Tony poured two drinks, setting one in front of T'Challa. He leaned back in his chair, watching as the Wakandan king placed a round bead on the table. The bead pulsed for a moment before glowing with a soft, rhythmic hum. A holographic screen sprang to life, projecting a detailed map of Wakanda. T'Challa's fingers danced over the controls, zooming in on the fields and villages affected by the disaster.
The screen shifted to a series of images that showed dry, cracked earth where once-thriving crops had flourished. Images of livestock, weak and dying in agony, writhing as if under some invisible torment. There were shots of people too, their faces gaunt, hollow-eyed from hunger and deprivation. The water sources, usually abundant, were nothing more than arid beds of dirt.
T'Challa's voice was heavy with the weight of his people's suffering. "Our land is dying, Tony. Our livestock are suffering from excruciating pain before they perish. Water supplies are running low, and my people are starving. I have tried everything—our technology, our resources—but nothing seems to reverse it. We need help."
Tony took a sip of his drink, scanning the hologram with a furrowed brow. He knew who was behind the disaster. "It's the work of one of the Horsemen of Apocalypse."
T'Challa blinked, then leaned in slightly. "Is this Horseman similar to the Plague mutant you dealt with a few weeks ago?"
Tony set his drink down, leaning back in his chair.
"Yeah. Similar, but worse."
He gestured at the hologram showing the dead animals and ravaged lands.
"This one's called Famine. And as her name implies, she causes... Well... famine. She feeds off life force. Everything she touches withers away. She turns organic matter into dust. And not in a 'snap your fingers and it's gone' kind of way, no, she makes it painful. She induces hunger, pain, and suffering until the very life force is sucked dry. Just like those animals."
Tony paused, taking a breath. "And it's not just physical. The mental and emotional toll she causes can drive people mad with hunger, with need. It's... brutal."
T'Challa absorbed Tony's words, his jaw tightening with resolve. "Then I must stop her. Will you help us?"
"Yup! This happens to be the kind of nightmare I specialize in. Also because if we let her keep feasting, she will eventually move on to the rest of the continent. Then the planet. I prefer not to watch Earth become an all you can eat buffet."
T'Challa nodded once. "What do you need from me?"
Tony stood up. "I'm gonna use my orbital scanners to find her location. And I'll need you to tell Shuri not to block me because lives are at stake."
"You know Shuri?" T'Challa asked.
"Oh yeah. She tried to hack into my network many times to steal data, but failed miserably. Please, tell her not to do that anymore, because it's annoying and not funny. I respected your boundaries and never tried to hack or intrude. So, I expect you to do the same. Next time I see another hacking attempt." Tony smiled. "I'll destroy the entire security system and all the satellites of Wakanda."
He extended his hand toward T'Challa.
"Deal?"
T'Challa shook his hand with a nod. "Deal."
...
[Surveillance room] [30 minutes later]
Tony leaned forward over the console, fingers moving quickly across the interface as the orbital feed sharpened into clarity. With Wakanda's security protocols out of the way, the satellites swept the landscape in seconds.
Then the scanners hit on something around the deep mountain area.
"Celestial technology detected. Stealth device," Hermes reported after the scan. "Reverse hacking completed. Stealth device down."
Tony has already upgraded all his AIs with the new data on the Celestial technology, thanks to the nanites in Apocalypse's base. It was limited, but enough for him to create some countermeasures.
He zoomed in. The image became clear until the figure was impossible to miss.
A skeletal woman lay half-buried in the cracked soil. Her limbs looked like twigs wrapped in parchment. Her ribs pressed against skin that seemed ready to tear. Her hair hung in matted strands, and her eyes glowed red. Her fingers were dug deep into the earth as if she were drinking the land itself.
Her body pulsed with an eerie ripple each time she drained more life from the ground.
Tony tapped the screen. "There she is. And she looks even worse than what I imagined."
T'Challa narrowed his eyes, "Celestial technology?"
Tony zoomed in. "Yeah. Apocalypse gave her that. No wonder you didn't find her. And don't ask how my tech can detect her."
The ground around Famine was cracked like baked clay. Plants near her had crumbled into powder. Even the air shimmered with heat and decay.
"Do not send any human near her..." Tony said firmly. "...unless you want them to drop dead from starvation or have their life force ripped out like a juice box."
T'Challa was already raising his Kimoyo bead to his mouth. "Shuri. Deploy the aerial strike drones. Full containment. Target is the source of the famine."
Shuri's voice crackled through the bead. "Brother, is Stark with you?"
