Throne Room
T'Challa launched himself forward, closing the distance. His strike at M'Baku's throat was blocked by a massive forearm.
M'Baku countered with a sweeping blow that would have shattered normal men.
T'Challa ducked and struck at his ribs. His claws drew first blood.
M'Baku raised his hands, palms upward, and closed his eyes. White energy began to swirl around his massive frame.
Meanwhile, Steve found himself surrounded by Dora Milaje.
They attacked from all directions. Steve's shield deflected the first two spears and avoided a third. He caught the shaft of a fourth before pulling its wielder off-balance. His boot struck her midsection.
T'Challa barely dodged M'Baku's first punch. The second caught him on the shoulder. Pain exploded through his body as he staggered backward.
"The panther god is weak," M'Baku taunted. "Just as your father was weak."
T'Challa felt energy surging in response to the challenge. "Do not speak of them that way!"
M'Baku rushed forward. T'Challa met the charge head-on, ducking beneath a haymaker to deliver a series of rapid strikes to M'Baku's torso. M'Baku merely grunted.
His massive hand caught T'Challa by the throat before lifting the prince off the ground. "Your father died on his knees," M'Baku sneered. "How fitting that you will join him."
T'Challa clawed at the hand that was crushing his windpipe. His vision was beginning to blur. Drawing on Bast's power, T'Challa slammed both feet into M'Baku's chest. The grip broke, and T'Challa tumbled to the floor, gasping for air.
M'Baku recovered quickly and charged again.
T'Challa sidestepped the first blow as the second hit his forearm. The impact drove him to one knee. The third uppercut punch caught T'Challa squarely under the chin. The force launched him upward, his body crashing through the ceiling of the throne room.
M'Baku laughed. "It seems that the cub flees again!" He crouched and then leapt upward through the hole T'Challa's body had created.
"T'Challa!" Steve called out, smashing his shield into a Dora Milaje's midsection. The woman fell back.
Two more guards advanced on him, spears aimed at his chest.
Steve knocked one aside with his shield and caught the shaft of the other. With a twist, he pulled the weapon from the guard's grasp, snapped it over his knee, and tossed the pieces aside.
Steve knocked another guard unconscious with another blow. As much as he wanted to follow right now, he had his part to play.
Wakandan Plains
The drones opened fire, forcing Thor and Swampfire to separate. Thor spun Mjolnir to create a shield against the energy blasts. At the same time, he summoned lightning from the gathering storm clouds. Bolts of electricity struck several drones, making them crash to the ground.
Swampfire rolled behind cover, then thrust both hands into the earth. Moments later, massive vines erupted from the ground, snaring the drones. The machines were firing wildly as they were immobilized.
"Ha! I have not seen such feats since my journey in Idunn's gardens!" Thor smashed another drone with a hammer throw.
"Thanks," Swampfire dodged more energy blasts.
Two remaining rhinos charged from opposite directions toward Swampfire.
Swampfire stood his ground and outstretched his hands. When they got close, he released a thick cloud of concentrated methane, engulfing them.
The cyborg rhinos slowed as the pungent gas entered their lungs before passing out.
Swampfire approached the first and patted its hide. "You'll wake up when this is over, big guy."
More Wakandan warriors appeared at the jungle's edge, these armed with more substantial energy weapons as they formed a firing line.
"How long must we keep them occupied?" Thor deflected another barrage of energy blasts.
"Until we get a sign from the others, I guess." Swampfire shot more sticky mud to trap advancing warriors. "How long is T'Challa gonna take to win his fancy duel?"
"A battle between gods will not end easily."
The remaining VTOL craft circled back, targeting their position. Simultaneously, the infantry began a coordinated advance, firing in controlled bursts to limit Thor and Swampfire's mobility.
Swampfire turned to see a missile streaking directly toward him. He didn't bother to dodge and crossed his arms as the projectile struck him dead center. The explosion tore him apart once more, sending flaming chunks of plant matter in all directions.
Thor summoned a massive lightning strike that disabled the VTOL and forced it to emergency land.
Among the scattered remains of Swampfire, vines snaked out from each fragment, pulling the pieces together. Within seconds, Swampfire stood whole again, looking slightly annoyed. "Okay, time to try something else."
