Chapter 24: Kamikaze
"Have you ever heard of Wakanda?" Asked Wukong as he looked back with a cheeky smile.
"What's a Wakanda?" Asked Lorna. This was the usual confusion that would come after Wukong asked her something like this. Even so, Wukong gave her a stare as if he was speaking to a stupid person.
"Wakanda isn't a 'what'. It's a country in East Africa that we'll be visiting."
"OK? What's so special about it?"
"Well, nothing. It's a small 3rd world country without much to offer." He said, dragging out the conversation.
At this point, Lorna was extremely confused. She could ask more questions but she was afraid he would reply with nonsense again.
"Is what the whole world thinks. The truth is, Wakanda is a technologically advanced and secretive nation. Wakanda is known for being the sole source of Vibranium, an incredibly valuable and versatile metal with unique properties sought out by most of the powerhouses in the world. It's the most durable metal of this world and is immune to the common threats of metal, such as corrosion and heat."
"However, its most notable property is the fact that it's able to absorb and store vast amounts of kinetic energy. It's able to withstand powerful blows and impacts without breaking or deforming, almost making it immune to damage. Hell, it's even said to have a healing factor. Because of this, people who know about it would pay millions, even billions, to get the smallest bit they can."
"Because of having access to this Vibranium, it's allowed them to make unimaginable technological leaps that no human has been able to even come close to. It allows them to hide their true country in plain sight."
"Is that why we're going there? For this valuable metal?" Asked Lorna. Truth be told, she had countless questions. Most of them were along the lines of how he knew this, but she decided to save them.
"No. I have no interest in Vibranium. The reason we're really going there is for the heart-shaped herbs."
Wukong picked up on Lorna's confusion, and before she could ask, he explained.
"Well, you do know who the Black Panther is right?"
"Yes. Isn't he that superhero who's in the Avengers? I remember him because he's really close with Ororo."
Wukong stared at her for a second, remembering that Ororo and the black panther were a couple.
"Well, anyway, the Black Panther gets his powers and abilities from this heart-shaped herb. It's cultivated deep in the royal palace where it's kept under tight surveillance. It's practically impossible to steal it."
"So how are we going to get it?"
"What do you mean? We're going to steal it." Said Wukong with a face of indifference.
"You can't be serious." She said with a look of astonishment.
"What?"
"You just said it's heavily guarded! How are we going to steal it?!"
"Well, to be honest, I haven't really thought about that part just yet." He said with a nervous chuckle.
Lorna resisted the urge to smack Wukong in the face as she continued to talk.
"No. No more of these wild card missions. We got blown up because we weren't careful enough. We need to come up with a solid plan."
"Hey, in my defence, anyone would have been caught off guard with that bald-patched guy."
Lorna ignored him and went quiet as if she was in deep thought.
Wukong thought about the future where he would consume the heart-shaped herb. While he was in the X-Mansion, he thought of ways he could become stronger. He couldn't wait to figure out the mystery behind how to acquire his powers again, therefore he had to find alternate ways to level the playing field between him and his enemies.
He wasn't a fan of seeking minimal boosts of strength, but he had no choice. He thought of multiple ways to get stronger, such as searching for a counterfeit Super Soldier Serum, but whatever he thought about came with severe side effects. While thinking about this, he thought about the CS2, a radioactive spider, the heart-shaped herb and even vampire bat DNA. These all gave him what he was looking for and they weren't as hard to get than the others he thought about.
But the cons of these outweighed the pros. For example, while the radioactive spider and bat DNA would give him the exponential growth he was looking for, the change in his physiology might interfere with his normal Monkey King abilities when he got them back. Besides, he wasn't comfortable with changing himself for minimal growth. He was a Monkey, not a spider or a bat.
It then brought the list down to the heart-shaped herb and CS2. Instantly he chose to go with CS2. In no way was he looking forward to battling the whole of Wakanda, including the Black Panther, for their national treasure in his current state. However, he did keep it for a plan B.
On his way back from the warehouse, after seeing that the CS2 was crushed to bits, he tried to think of anything else that would have given him the effect he needed. His mind thought about the Golden Sentry Serum. The Serum that Robert Reynold, aka Sentry, consumed after breaking into a laboratory. A Serum made not only as a copy of the Super Soldier Serum, but a better version, said to be one hundred thousand times better. However, this choice was practically impossible for him. That Serum was one of a kind and couldn't be recreated so easily.
Therefore, he had no choice. He had to infiltrate Wakanda.
"Alright, I think I got it. This is how we'll do it."
