701 Manipulated Felicia

"We treat you as guests and this is the disrespect you show us?" T'challa's mother gazed at Nik and Cindy with a grim expression as Nik smiled, in Vanish's form, his jagged teeth sending chills down the spines of the viewers.

"Guest?" Nik gave a hollow chuckle, "Let's start from the top. One of your members of Dora Milaje was a spy from Hydra sent to kill me and Silk. Not to mention your agents following me whenever they can. Honestly, royal mother," Nik licked his teeth, "The only reason I suppress my annoyance and anger towards the royal tribes of Wakanda is that I am quite a peaceful person. But, I will not let out my prisoner just because you are a teensy bit rich."

"Your prisoner?" The woman was furious, "She is part of the Dora Milaje—"

"I understand that she is part of the royal harem," Nik cackled, "If you are worried I might sexually harass her then rest easy. I will simply interrogate her and—"

"Let's not continue this discussion," T'Challa spoke up. Standing from his throne, he walked towards Nik and stated with a calm expression, "To the two warriors, our conversation never goes as intended. The fact that an organization named Hydra has infiltrated our forces has shaken my mother a bit and I implore the both of you for not taking offense. However, I am willing to compensate for your prisoner. Think about this matter and then contact the agent keeping a detail on you."

'Oh...' Nik's gaze brightened for a moment. He loved the feeling of manipulating someone without even using his pheromones. After all, the fact that T'Challa was conversing calmly with Nik was no doubt due to his knowledge that the arsenal of Vibranium under his command was a specific weakness against Nik. A misconception Nik was happy to spread even further. This was even proven by the fact that T'Challa had the galls to admit the agent tailing Nik indirectly but instead of stopping the actions, he informed Nik to directly contact the agent should the need arise. Such confidence either stems from stupidity or grasping the opponent's weakness and if T'Challa were to be a stupid king, he might have incited a civil war long ago.

"Shuri is waiting for you in her research lab," T'Challa continued while he looked towards one of the two members of Dora Milaje beside the throne. One of them being the mentor and the leader of the group— Okoye.

"Jiut, escort the two warriors to my sister. And Okoye... gather every Dora Milaje."

Nik glanced towards the woman titled Royal Mother and walked behind yet another equally beautiful woman equipped with a spear.

'That was intense,' Cindy admitted, 'What are you going to do with that agent?'

'You really don't want to know,' Nik's eyes flashed darkly. Whether the woman was working under an order or not, Nik was going to simply read her mind and start experimenting his abilities on her to further a few stagnated skills of his.

'Oh...' Cindy thought internally. She was still adjusting to the 'grey' side of the world. After all, being a vigilante and actually taking part in reducing criminal activities gave Cindy a lot to thought about and her viewpoints of everything being bright or completely dark had long crumbled away and was in the process of reforming.

"Welcome back!" Shuri smiled as she looked at the two of them. The researchers of the lab continued working and testing quite a few things but Nik looked at Eddie Brock strapped to a seat, probably unconscious, while his blood was being drawn out. However, a rudimentary scan of the man revealed that Eddie was doing quite well in the country. Meanwhile, the black symbiote that Eddie once wore was nowhere to be seen.

"I heard about you guys running into trouble. Honestly, I think, you guys are cursed somewhat. After all, something goes wrong every time you walk into Wakanda," Shuri grinned as she walked closer to Cindy and started moving around her. "Hmm, as expected, this suit wears off quicker when dealing with heightened physiques." Her finger traced Cindy's shoulder before trailing down her left arm. "How was the scarf? It wasn't too rough to your skin, right?" Shuri inquired as Cindy silently shook her head.

"Alright, I know you guys must be quite busy so have a look at this," She gestured towards two small boxes. One black and the other white. It looked like a box to store a ring. At least, that's what the velvet-like covering of the box suggested.

"Back then, I made your previous suits with the thought in mind— Oh, I'll just make a better one when our research in 'the' nanotech breakthrough but we don't need it now! At least, this variant is far more useful!" Shuri chimed before picking up the black box and taking it towards Cindy.

"I suppose that giving you a basic rundown of the tech won't breach our secrets. Hmm," she looked far more excited than before, "So, I was able to synthesize the symbiote in our captivity with our main alloy. It's... really hard to explain in a simplified manner now that I try it. Just open it. And keep in mind, I'm not proposing you," She handed the box to Cindy as she opened it and found a pitch-black ring placed within it.

Glancing towards Nik, she took out the ring and wore it on her ring finger while Shuri instructed, "It will respond to your voice. Say, Suit."

"Suit," Cindy nodded and spoke up when the ring instantly dispersed into a black material that started covering Cindy before it completely covered her original suit and turned into yet another silk outfit with a scarf over her face overlapping too.

"This is the new bio armor we developed. The uses, of course, cannot compare to the normal symbiote since it is not a living being anymore but with the special Vibranium solution, it's no longer weak to fire and high-pitched noises," Shuri exclaimed with a smug smile.

