Marvel's Untold

Chapter I - A King's Conclave

—And then an explosion.

In an instant, Azzuri fell on his back from a great distance. He landed about ten meters from where he was. Writhing in pain, he held his back.

"Impressive..." He muttered, "This suit is useless..."

Sitting on the ground with his mask emitting smoke, there was a small hole in the grass.

"The bracelets however," He looked to the weapons, "Quite useful."

EXPLOSION.

Trusting his instincts, Azzuri dragged his feet across the grass and dodged the boulders that exploded from the ground. It wasn't from his weapon—it was from something that was awakened. Surely, the amount of power that he gathered from the environment was enough to awake a beast.

—And a beast it was.

It was that similar to the country's most recognizable symbol—a panther. But it wasn't the usual panther he was accustomed to seeing. Its color was grey and it was three times larger than the normal one. The ribcage was visible and pushed against its thin skin. It looked it was dying. Still, it looked as aggressive as if it had been fully fed.

Growling, it noticed Azzuri, watching it with marvelous intent.

"—UWARRRRRRRRRR!"

He reached out his hands to the panther, who was showing its hostility. It didn't reciprocate the same feelings. It roared once again, making Azzuri keep his distance.

"Please, calm yourself. I'm not here to hurt you..." Azzuri said in such a gentle voice.

"—RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

In a moment's notice, it jumped to his location. It was no longer a matter of whether he could stop it, it was whether he could survive it.

It's mouth was wide open as it approached the king. Using the strengths of the Black Panther suit, he held both ends of the mouth to keep it from biting his entire figure. Grunting and grinning, it was like it was tearing his back apart. The pain kept on rolling on to him as the panther kept on pushing him back.

"AGHHH—" Azzuri shouted, standing his ground against it.

"—GRAAAAAAAAAAAA!"

With whatever leftover power Azzuri had left, he threw the monster to its side. The panther was scratching its mouth, as the Black Panther had almost ripped its jaw apart. Azzuri panthed, standing on one knee to gain composure.

—But the panther wasn't going to let down.

It pounced on the King, knocking him down to the ground. Since its prey was too close to the Earth's floor, it had trouble taking its head off. Ripping its paws into Azzuri, it was clear that the Black Panther suit was going to give way soon enough.

When it was getting hopeless for him to get out of this situation, he could hear a whiff in the air and a clear, European accent.

"GET OUT OF THE WAY!"

Azzuri hugged the ground, staying away from the panther's paws. With one swift tackle, the beast was taken off him and into a sharp tree. It was like lightning—you knew it happened, but it was too quick to comprehend. He didn't know who or what saved him, but he was praising the gods for whatever blessings that they bestowed on him this time.

Seeing that the panther was trying to get on its feet, it was enough for Azzuri to take a breather. Taking a look at who was his savior, it came to a surprise to him.