He slammed his palms into the ground. The entire battlefield began to tremble as massive roots erupted from beneath the soil. A barricade formed between them and the advancing Wakandan forces. For now, the land-based forces would be delayed.
Thor landed beside him. "An interesting strategy."
"Just keep stalling them," Swampfire admitted. "Granted, these guys have tech that could probably…"
Then the earth beneath them trembled.
A violent shudder knocked several Wakandan soldiers to the ground. The root wall swayed dangerously. Birds erupted from the canopy in pani. The trembling intensified with a resonant hum.
"Earthquake?" Swampfire guessed..
Thor's expression darkened. "Nay. Look!"
Both heroes and Wakandan forces looked to the distant mountain, the Vibranium Mound.
Purple energy tendrils began to spread across the mountain's surface.
Swampfire narrowed his eyes. "That… was not supposed to happen."
The Wakandan forces lowered their weapons.
Before Thor could respond, a tremendous boom echoed from the direction of the royal palace. All eyes turned to witness a black-clad figure being catapulted through the air as he arced over the city and crashed into the coliseum.
"T'Challa!" Thor recognized their ally.
Simultaneously, more tremors shook the ground as additional energy tendrils erupted from the Vibranium Mound.
Thor and Swampfire exchanged glances. The Wakandan forces, momentarily forgotten, were regrouping, but their attention was divided between the intruders and the disturbing phenomena at the sacred mountain.
Thor hummed. "The Black Panther needs aid, and whatever transpires at the Vibranium Mound threatens the other Avengers."
Swampfire nodded. "Divide and conquer?"
"Indeed. I shall ensure the rightful king of Wakanda is given in his trial by combat." Thor swung Mjolnir. "You must aid our comrades at the mountain."
"Iron Man, Hulk, Ant-Man, and Wasp should already be there," Swampfire recalled their mission assignments. "Seems they could use backup."
Another tremor shook the ground, stronger than before. In the distance, a plume of purple energy erupted from the top of the Vibranium Mound. More and more vibranium seemed to be reacting.
"Whatever Hydra has done with the vibranium, it appears most unwise," Thor observed.
"I'm not surprised." Green light enveloped him as his form shifted and changed back into Big Chill.
"Fly swiftly, Ben Tennyson," Thor said, raising Mjolnir to the sky. "The fate of Wakanda may rest upon our actions this day."
Lightning crackled down from the gathering storm clouds, enveloping Thor.
Big Chill spread his wings. "Good luck, Thor."
He turned toward the pulsing mountain, its unnatural energy growing more volatile by the second. "Hang on, guys," Big Chill muttered. "Reinforcements are on the way."
The Vibranium Mound
Wasp spiraled through the air as a crackling tendril of purple energy sliced past her. The energy whip carved a molten gash in the rock behind her. "Too slow!" she taunted, banking sharply to dodge again.
The thing before her bore little resemblance to the man once known as Ulysses Klaw. He was now a towering humanoid figure composed entirely of visible sound waves.
Hulk launched himself directly at Klaw. "HULK SMASH SOUND MAN!" His massive fists plunged straight through Klaw's wavering form before the sound waves simply reconstituted around and behind him. Hulk tumbled into the rock wall.
"Puny beast," Klaw's distorted voice mocked, "cannot touch what isn't solid!"
Hulk ripped a boulder from the ground and hurled it at Klaw. It simply passed through harmlessly before disintegrating due to sound waves. A part of Hulk knew it wasn't working, but another part of him hoped that he just had to punch harder for it to work.
Iron Man streaked overhead, repulsors flaring as he fired a sustained beam at Klaw's fluctuating form. "JARVIS, analyze composition and find a frequency that can disrupt his cohesion!"
"Analyzing, sir," the AI responded. "His form appears to be pure sonic energy enhanced by the surrounding vibranium. Conventional attacks are ineffective." Once more, the repulsor beams failed to cause lasting damage.
The villain's massive hand swatted at Iron Man. "Your technology is impressive, Stark!" Klaw's voice boomed. "But sound travels through metal quite effectively!" He sent a sonic attack at Iron Man. The vibrations instantly transfer through the metal shell.