"However... I don't know if it works with you," she stated while passing the white box to Nik.

Taking the box, Nik spent a few moments of silence to understand the structure of the armor. The very existence of this armor and the thought he might wear it infuriated Pickle and Asmodeus altogether.

'Hmm, I guess, I expected the feedback installed and... they really researched nanotech. Wifi, GPS tracker, the whole package into a ring, huh,' Nik looked towards the innocently smiling Shuri.

'But this is good stuff... I just lacked the technique. In fact, my method of combining the nanoids with symbiote may be far better than Wakanda's.'

'Pickle, return into my body for a moment.'

'But-'

'Of course, I won't be wearing this forever.'

With reluctance, Pickle receded into Nik's body while he instantly used the ring on himself as it turned into a perfect Vanish replica save for the teeth, which simply turned into a mask.

"Hmm, it's comfortable," Nik complimented, "But now that we are done. I should really be going," Nik spoke up while waving his hand. Under Shuri's expectant gaze, no portal appeared out of nowhere as Nik waved his hands and snapped his fingers quite a lot of times.

"Strange," Nik mumbled while stroking his chin.

"Vanish, you—" Cindy exclaimed in surprise but Shuri just shrugged, "I'm sorry, I didn't know that the suit won't work with your ability but please, still keep it."

---

After the whole debacle, Nik and Cindy finally returned to New York with Nik instantly storing both the rings in the Dream Core and starting the process of upgrading it. Of course, he had to map out a few details which can be easily projected in the temple of Paradise. In fact, after upgrading Cindy's ring into something far more capable suit, he planned to put the technique into good use by altering Mary's and Anna's suits, too.

In a Cafe named Havanna, Nik silently sat while holding the menu in his hands. The evening sun had finally slumbered while dusk reached the skies. His intense gaze elicited a soothing chuckle when a rather flamboyant and fashionable figure sat in front of him.

Long black hair and deep green eyes were the most notable characteristic of the woman followed by a pretty oval face and thin, inviting lips.

"You look well in black hair, too," Nik smiled and looked up, "But I'd say your eyes look even better without contact lenses."

"And how do you know that I'm not a natural brunette and I'm not wearing contacts right now?" The woman countered as Nik placed the menu down.

Both of them stared at each other for a moment, marveling at the others' charisma. "I don't know," Nik lied, "But it's my preference."

"White hair and green eyes? Quite an unusual taste," the woman smiled.

"You have proven to be an unusual woman, Felicia. To think that you could steal from Doctor Strange," Nik chuckled as Felicia Hardy brushed her hair behind her ear and shook her head. A dreadful expression passed through her face when she spoke up weakly.

"I am honestly thankful that Ava passed my message. In reality, your identity is under too much scrutiny, and contacting you directly would have been dangerous. Even now, it's risky. But... I have researched you well, Vanish," she whispered, "I know you can get in and out of places unimaginable even to me..."

"Pun intended?" Nik inquired.

"What pun?" Felicia questioned as Nik looked at the woman carefully.

"Anyway, I want you to help me get rid of the item I stole from that... mansion," Felicia stated with a forceful expression as Nik thought for a moment and inquired, "Why not give it back to Strange?"

"Because my services are required to keep the item away from Strange for as long as I can. There's no time limit but I'd rather try to perform my job perfectly."

"Hmm, interesting. I suppose, you won't tell me anything about the mysterious employer of yours?"

"It's not a possibility, sadly. After all, you look really pleasant to spend one's time with," she smiled as Nik huffed, "Oh, come on. You're just saying that. You must have found out that I'm just a shy teenager."

"I would really love to continue this conversation on a later date but... my apartment is on verge of destruction. So can we just—"

"What about my pay?" Nik suddenly spoke up, stunning Felicia.

"Your pay?"

"Yes. You've done your research, right? I don't work for free. What do I get in return for helping you?" If Felicia really thought that Nik would just believe that her apartment was on verge of destruction then she shouldn't have taken the time to disguise herself. After all, if Nik's life was in true danger, he wouldn't have the time to apply make-up.

"Oh, you," Felicia sighed with her eyes flickering in disappointment, "A hero of your caliber and just... someone with your face shouldn't really be worried about money, right? In fact, why don't you do this for me as a personal favor? Ask Ava, she knows that I'm honorable in many ways," she looked with her gazes slightly widened as Nik crossed his arms.

"Lady, if you want to use me without any pay then find a toy for yourself. My services require a lot of cash. Think it over and then just ask Ava for me once again," Nik stood up.

But the moment he walked past Felicia, she grabbed Nik's hand and looked up with a slightly desperate face.

"Come on. Here's what we can do. You should take the item I stole from Strange. Yeah, nobody needs to know anything."

'There's... someone is manipulating her,' Nik's gaze turned slightly strange before he pulled up his own defenses before nodding.

Sighing in relief, Felicia stood up and led Nik deeper into the city.

***

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