Panthers Coup

"I found the Panther paw print on my father's body when he died. I knew instantly that it was a staged murder! You are not the son of a king, but the son of a murderer!"

"That's bullshit!" everyone else said, but the silent W'kabi told them differently.

"I am afraid that is the truth!" W'kabi said solemnly.

He then nudged Eric, and Eric immediately pulled out a golden ring that was the exact replica of T'challa's golden ring!

"You truly are the son of Prince N'jobu!" the clan leader said at the same time as they recognized the ring of the ruler's blood!

"I want to exercise my rights to claim the throne as the descendant of the royal family!" Eric shouted confidently.

"You don't have to do it, T'challa!" Ramonda, T'challa's mother, said worriedly.

"But, as the rightful son of Prince N'jobu, he has the right to declare the duel!" W'kabi said solemnly.

As everyone started to argue over Eric's rights to challenge T'challa, T'challa finally gave his word.

"I will accept your challenge!" T'challa said solemnly, and with this word, the Black Panther ceremony began anew!

. . . . . . . . .

A few hours later, Princess Shuri came to Dio's and the other avenger's room with haste while her face was still decorated with tears!

"What happened? Why are you in such a rush!" Steve asked curiously.

"T'challa was killed! A new king would rule over Wakanda, and I am afraid you all would be banished from Wakanda soon!" Shuri said helplessly.

"What? T'challa is dead?" Steve said with a disbelief tone.

"There is no time to explain! Come with me, or you all will be in danger!" Shuri said hurriedly, Dio immediately followed her as he didn't expect the story of the Black Panther would be changed quickly, but he at least knew that T'challa was still alive!

Seeing that Dio followed Shuri without any question, everyone else also did the same thing. The team immediately escaped from the palace, and Dio suggested that they used his Dark Battleship to escape, to which the former queen and Shuri immediately complied.

At the same time, Eric was receiving the full power of Black Panther. He didn't care about what the others might do at the moment, as all he wanted was to get the Black Panther's power and exact his revenge.

Until the Dark Battleship fully escaped, Shuri could only see the palace from afar with tears in her eyes.

In the process, Ramonda explained the situation to the rest of the Avengers with every single detail as she knew that the Avengers was the only hope left for her to retrieve the rightful throne to her descendant!

Dio already knew what happened, so he didn't ask or say anything to the former queen. He originally wanted to stop Eric before he could enter Wakanda, but he didn't expect Eric to come this fast!

"You are right to mourn about T'challa's death, but what do you want to do now?" Steve asked curiously.

"You are all T'challa's friend! I know that Eric was a bad guy, and I hope that you all will help me avenge his death!" Ramonda said tearfully.

Shuri and Nakia were a little bit surprised as they knew that the Black Panther ceremony was held fairly.

Tribes' members would never help them while it was clear that Eric won the duel fair and square!

That was also the reason why Shuri immediately went to Dio and the Avenger as she knew that Dio wouldn't ignore their words like the rest of the tribes would.

"T'challa is a good person, but according to your story, the person who killed him was the current rightful king of Wakanda. It means that we would have to take down the entire Wakanda just to avenge T'challa!" Steve said solemnly while he saw that Dio was still silent.

Shuri was also silent as she knew that her mother's request was far-fetched. If the new king exploited his authority and mobilized out the soldiers, the innocent Wakandan would be at risk of becoming a pawn to an unnecessary war!

At that moment, Dio finally spoke, "I don't think that we have to plan anything for now! If you want to kill Eric, you just have to win in the ceremony's duel!" Dio said casually.

"But the only one who can challenge the king is now dead! There is no one else qualified to challenge the throne!" Ramonda said frustratedly.

"No, he is right. I am also the direct descendant of the royal family! I also have the right to challenge the throne!" Shuri said confidently.

"Shuri! You can't do that! There is no way you would win against that villain!" Ramonda said crudely to Shuri, but she saw the determination on Shuri's eyes!

"Your courage is commendable, but it's just utterly stupid! You clearly fail to recognize your own capabilities! If your brother fails to win the duel, would you, the one who was obviously weaker than your brother, win said duel?" Dio said casually.

"Damn, you are right! But I believe you have something in mind, right?" Shuri said as she realised Dio's true intention.

"You are smart; at least I will not argue with that! I have a reason to believe that T'challa is still alive, and if I am wrong, I will give you the power to defeat Eric!" Dio said with a smile on his face.