Inside the suit, Tony cried out as the harmonics threatened to shake his armor apart from within. Warning lights flashed across his HUD as systems began to fail. "Sonic...dampeners...failing!" Tony grunted, fighting to maintain control as he spiraled toward the ground.
At that moment, a tremendous explosion rocked the far side of the cavern. A reinforced metal door blasted outward. Through the smoke emerged a battalion of hulking mechanical figures.
"Hulkbusters?" Tony gasped, recognizing the machines.
The automated units deployed in formation, scanning the battlefield before locking onto the Avengers. A barrage of energy blasts erupted toward both the heroes and Klaw.
Hulk's eyes widened as a new wave of rage washed over him. "STARK!" The gamma-powered behemoth's attention split between Klaw and the mechanical giants that had been specifically designed to fight him.
Tony pulled up from his spiral just before hitting the ground. "It wasn't me! I mean, it was, but not like this!" He barrel-rolled to avoid a concentrated energy blast from the lead Hulkbuster. "I only sold the designs to the U.S. military!"
"STARK MAKE METAL MEN TO HURT HULK!"
"Hydra must have stolen them!" Tony countered, firing repulsors at one of the Hulkbusters. "Either the designs or the actual units. I'm not exactly on Hydra's Christmas card list, you know!"
Hulk's only response was to charge toward the nearest Hulkbuster.
"They're trying to kill all of us." Wasp weaved between energy blasts as she fired her own stingers at vulnerable joints in the Hulkbusters' armor. "Including their own ally!"
Tony executed a sharp turn, narrowly avoiding another sonic attack from Klaw while simultaneously blasting a Hulkbuster's sensor array. "JARVIS, analyze Hulkbuster attack patterns. They're running on automated systems; there must be a vulnerability we can exploit."
"Sir, I detect a central command frequency. If disrupted, it may cause system failures across all units," JARVIS responded.
Meanwhile, Hulk reached the first Hulkbuster and dented the reinforced armor despite its specialized anti-Hulk design. "HULK HATE METAL MEN!" he bellowed, tearing an arm free and using it to batter the machine's chest plate.
The Hulkbuster responded with a chemical spray designed to calm the Hulk's gamma-enhanced physiology. Hulk merely roared louder, the attempted sedation only fueling his rage.
"Banner, we've got bigger problems!" Tony called out, narrowly dodging another of Klaw's attacks while simultaneously firing at a Hulkbuster targeting Wasp. "Focus on the sound-wave guy and the robots trying to kill us, then you can punch me later!"
Hulk grunted, seeming to process this logic through his rage. With a final devastating blow, he caved in the Hulkbuster's chest and turned his attention back to Klaw.
"TWO ENEMIES. HULK STILL STRONGEST!" He charged toward Klaw while Tony engaged the remaining Hulkbusters.
Meanwhile, a tiny figure leapt from one piece of debris to another, approaching Klaw unnoticed. Ant-Man, reduced to insect size, bounded closer to the sound monster. "If I can just get to the source of his projection," Hank muttered to himself, ducking as a chunk of mountain disintegrated above him. The sound waves emanating from Klaw made movement difficult.
Across the cavern, Hulk was tearing through Hulkbusters with methodical fury. He ripped the leg off one machine and used it to batter another, the reinforced metal crumpling under his strength. "HULK BREAK STARK'S TOYS!"
"They're not my toys," Tony called back, executing a precision strike that disabled a Hulkbuster's targeting systems. "And for the record, I specifically designed these with non-lethal containment in mind!" He dodged a barrage of energy blasts, his armor's systems struggling to maintain power distribution.
A Hulkbuster deployed a specialized energy net, ensnaring Hulk's massive form. The green giant roared as electric pulses designed to sap his strength coursed through the mesh. For a moment, Hulk staggered.
"STARK!" he bellowed, muscles straining against the restraints.
"Not me!" Tony insisted, firing repulsors at the Hulkbuster controlling the net. "Hydra! Hate Hydra!"
Hulk's eyes narrowed, rage building. With a final tremendous effort, he flexed, muscles bulging as the specialized net began to tear. "HULK... STRONGEST... THERE... IS!" The net exploded outward as Hulk broke free.
