56 Down the Rabbit Hole

As the group entered the hidden base they kept their ears trained for any sign of incoming goons that would have to be either side-stepped or dealt with. As the group traveled the corridors Devin pulled up the menu and checked the level of his spirit gauges. Each one had a single charge thanks to the fight with Sabretooth and would probably be needed depending on how all of this turned out.

"Quiet!" Okoye hissed as the group split into alcoves that occasionally lined the passageway. As they waited with baited breath, soon the thump of boots could be heard coming down the corridor in a steady rhythm. There was only one set judging by the sounds that Devin could hear. Just as the man came into sight Devin drove his knee into the man's diaphragm, driving the air from the man's lungs. Before the man could recover his breath Devin wrapped his arms around the guy's throat in a reverse chokehold resulting in an unconscious body ten seconds later. Dragging the body into the alcove Devin checked the corridor along with Okoye only to see it clear once more.

"Let's go." Devin whispered as the group set off once more. Wandering down the hall lead them to a "T" shaped intersection. A door on either side gave the group a choice.

"Left or Right?" Devin whispered as they looked from one to the other. Okoye and T'Challa pointed to the left while the other two pointed to the right. This caused Devin to facepalm before nodding to the left.

'When nothing goes right, go left.'

The group piled up around the door before Devin reached his hand out to turn the handle. Peaking through the crack, Devin found another hall filled with doors. Opening the door all the way, the group stepped in and looked at the doors.

"Where do you think these lead to?" T'Challa asked as he stepped up to a door.

"I think that these might be the barracks for Klaue's men." Devin said as he looked at another door.

"Only one way to find out. Everyone take a door and be ready." Devin said as he grabbed the door handle. Seeing everyone do the same Devin mimed a countdown from three and then opened his door. The room was bare but for a bunkbed on a wall and a pair of footlockers on the other. On the back wall was a simple wooden desk that had an old oil lamp on it. Stepping back out of the room found the others leaving theirs as well.

"Barracks, just like I thought, but lets check the others just in case." Devin said as they moved on to the next set of rooms. After clearing all of the rooms, the group backtracked to the intersection and started for the right door this time. The crack in the door showed an old open-cage elevator as well as another door. Stepping into the room, T'Challa opened the elevator and looked around while Devin checked the other door. The door lead to a stairwell that descended into the base.

"Lets take the stairs. It's quieter and there's less chance that we'll run into someone." Devin said as he entered the stairwell and looked over the railing. There only seemed to be three levels including the one they were on.

"Sounds logical, lead on." T'Challa said as he stepped up beside Devin to look down as well. The group descended carefully as there was still a possibility that someone could be using the stairs for some reason. The group figured that the king and princess had to be on the third floor as Klaue would want them to be as far from the exit as possible. On reaching the third floor the group found yet another hallway with doors that were made in an alternating pattern. These doors were heavy duty steel ones that had a sliding bar that would prevent any one from opening them. In the first room they found food and other supplies. The second room was filled with munitions and other weapons. There were multiple racks of guns, crates of ammo, and at least a dozen types of explosives. T'Challa wanted to rig the place to explode, but Devin told him they had to find his father and sister first.

The third room was the jackpot for the group. Inside they found that a set of prison bars and a barred gate had been added. Behind this was King T'Chaka and Shuri with their hands bound with rope.

"Father!" T'Challa said as he rushed to the bars. Unfortunately. as soon as he touched them he was sent flying back and nearly smashing into the wall if not for Devin's quick reaction in catching the flying man.

"You okay?" Devin asked as he set T'Challa down to look him over.

"Yes, though my ears are ringing slightly. What happened?" T'Challa asked as he stood up with a little help from Devin and one of the dora milaje.

"I think the bars are heavily electrified. Your suit is made from vibranium correct?" Devin asked, getting a nod as he walked over to the bars and examined the areas where the bars met the walls, floor, and ceiling.

"Then you're lucky to survive. Your vibranium is highly conductive." Devin said as he found a small metal conductor plate in-between the wall and one of the support bars that ran along the cylindrical bars that separated the group from the missing royalty. As Devin examined the bars T'Challa and Okoye approached to try and rouse the two captives.

"Father, Sister wake up!" the prince whispered loudly. The two began to slowly wake as Devin continued to examine the plate he found.

"Can you turn off or nullify the electricity?" Ondati asked as she stepped up to stand behind Devin.

"I'm not sure. There is a chance that if I break the circuit it could alert Klaue to the fact that someone has broken these two out." Devin said as he went back to checking every spot on the walls. He noticed that T'Challa and Okoye had managed to awaken the two captives and were conversing with them in a different language which he assumed was their native tongue.

"Hmm. looks like this whole thing is controlled from another location. We are gonna have to find that room before we can get these two out of here." Devin said as he stepped up to T'Challa and informed him to which he nodded.

"I'm gonna check the last room in the hall. You guys take your time and then we'll head to the secondary level. I'd bet my last dollar that that is where the control panel for the cell is." Devin said as he got yet another nod. Slipping out of the room, Devin checked that they were still alone and found the hall just as empty. Walking the handful of feet to the last room found Devin standing before another steel door with a half dozen standard padlocks added to the steel bar sealing the door. Devin reached forward and wrapped his hand around the padlocks before wrenching with all his strength. The padlocks snapped like a dry twig and he moved on to the rest. Devin's bloodline not only gave him enhanced speed, magic, and wings, but enhanced strength though nothing insane. More like just above the strength of a peak performance human. Devin figured that once he got the Giganto Bloodline he would have strength to rival many of the heroes he would eventually meet.

Opening the door Devin found a single rack roughly two feet tall and three wide sitting on a steel table with four glass tubes sitting randomly in the eight slots. Inside of the tubes was a long bar of irregularly shaped metal that almost seemed to glow with a blue light. This was vibranium! Devin knew that this was one of the materials he was hoping to get from this little adventure. He stowed three of the four and left the tube with the smallest amount out in his hand.

'Time for some misdirection.' Devin thought as he headed back to the cell room with the tube in hand. Stepping into the room found the four still conversing with the king and princess only to whip around and glare at Devin when he opened the door and stepped in.

"Easy. It's me." Devin said with his hands raised. The group relaxed at once and motioned him over.

"What did you find?" Okoye and T'Challa asked at the same time before glancing at one another.

"Not much. The last room was locked down with a dozen padlocks, but I broke them pretty quick. The only thing I found inside was this tube. Is this what I think this is?" Devin said as he handed the tube to T'Challa who looked at the tube with his eyes wide open in surprise.

"Vibranium." T'Challa said a he rolled the tube back and forth as he studied the contents.

"Thought so. Looks like Klaue is running low if this was all I could find." Devin said. T'Challa handed the tube through the bars of the cell to his father.

"Hold onto this for now. Once we manage to find the controls to these bars we will come and get you out of here." T'Challa said as his father nodded in agreement.

"Be careful son and Mister Price?" T'Chaka said as Devin turned back to look at the older man.

"Thank you." T'Chaka said as he nodded his head. Devin merely nodded back as he turned once more and headed for the door. Okoye decided that Ondati and Irindi were to remain behind in the room with the cell just in case Klaue decided to move the pair to somewhere else. The three moved back to the stairwell, but Devin told the other two that he wanted to grab some things from the armory they had found and waved them on saying he would meet them at the second floor door. Devin stepped into the room. He gathered everything into his inventory as fast as possible and soon he had a stockpile of weapons and explosives ready to decimate a small army and he would put them to good use.