The course of the war took an unexpected turn...
Within less than a week of stationing troops at the border, the U.S. military launched several attacks against Wakanda, only to achieve dismal, if not outright disastrous, results.
Wakanda's territorial size was modest, and the combined forces of its tribes amounted to fewer than 100 000 warriors. Yet, as a long-isolated nation blessed with abundant natural resources and sustained peace, its economy was extraordinarily prosperous.
More crucially, through its vibranium-based technology, Wakanda had produced and stockpiled vast quantities of advanced weaponry, rendering its latent military strength far beyond the Pentagon's initial estimates.
In the original timeline, after defeating T'Challa, the Black Panther, Killmonger had sought to distribute weapons to black communities worldwide, aiming to ignite a sweeping revolution and establish a new era of dominance.
This alone demonstrated that Wakanda's military prowess was anything but weak. Armed with self-manufactured vibranium weapons and an array of mind-bending black technology, the nation was fully capable of going toe-to-toe with any global power.
And now, the self-proclaimed 'world police', ever eager to stir conflict, had slammed headfirst into an impenetrable wall...
In the initial skirmishes, General Mattis first employed symbolic airstrikes; intermittent missile barrages and large-scale bombardments. Such tactics were typically devastating against smaller nations and were expected to shatter the Wakandan monarchy's morale and pave the way for subsequent operations.
Yet, to his shock, Wakanda's formidable defense network rendered large-scale aerial bombardments ineffective. From the war's outset, the border tribes had tightened their defenses. Their armored vehicles and artillery, largely constructed from vibranium alloys, proved exceptionally difficult to destroy, rendering the airstrikes nearly futile.
Worse still, the U.S. military soon discovered that those "primitive" tribesmen adorned in war paint and animal pelts had even mixed vibranium ore particles into the concrete of their fortifications.
While the rest of the world scrambled to acquire mere grams of vibranium at exorbitant costs, this so-called "third-world country" was squandering it with obscene extravagance. When General Mattis received this report, his eyes burned... not with grief, but with the flames of insatiable greed.
Thus, the Pentagon resolved to commit more troops. But when ground operations commenced, Mattis' worldview shattered once more. The border tribe warriors, which were clad in vibranium-weave capes and mounted on genetically enhanced war rhinos, effortlessly crushed American soldiers. Even tanks and heavy artillery failed to breach Wakanda's defenses, resulting in further catastrophic losses.
After two humiliating defeats, Mattis realized that unless the war escalated with authorization to deploy weapons of greater destructive power, conquering Wakanda within sixty days would be an impossible task...
That very night, King T'Chaka led the Dora Milaje across the border. Utilizing stealth technology to evade radar and outposts, they launched a nighttime raid on the frontline command center.
Though age had slowed the once-lethal Black Panther, his consumption of the Heart-Shaped Herb and the blessings of Bast still granted him superhuman strength.
Under his command, the elite all-female guard devastated the forward-deployed U.S. troops, nearly capturing General Mattis himself. Only the timely intervention of the mutant contingent salvaged the situation, forcing the Wakandans to retreat.
Of course, the Brotherhood and John's forces had tacitly agreed to hold back. Their flashy displays of pyrokinetic and cryogenic powers were little more than theatrics, a performance to mask their inaction.
Mattis was doomed to return home in disgrace. Only then would S.H.I.E.L.D. step in to 'clean up the mess' and divide the spoils.
That's when the true power play would begin...
...
A month later, the U.S. military had failed to advance a single inch into Wakandan territory...
Half of the sixty-day campaign had elapsed, with Mattis achieving nothing beyond mounting casualties and dwindling supplies.
"Damn these apes!" The general lowered his binoculars, seething with frustration.
Never had he imagined suffering such a crushing defeat... at the hands of 'savages' wielding primitive weapons no less!
'No wonder Thaddeus had refused to spearhead this operation. The old fox must have known something.' Mattis sighed.
Wakanda was indeed an indigestible bone. For all his experience and tactical brilliance, who could have predicted that America's modern elite forces would meet their ruin here?
"Who can turn the tide now?"
As he signed the command transfer documents, Mattis couldn't help but wonder... Could even S.H.I.E.L.D. break through Wakanda's defenses?
....
~Fifth Avenue, Manhattan – Private Club~
"Mattis failed to read the tides. Anyone with clarity knows that the paradigm of warfare shifted the moment Captain America stepped onto the battlefield." General Ross puffed on a thick cigar, smoke curling around him as he dissected his rival's failure.
Across from him, a young man sipped his drink, listening intently.
Ross took a deep drag before continuing, "War is no longer about soldiers trading bullets in trenches, where courage and casualties decide the outcome! Victory belongs to those with stronger warriors, superior equipment, and more advanced technology... those who can breach enemy lines first!"
Mattis had been set up as the sacrificial pawn. He was expendable, the moment things went south.
"Exactly. Those fools see only profit. They thought Wakanda was like some 20th-century African backwater, that they could blast open its doors with cannons and plunder its endless vibranium veins. They don't understand what we truly want." Sean nodded along, omitting the fact that he had deliberately withheld critical intelligence, allowing certain factions to charge blindly ahead.
Greed had blinded them to the truth; no one could monopolize a prize this vast.
"We don't care about profit, only power." The young man said firmly, his demeanor exuding authority, "America can't swallow Wakanda whole. We must learn to share, to trade our spoils for influence, to appease the World Security Council, to rewrite the rules… and in doing so, seize greater power."
"Indeed. Now, sit back and watch us perform. Oh, and thank you for that little gift, Sean." Ross said in high spirits.
The Pentagon had already recalled Mattis. With half the operation's timeframe remaining, results were non-negotiable.
Should this war end in failure, America's global prestige, its astronomical military expenditures; all of it would become a noose around the Eagle's neck, tightening by the day.
Sean said, "Think nothing of it, General. Homo superior is the future. Umbrella's 'Fountain of Youth' was specially developed for men like you. It can slow aging, and enhance vitality. And the dose you received? It's a flawless masterpiece."
Ross flexed his hand, marveling at the youthful vigor coursing through his once-declining body. The man in his fifties now moved with the vitality of a man half his age.
"To think I'd one day possess strength like Banner's!" He smugglyy stroked his beard.
"To the nation's future!"
"To our future."
Their glasses clinked, each toasting to a different vision...