Iron Man executed a mid-air spin, targeting the command modules of two approaching Hulkbusters. "JARVIS, hit them with the override frequency!"
"Transmitting, sir," the AI responded. "Partial effect detected. It appears Hydra has modified the original command architecture."
Two Hulkbusters stumbled, their movements momentarily uncoordinated, but quickly reset and continued their advance. Tony cursed under his breath.
"Plan B it is." He fired a miniature missile from his shoulder mount. It struck the lead Hulkbuster's knee joint, exploding with precision. The massive machine toppled forward.
Wasp darted in close, unleashing a barrage of bio-electric stingers directly at what passed for Klaw's face. The yellow energy bursts passed through his sound-form body, causing momentary ripples. "Seriously?" she muttered, dodging backward as a massive sound-construct hand swiped at her.
Hulk grabbed a fallen Hulkbuster and hurled it directly at three others. The machines collided with a deafening crash. "HULK HATE HYDRA!"
"That's right!" Tony dove to avoid a concentrated energy blast. He banked sharply, leading two Hulkbusters on a collision course. At the last second, he pulled up, thrusters at maximum. The machines crashed into each other.
Klaw's laughter reverberated, shattering nearby rock formations. "Sting, sting, bug, sting!" His voice boomed across the battlefield. "Bugs get crushed!"
The transformed villain's form swelled larger, sound waves and vibranium feeding off each other in a dangerous cycle. Fifty feet tall now, Klaw's sound body pulsed with increasing intensity. He raised both arms skyward and released a terrifying wave of omnidirectional sound energy that rippled outward.
The shockwave caught Iron Man mid-flight. Warning lights flashed across his HUD as his stabilizers failed, sending him tumbling toward a Hulkbuster that immediately locked onto the falling hero. "Not good, not good!"
Hulk intercepted the machine before it could fire, driving his shoulder into its midsection with enough force to dent the reinforced plating. "METAL MEN WEAK!" he declared, ripping its weapon arm free.
Ant-Man was caught in the blast, the sound waves flinging his tiny form backward. He collided with a rock face, groaning as he returned to human size.
The purple shockwave energized every trace of vibranium in the surrounding area. Embedded ore in the mountainside began to glow and hum in resonance, amplifying Klaw's power further. The very ground beneath them trembled as the sacred Vibranium Mound responded to his call.
When they could, the heroes retreated to a safe distance.
Hank pointed to a faint glimmer at the center of Klaw's massive form. "I saw Klaw transform. I can't explain it, but his sound form is somehow being projected from his sonic emitter. And we can contain it with the same thing that created it, vibranium."
He turned to watch Wasp execute a perfect barrel roll to avoid being caught in Klaw's grasp. "Jan, you keep Klaw busy. Tony and I have work to do."
"Sure thing!" Wasp called back, voice deliberately cheerful despite the danger. "I'll just play tag with the giant sound monster. No problem!"
She accelerated directly toward Klaw's face, firing a continuous stream of stingers that, while ineffective, successfully held his attention. Each blast caused just enough disruption to his form to irritate him.
"You should have given up when you had the chance!" She weaved through his attempts to swat her. "Because now that you're a giant, 50-foot-tall energy thing, you're going down. We might have let you slide before."
Klaw's sound-form face contorted with rage, emitting a low, building growl that caused nearby windows to vibrate ominously.
Wasp smirked, executing a perfect loop around his head. "No, you're right. We wouldn't have."
Hulk was now hurling anything he could find at Klaw, each projectile disintegrating harmlessly.
Klaw's patience finally snapped when Wasp fired her stingers across his face again. "Enough! ENOUGH!" he roared, the force of his voice alone creating localized shock waves. "Your wings make sound, an annoying sound. Sound is vibration. Sound pressure! PRESSURE!"
He spread his massive arms wide, focusing his energy. The air around Wasp began to compress as Klaw manipulated sound waves to create a crushing field of pure pressure.
Wasp cried out as the invisible force caught her mid-flight, her wings suddenly unable to cut through the densified air. She tumbled, fighting to maintain control as Klaw's laughter physically pummeled her tiny form.
