Weakness | Loki [Book One]

Chapter Twenty-One

The sudden, though brief appearance of Ultron alerted me to the possibility of beings existing that were too powerful for the Avengers to fight alone. With this realization, I began to track down anyone who might be Avenger material. 

My first discovery was a high schooler, but he was probably in school on a Tuesday, so I bypassed him. I also found a former thief who had stolen his way into a heroic opportunity, but he was at his daughter's birthday party, and I'm not heartless. 

During my searching, I stumbled across a rumor of a country in Africa with technological advancements far beyond what anyone had accomplished in the rest of the world. I would have ignored the rumors, but I didn't find anything else promising. 

Many people had whole online blogs and video channels dedicated to conspiracy theories about Wakanda's existence. The majority of these theories were not possible, but some had found a location in Africa where Wakanda might be located. A few people had dug through police reports and tracked movements of the mysterious Black Panther, who was said to be the ruler and military leader of the country. I thought this was definitely worth looking into. 

I shut down my computer, laced up my boots, and teleported to the suspected location of the country. I appeared invisibly and silently in a room which I assumed was the lab in Wakanda, possibly in the palace. A girl who looked to be about Kathy's age was working on a high-tech suit that kept exploding every time someone came in contact with it. 

"You know, if the suit absorbed the kinetic energy and stored it for later use, it would have another weapon," I said. 

The girl spun around with some kind of gun raised in defense. "Who are you?" she demanded. "How did you get in here?"

I lifted my hands in surrender. "Chill out. I'm not trying to get to the vibranium or anything."

She lowered the weapon somewhat, but not completely. "How'd you know what I was trying to do with the suit?"

"It wasn't super hard. Just a bit of observation and previous knowledge."

"What did you say before? Something about energy?" The girl, whose name, I learned, was Shuri, set down the weapon and took my advice for the suit. We worked together and eventually accomplished what I had predicted would happen. 

"How did you get in here?" a new voice said from behind me.

"Magic. You people are obviously not accustomed to visitors," I said. "Is Shuri your sister? We fixed your costume. You're welcome."

"Why are you here?" 

"Are you the Black Panther?"

"Yes."

"Have you heard of the Avengers?"

"Yes, but I have no interest in becoming one."

"I'm not asking you to, but bigger threats are out there, and I'm trying to find people, like yourself, who could help defend Earth if the time comes."

"If a threat arises, then I will assist. Nothing more."

"That's all I needed. See you around." I teleported back to my room in the tower. 

My next find was a guild of sorcerers who had made an abundance of appearances recently. One of the articles I looked at connected the disappearance of a renowned doctor to the new magic wielder, but his theory was quickly dismissed. 

I found a suspected address in New York and teleported there. The inside was larger than it had looked from the outside; obviously, some kind of magic was at play. 

I walked up the stairs to a library and began to read some of the books in a comfy armchair.

"Who are you?"

"Delta. You're Doctor Stephen Strange if I'm not mistaken."

"What master do you serve?" he asked.

"I'm here of my own accord." I closed the book. "You know of the Avengers, yes?"

"Yes."

"I'm looking for people who could band together, not unlike the Avengers, and defend Earth if the need arose."

"I have better things to spend my time on than your little club."

"I was under the impression that you are sworn to protect Earth."

"To some extent."

"Well, if some alien shows up and wants to destroy us all, then we would have a better chance of winning if we had that green time thing on our side."

"No such threat will present itself."

"Doctor, at this point, a bilgesnipe could take over Earth and we would be too disorganized to stop it." I tucked the book under my arm and teleported back to the tower. 

After I locked the door to my room behind me, I walked to the kitchen to look for food. I'd barely found Stark's ever-moving stash of Oreos when I glimpsed Loki running by the door. 

"Loki?" I called. 

"Delta!" he skidded to a stop. "Where have you been?" 

"Running some errands. Why?"

"I've been looking for you everywhere!"

"Why? Has something happened?"

"Hydra is back. They're attacking the tower."

"Are they here for the Maximoffs?"

"No, Delta," Loki said. "They're here for you."

"Bring it on." I illusioned my mask and ran out the door before Loki could stop me.