Tony sighed and muttered, "Of course she asks that first."
T'Challa replied, "He is. Do as I say."
There was a beat of silence. Then Shuri's professional tone took over. "Understood. Drones launching now. ETA three minutes."
The feed zoomed out and switched to a multi-angle display of the incoming Wakandan drones. Each drone glowed with blue energy as they streaked toward Famine's location.
Within minutes...
The drones reached her position. They hovered above the dying field, weapons shifting into attack mode as they surrounded her. Another group of drones formed a containment shield around the area to prevent surprise teleport or outside intervention.
Tony folded his arms. "Alright. Showtime."
Famine lifted her head slowly. Her eyes flared brighter. The ground around her cracked even further. A shockwave rolled outward from her body. But sadly, there was no organic life there for her to suck on.
"AAARRRGGG!!!" A shrill cry came out of her mouth as her skin cracked and blood gushed out of her eyes and nose. The thing is, when she uses her power on something other than organic matter, it backfires and she loses a portion of her life force. And right now, she just felt an intense pain.
The drones attacked.
Energy blasts hit the ground, causing a cloud of dust to rise. Shockwaves spread across the area. For a brief moment, the soil glowed bright blue before turning dark again.
Tony leaned in. "Keep it going. Do not stop until she is ash."
More explosions occurred.
The drones changed angles and fired repeatedly until the area became a molten pit.
The smoke cleared slowly.
The satellite zoomed in.
There was nothing but fire and a huge crater.
Famine was gone.
Shuri's voice came through. "Target neutralized.
Tony exhaled. "Good. Another Horseman down."
T'Challa placed his hands on the console and closed his eyes for a moment, the weight of the last few weeks finally shifting.
"It is done," he said. "Thank you. You have saved thousands of lives."
Tony nodded, eyes still on the screen. "That was the easy part. Fixing the land she drained is going to be harder."
"With Famine gone, our technology should be enough to bring the lands back to life again. It'll be hard, but not impossible," T'Challa replied.
Tony straightened, giving T'Challa a firm look. "And next time a Horseman shows up eating your crops, try calling me before half the country turns into a sandpit."
T'Challa allowed himself a faint smile. "I will keep that in mind. And what about Apocalypse?"
Before Tony could explain his plan...
His comm beeped urgently. He glanced at the screen where Hermes had already begun flashing red emergency alerts.
"Hermes, what's going on?" Tony asked.
The AI reported, "Boss, Doom and his Superior Avengers have found Apocalypse's location. They are attacking him right now. The two Horsemen who were in Russia have used portals and returned to their base."
Tony's mind went into overdrive. He processed the information in seconds, the cold reality of the situation settling in. Doom and the Superior Avengers were strong opponents, but Apocalypse was no joke either. A direct clash between them meant someone was going to die, and the victor would likely be so weakened that they'd be easy pickings.
Tony didn't waste time. His hands flew across the console as he activated an emergency beacon, sending out a signal to the Ultimates. This is it. Two threats are going to end today.
"Tony?" T'Challa's voice pulled him back from his thoughts. "What's happening?"
Tony turned to face him. He looked serious. "Doom and his team have found Apocalypse. They're fighting as we speak. Either Doom or Apocalypse is going to die in this fight, but whichever one survives will be too weak to pose a serious threat."
T'Challa's brow furrowed. "And you plan to finish the job?"
"Exactly," Tony replied. "When they're done tearing each other apart, we'll swoop in and finish off the weakened survivor. This is our best chance to eliminate both of them in one go."
"Who is this Doom?" T'Challa asked.
"Doom... Well, he's insanely strong and a master of magic and technology. He travelled to other realities and made a team of superpowered beings. Now, he is here on Earth, going after Apocalypse. We don't know his motive for coming back or why he's going after Apocalypse. So, we are treating him as the highest-level threat." Tony explained before asking.
"You in? Though I got everything under control, an extra hand is always welcome in case things go wrong."
---[Spoilers. Upcoming chs names. Click to read.]---[1]
..[POWERSTONES AND REVIEWS]...
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[1] Ch: 197 [Apocalypse vs Doom Pt 1] Ch: 198 [Apocalypse vs Doom pt 2/2] Ch: 199 [Checkmate] [Vol: 5 END] [Ironman] Ch: 200 [The Ultimates vs The Superior Avengers] [Vol: 6] [Ironman] Ch: 201 [A new era has begun...] Ch: 202 [Exploding date with Yelena and new harem is on the way...] Ch: 203 [Terraforming Mars] Ch: 204 [The White Queen’s Mercy]