***
"We're getting close." Said Wukong who looked off into the distance as they soared above a dry and empty wasteland, the sun making their skin sizzle.
"Hey, what about Shield? It seems like they won't be leaving us alone anytime soon. Won't this make it easier to catch us if we're in Wakanda?" She asked, rubbing her eyes and wiping the sweat off her forehead after she had taken a small nap.
"Nope. Even Shield doesn't dare cross into Wakanda. Even if they could, they'd be decimated before they could even touch the ground. For what it's worth, we'll be safe from them while in there."
Lorna looked at him as doubts started to fill her mind. Even Shield was wary of this place. Who were they to try to attempt something like this? What's to say they'd even be able to come out of this alive?
"Alright, we're here." Lorna snapped out of her thoughts as she heard the voice of Wukong. She peeked ahead, preparing her eyes for the unfathomable sight she was about to set her eyes on. However, when she looked, she saw nothing but a few cottages and small amounts of livestock. There was nothing here.
"What do you mean? We're in the middle of nowhere." She said, expecting Wukong to have made a mistake.
"Well, that's what it looks like. The actual country is concealed. Well, anyway, it's time to initiate step one of 'Operation S.N.A.C.K.: Silly National Artifact Caper and Kleptomania'." He said with a wide grin.
"Operation Snack?" Said Lorna with an unenthusiastic face.
"Yeah, I'm kinda hungry. I hope they have something to eat at this place."
"That's not what we're calling it. We're calling it 'Operation Kamikaze'." Wukong looked at her with a face of defeat.
"Ok, I must admit that's a cool name, but we're sticking with my name. It's better and it sends a message." He said as he stood up.
"Step one, enter the country." He said as he expanded his staff and pointed it to the distance where vast mountains and nothingness could be seen.
"Ruyi, expand." As he whispered this, his staff expanded in length and width as it shot out as they waited for the staff to clear a vast distance. However, their expectations crumbled as the latter half of the staff disappeared. It looked as if it had entered a hidden area hidden amongst space. The scene of the vast mountain and sandy plain in the distance had disappeared, instead, they laid their eyes upon what looked like shattered glass in the middle of the air that the staff penetrated through.
Wukong quickly retracted his staff as they were met with a small window that presented a whole new world. Skyscrapers pierced the sky, beautiful streets outlined by the lights that twinkled like stars, ripe with people wearing peculiar clothes but equipped with unnatural amounts of tech. The result of combining tradition and technology.
It was as if they had entered a portal into a whole new world, a realm where technology danced hand in hand with nature, as evidenced by the fable-like jungle it was situated in.
The cityscape stretched as far as the eye could see, a testament to the ingenuity and brilliance of the people of Wakanda. Towering skyscrapers adorned with sleek, geometric designs stood tall, while sleek vehicles zipped through the air in a graceful ballet.
"Come on, Nimbus, full speed ahead." Said Wukong, knowing this small shattered space wasn't going to last forever.
As they darted through the opening, they instantly started to sense the hum of energy that permeated the air, the vibrant pulse of society fueled by innovation and progress. It was a sensory overload, a symphony of sights and sounds that left the two breathless. Even the air they breathed didn't seem normal. It felt pure, something they had never experienced on earth.
"Wow…" Lorna was left Speechless, uttering the only words she could.
"No time to watch, missy. They've definitely noticed us by now so it's time for step two." He said, looking down as he saw the civilians staring at the phenomenon.
"Right. But how do we get down without Nimbus?" She asked as she looked down. Before she was given an answer, she felt a tug on her waist as she was swiftly lifted into the air.
"It's simple."
As Wukong said this, Lorna gave him a dubious stare as she hoped he wasn't going to do what she thought. The words were too slow to come out of her mouth as she suddenly felt the wind violently blow in her face as Wukomg leapt off of Nimbus.
"Operation SNACK is a go!" He yelled with laughter, his voice muffled by the strong winds.
"It's Operation Kamikaze, you idiot!" Yelled Lorna between her screams.
***
Meanwhile, Agent Miller looked at a computer screen with a shocked face as she sat in front of Fury.
"Our satellites have lost track of them. It's like they've disappeared into thin air. They must want a death wish. The location they disappeared in… there's only one possible place they could've gone." She said in disbelief.
Fury scrunched his face as he thought about all the possibilities as to why, where and how, only finding a definitive answer for 'where'.
"They've entered Wakanda."
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Author's Note: Hello if you are enjoying the novel so far I would appreciate the powerstones. They really help. Alright, thank you all, Bye.
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