Hulk leapt to reach Wasp, but Klaw easily redirected a sonic blast that sent the green behemoth crashing.
Three more Hulkbusters surrounded Hulk, deploying a new version of the containment field. This one generated a gravitational force that even his incredible strength struggled against. The green giant roared in defiance, muscles straining as the field attempted to force him to his knees.
"They redesigned... the containment... field?" Tony gasped, struggling to recalibrate his systems while evading another Hulkbuster.
Hulk managed to raise one foot against the crushing gravitational force.
Tony targeted the field generators on the nearest Hulkbuster, his repulsor beam striking with surgical precision. The field flickered momentarily, enough for Hulk to surge forward and smash the machine's control center.
Hulk emerged from the rubble, ears bleeding from the sonic assault. He shook his massive head, rage building. "TOO LOUD!" he bellowed, charging again despite the futility of his previous attempts.
This time, Klaw directed a concentrated sound beam at the approaching Hulk.
The green giant staggered as the sonic attack hit him, driving him to his knees. The ground beneath him cracked from the pressure.
"Even your strength has limits, monster," Klaw taunted. "Sound can liquefy organs, shatter bones!"
A Hulkbuster seized the opportunity, firing its specialized restraints at the momentarily vulnerable Hulk. The bindings wrapped around his arms and legs, contracting with mechanical precision.
Iron Man spun to assist when two more machines intercepted him.
The air temperature in the cavern suddenly plummeted. A spectral blue figure phased directly through the solid mountain wall.
Big Chill emerged fully into the chamber and took in the scene. "Looks like I missed the party invitation." His compound eyes locked onto both Klaw's massive sound form and the Hulkbusters engaging his allies.
Without hesitation, Big Chill swooped toward the nearest Hulkbuster restraining Hulk. His clawed hand passed through the machine's armor as if it were mist, then solidified inside the critical power core. Absolute zero temperatures spread instantaneously from within.
The machine froze solid, a perfect ice sculpture of advanced technology. Its surface crystallized with a crackling sound as metal components became brittle under the extreme cold. Big Chill delivered a casual tap to the frozen Hulkbuster. It shattered like glass into thousands of fragments. "Cool off." Big Chill moved toward the next target.
Hulk blinked in surprise, then grinned ferally as he broke free from his remaining restraints. "BLUE GHOST FRIEND HELPS HULK!"
Big Chill froze another Hulkbuster solid. "Alien, but 'blue ghost friend' works too."
Iron Man executed a barrel roll to join them. "Nice timing, Tennyson! Any chance you could lower the temperature on Soundwave over there?" He gestured toward the still-growing Klaw.
Big Chill's compound eyes narrowed. "I thought you'd never ask." He inhaled deeply and unleashed a blast of freezing breath directly at Klaw. Unlike the other attacks that had passed harmlessly through the sound entity, the stream approaching absolute zero had an immediate effect. Where the breath touched Klaw's form, the sound waves visibly slowed, their oscillation becoming sluggish and distorted.
Klaw's movements became jerky and uncoordinated where the ice breath contacted him. The pressure field around Wasp weakened enough for her to break free, wings beating frantically as she escaped.
"What... is... happening?" Klaw's voice wavered, suddenly deeper and stretched out as the supercooled air altered the propagation of his sound waves.
From his position behind an overturned cart, Hank Pym winced as he watched the display of raw power. "Blasting him wasn't your best plan," he called to Wasp.
Iron Man descended next to Hank, visibly damaged by Klaw's attacks. The faceplate retracted. "No kidding," Tony replied dryly. "Hank, you know vibranium better than anyone else. What happened and how do we stop it? Because my armor's integrity is compromised," Tony added, showing Hank where the vibrations had caused microfractures throughout the metal. "One more direct hit like that and I'm toast."
Hank's eyes narrowed as he studied the readings on his device. "Whatever's happened to Klaw, it would appear that he's become some kind of sound form. His body is now made of pure sound."
"So we have to shut him up. How?" Tony's faceplate snapped back into place as another energy tendril lashed close.
"I have an idea, but we need an opening."
