T'Challa leapt lightly and returned to the roof of the car Tony was driving.
"Hey—nice move. I'm thinking of adding something like that to my own armor too."
Tony turned his head toward Lucas.
"I learned that trick from Skye. That shockwave of hers is honestly terrifying—it's basically the nemesis of physics itself."
Lucas shrugged without saying anything. After all, vibration wasn't just devastating to the human body; it was equally destructive to anything natural or technological.
"I've got another idea," Tony continued excitedly. "Since vibranium can absorb kinetic energy, doesn't that mean Skye is basically a walking power bank for vibranium armor? Honestly, she really suits you, Lucas—one vibranium charger and one uru-metal charger. Say, why don't you two come work for Stark Industries? Name your price. One job only: be my living batteries. What do you say?"
Before Tony had even finished speaking, Lucas had already drawn his ultimate weapon.
"That could work," Lucas replied calmly, "as long as you're not worried about Stark Tower disappearing."
"Hey—hey! I was joking! No need to get so serious!"
Tony immediately backed down. He knew Lucas was fully capable of that. After all, the Capitol building had once been flattened—and to this day, it still hadn't been rebuilt, with congressmen forced to work out of a nearby university.
Of course, Tony also knew Lucas was joking as well. They had that level of unspoken understanding.
---
On Nakia's side, she had already caught up to Ulysses Klaue.
"Hold tight, Okoye—I'm accelerating!"
Wakandan vehicles were in a league of their own. Klaue's driver had nearly floored the accelerator, yet not only could they not shake the pursuers, the distance was closing rapidly.
"Looks like it's time for my trump card."
Klaue rolled down the window and leaned halfway out. His prosthetic arm transformed once again into an energy cannon.
He aimed at Nakia's car and fired without hesitation.
The blue energy blast struck the vehicle dead-on. Under the impact, the car disintegrated, sending Nakia and Okoye flying through the air.
They could only watch as Klaue sped away into the distance.
At that moment, T'Challa arrived. Tony performed a stylish drift and parked perfectly in front of the two women.
"Need a ride, ladies?" Tony's voice rang out.
"He's driving?" Okoye glanced at T'Challa.
T'Challa said nothing—he clearly didn't know what to say either.
Everyone got in. T'Challa resumed his position on the roof, and Tony quickly caught up to Klaue once more.
Klaue repeated the same tactic, firing another energy blast.
This time, Tony didn't give him the chance. With a sharp drift, he dodged the shot. Using the momentum, T'Challa leapt high into the air, landed on Klaue's car—and ripped off one of its wheels.
Carried by inertia, the vehicle flew forward, hit the ground, rolled several times, and finally slammed into a utility pole before coming to a stop.
T'Challa approached the wrecked car calmly as Klaue crawled out.
"Ulysses Klaue—you will pay for what you've done."
T'Challa raised his hand, claws extending instantly.
Klaue fired the energy cannon again. T'Challa didn't dodge, taking the blast head-on. Most of the energy was absorbed by the suit, though part of the armor was damaged—but the nanotech repaired itself almost instantly.
Klaue tried to fire again, but before the energy could charge, T'Challa grabbed his arm and tore it off entirely.
Bang!
With a single kick, T'Challa sent Klaue flying.
"Murderer! Where did you get that weapon?!"
T'Challa crushed the prosthetic arm in his hand and strode toward Klaue.
"You really don't know?" Klaue shouted back. "You primitive people don't deserve weapons with this kind of power!"
T'Challa grabbed Klaue by the collar, lifting him up, claws pressed against his throat.
"Every breath you take right now is an act of mercy. But now I—"
Before he could finish—
"Your Majesty, people are watching. You can't kill him."
Okoye and Nakia hurried over to stop him.
At some point, a crowd had gathered around them. Phones were raised everywhere—photos and videos being recorded, every lens focused squarely on T'Challa.
"T'Challa, this isn't the time," Tony added. "Take Klaue and get out of here."
Wakanda was still regarded as a poor nation. If the world discovered the Black Panther and Wakanda's advanced technology, it would cause global uproar—something Wakanda could not afford.
T'Challa lowered his claws, punched Klaue unconscious, stuffed him into the trunk, and everyone got back into the car and left immediately.
"JARVIS, delete all those videos."
Tony gave the order.
JARVIS wasn't powerful enough to erase data directly from people's phones, but removing related photos and videos from the internet was well within his capabilities.
He even went a step further—permanently banning the accounts that uploaded the footage.
What none of them noticed was the small red light blinking steadily behind Klaue's ear.
---
"Are we heading straight to the airport with him?" Tony asked as he drove.
Neither Okoye nor Nakia offered to take over. Their driving skills simply didn't compare to Tony's.
"No," T'Challa replied, gazing into the distance. "First, we're going somewhere else. I need to interrogate Ulysses Klaue."
The car arrived at a secluded safehouse—a villa halfway up a mountainside. It was one of Wakanda's secret bases in the region. By now, daylight had fully broken.
Splash—
A bucket of ice water was dumped over Klaue's head. He jolted awake, struggling violently when he realized he was tied to a chair.
"Don't bother," Okoye said, holding a dagger under his chin. "Vibranium restraints. You should be familiar with them."
Instead of fear, Klaue laughed—and even began humming.
"Oh, vibranium? Then I'm not worried."
He looked around and realized he was inside a villa.
"Nice décor. Doesn't look anything like that backward style you people have."
Okoye frowned and drew the dagger across his neck—just enough to break the skin. Blood trickled down.
At that moment, T'Challa descended the stairs. He wasn't wearing the Black Panther armor, only a tailored suit.
"Ulysses Klaue," T'Challa said coldly, looking down at him, hatred burning in his eyes like something tangible. "Your crimes will be judged by Wakanda."
Though he longed to kill Klaue with his own hands, he had promised the others—this man would be taken back to Wakanda and put on trial.
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