot would struggle to withstand that kind of firepower.
But his weakness was just as obvious. Restricted by the frailty of his own body, forget someone like Fenris - even a close-range fighter like Toad from the Brotherhood could easily take him down once he got in close.
Scott had been troubled by that weakness for years.
But the appearance of the Heart-Shaped Herb and vibranium was like a stimulant shot straight into his heart. These two things could almost perfectly make up for his shortcomings, leaving him with no real vulnerabilities left in battle.
"Don't worry. Everyone will get one."
Fenris patted Scott on the shoulder.
The Heart-Shaped Herb would do almost nothing for him. But for the other X-Men, it was enormously valuable.
Whether it was Ororo, or people like Bobby and Pyro, they were all fragile glass cannons.
The Heart-Shaped Herb could turn them into real warriors, so that when they faced Sentinel robots in the future, they would not be completely helpless.
"Though after taking it, they might see the previous Black Panthers. Maybe even Wakanda's Panther God too…"
Fenris muttered under his breath.
"What?"
Scott was too caught up in his own excitement to hear him clearly.
"Nothing."
Fenris smiled. "Just an old legend. You can treat it like I'm making things up."
With that, the two of them set off again.
As they continued downward, they completely left the scientific center's area behind and entered an enormous tunnel that seemed to descend without end.
Tracks spread out in every direction underground. Trains loaded with vibranium ore raced overhead, and from time to time a flying craft swept past the two of them, following the passage deeper underground.
"There's vibranium everywhere here…"
Fenris looked around. The vague resonance came from all directions, but one pull among them stood out with striking clarity.
The surroundings gradually darkened, yet soft blue light began glowing from the rock walls on every side, faintly outlining an immense shadow in the depths below.
"The meteorite core… that's it!"
The instant he saw that shadow, Fenris's heart began pounding violently.
At the same time, deep within his consciousness, the Titan Index started trembling fiercely, as if some mysterious voice were urgently driving him to touch that enormous vibranium core.
"Scott, it's dangerous down there. Wait here for a bit."
After a quick warning, Fenris instantly turned into a blur and vanished from Scott's sight.
Scott watched him disappear again and frowned.
Crack-
Just as he was about to crouch down and rest for a moment, a sharp sound like glass breaking suddenly rang out. The crisp fracture made his whole body jolt instinctively.
"The Mirror Dimension… disappeared?"
(End of Chapter)
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