Big Chill swooped down to where Iron Man and Ant-Man had taken cover behind a fallen mining cart. "Would someone like to tell me what the hell happened here?" he asked, phasing through another sound blast that obliterated the rock wall behind him.
"Short version?" Tony grimaced, holding his damaged armor together. "Klaw plus vibranium equals giant angry sound monster that we can't touch."
"Can't touch?" Big Chill repeated, watching as Hulk's massive fist once again passed harmlessly through Klaw's form. His eyes narrowed in thought as he phased through the cart to avoid another blast. "You know what they say? It's the Sound of Music.. You can't touch music... but music can touch you..."
Wasp chuckled. "Haven't seen that film in years."
Hank looked up from his device, eyes lighting with sudden inspiration. "What you just did, the freezing. It affected him."
"Yeah, noticed that myself," Big Chill replied. "Basic physics. Cold air slows sound propagation."
"That's it!" Hank exclaimed. "That'll give us our opening. I've been analyzing his form. My initial plan was that vibranium should be able to contain the sound from Klaw's sonic emitter." His expression grew more serious. "There's just a small chance that the vibrational shockwave could cause destructive interference and then…"
"Explode?" Tony finished.
Hank nodded grimly. "Explode."
"Comforting," Big Chill remarked dryly.
"We have to get to the emitter first," Ant-Man said, pointing toward the faint shimmer at the core of Klaw's massive form. "That's the source of his projection. Iron Man can fly in and disable it." He glanced at Tony. "Depending on how we do this, it might tingle a lot."
"Tingle?" Tony repeated incredulously. "That's what we're calling having every molecule in my body vibrated at potentially lethal frequencies? 'Tingle'?"
Big Chill studied Klaw's fluctuating form. "At absolute zero, all molecular motion stops completely." He looked at Hank. "That means no vibration to carry the sound waves."
Hank's eyes widened with understanding. "Can you actually reach absolute zero?"
"Close enough to create an opening," Big Chill confirmed.
"So Iron Man flies in," Wasp said, joining the huddle, "grabs the emitter, and turns it down?"
Iron Man was wary. "I don't think my armor is rated for those kinds of temperatures."
Big Chill says that he can control where it happens. "Think of it like a tunnel. Just don't touch the wall, and you'll be fine."
"Very reassuring…"
"I can create a focal point for the cold," Big Chill explained. "But I need him to stay in one place so he can't try to escape early."
"So we need a distraction," Tony concluded, running diagnostics on what remained of his functional systems.
Hulk landed beside them. They could see the green skin bearing visible burns from sonic attacks. "HULK DISTRACT!"
"Perfect," Hank agreed. "Hulk and I will create additional distractions."
"That leaves me to dive in and grab the emitter," Tony concluded. "My armor can withstand the cold for a short duration, and I've got the precision to extract the device."
"Once you have it," Hank warned, "don't try to destroy it."
Tony nodded. "JARVIS, prepare sonic dampening protocols and reroute auxiliary power to thermal regulation."
"Already done, sir," the AI responded. "Though I must advise that armor integrity is at 63% and dropping."
"It'll have to do," Tony said grimly. "Let's all hope it doesn't explode and take half of Africa with it."
"That's the spirit," Wasp quipped.
Omnitrix DNA Entry:
Name: Big Chill
Species: Necrofriggian
Home World: Kylmyys
Powers and Abilities:
Necrofriggians have the power of cryokinesis, meaning they can influence the direction of the ice that grows from their breath and palms with extreme precision. This allows them to create simultaneous ice constructs that bend and weave through the air before solidifying. Necrofriggians can breathe a wind or beam that can reduce the temperature surrounding it to just this side of absolute zero, turn to ice constructs either mid-air or upon touching a target, or encase a target completely in ice. Their breath can also be used as a strong gust of wind without freezing anything. Necrofriggians can freeze strong adhesives using their ice breath and make them brittle. Necrofriggians are capable of firing freeze rays from their hands. They can also freeze objects and surfaces just by touching them. Necrofriggians can become intangible and pass through solid matter. They can even cause opponents and objects to freeze by phasing through them if they choose to. They can also turn themselves partially invisible by becoming intangible. Necrofriggians can fly at high speeds with their wings.
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