T'Challa watched in horror as his people, his warriors, were flash-frozen mid-charge.
Behind his Black Panther mask, his eyes blazed red with rage.
With a roar, he launched himself like a shadow toward Nolan.
Tony turned, instinctively trying to stop him. But before he could speak, a thunderous boom echoed through the air Nolan reappeared in front of T'Challa like a ghost, his hand already wrapped tightly around the Wakandan king's throat.
Effortless. Ruthless.
Nolan's voice was calm. "So you want to die? Fine. But don't think this fancy vibranium suit makes you invincible."
T'Challa's vibranium armor was indeed powerful.
Made from the rarest and strongest metal on Earth, it had allowed him just a peak human to stand on the battlefield alongside gods.
With Wakandan energy weapons and the Black Panther gear, T'Challa had survived battles that should've killed him.
But that was against others.
Vibranium was tough but not unbreakable.
Even Thanos, with his blade, had shattered Captain America's shield. Vibranium could be broken.
And Nolan had far more advanced ways to do it.
His eyes flashed twin beams of destructive energy igniting. At the same time, electromagnetic waves rippled from his core, unraveling the molecular structure of the vibranium.
He was tearing it apart on a subatomic level.
Bright light exploded from T'Challa's chest.
Then two clean, glowing holes appeared in his armor.
"ARGH!" T'Challa howled in pain.
"Nolan, stop!" Tony shouted, panicking.
Nolan didn't even glance back.
Tony donned his helmet, preparing to intervene but a figure dropped in front of him, blocking his path.
"Mr. Stark," said Max Dillon, electricity crackling across his suit. "This is between Oscorp and Wakanda."
Tony's repulsors lit up. "Get out of my way."
But Max's lightning caught the blasts midair, short-circuiting them with precision. He didn't attack—I just held the line.
Behind them, Tony tried to message the others—"Get to T'Challa!"
But no one could move. One by one, Oscorp's enhanced operatives intercepted the Avengers.
Peter Parker barely moved before being blocked.
Then Nolan snapped his fingers.
The sky flipped. The ground twisted. Up became down.
Even Peter staggered, needing a moment to recalibrate his suit and reorient his descent.
But by the time balance returned—
T'Challa's chest had been blown open.
The light faded. The damage was done.
Yet... the wound began to heal. Fast.
"You didn't expect that, did you? I took Oscorp's enhancement serum. I even got my hands on Phoenix Strain-2."
Nolan chuckled. "And you think a scientist doesn't know how to deal with his own creations?"
"I didn't hit you to kill you. I hit you to break your delusions—your belief that vibranium makes you untouchable."
Nolan's eyes glowed again this time with psychic energy.
He had once avoided using telepathy on Black Panther. He knew the heart-shaped herb connected the Panther lineage to the Bast deity. Striking through the mind might trigger divine interference.
But Bast was now frozen sealed in ice.
No god could help him now.
Nolan didn't want to control T'Challa.
A psychic shockwave exploded into T'Challa's brain.
Tony's HUD lit up with Friday's alert:
"Vital signs lost. King T'Challa is dead."
"...Dead," Tony whispered.
Steve Rogers stood in silence, eyes fixed on Nolan and the lifeless body in his grip.
Nolan showed no remorse.
He tossed T'Challa's corpse aside like it weighed nothing.
Nolan knew Wakanda still had one leader left the rumored genius mind rivaling Tony Stark.
But she couldn't be the next Black Panther now.
Should he kill her too?
He admired intelligence.
Perhaps Shuri could be useful perhaps even a worthy challenge.
He didn't want to rule a world of insects.
If she could defeat him then maybe he deserved to die.
If Shuri could kill him... then how could he ever hope to survive Thanos? Dormammu? Or the gods of the multiverse?
In the end, Shuri submitted.
Even though Wakanda's warriors, both men and trained women, had perished in the frozen winds, there were still children.
There were still elders.
There were people worth protecting.
If she refused, Nolan would slaughter them all.
She stepped forward, trembling but proud.
Her heart filled with grief and hatred.
Nolan looked at her. "I won't kill you. You're still Wakanda's steward. You can use your brain to invent whatever weapons or tools you want.
"If revenge is your goal so be it. I grant you that right. But if you fail, I kill 100 Wakandans."
"And no outside help. You bring in anyone from outside Wakanda I will erase your country from the map."
Shuri's voice shook. "You think I'll help you build weapons just so I can destroy you?"
He wasn't just offering mercy.
He wanted to use her.
He wanted her mind working overtime to uncover his flaws.
Nolan nodded. "Exactly. You'll have full access to Oscorp resources. Labs, equipment, data. Everything you need.
"Your one mission: Find a way to kill me."
Shuri stared at him, stunned.
"You're insane," she whispered. "You want to be destroyed?"
"If you can find a way to kill me… then I deserve to die."
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