Chapter 17 – A Few Months

[2011 – January]

As T'Chaka watched 'Silver' depart from the border, he couldn't help but sigh in relief.

That man was incredbily dangerous, he could feel it. It wasn't just the instinct of a warrior with decades of experience, it was also a quiet whisper in the back of his mind that told him to agree with his request.

It was as if Bast herself had warned T'Chaka about refusing him.

T'Chaka had also seen it in Silver's eyes, the willigness to unleash violence and death to get what he wanted. Even though he had hidden it pretty well, as a leader and politician he knew how to read his adversary.

And it wasn't as if Silver hadn't given anything in return.

Klaue's head alone would be of great help in stabilising and strengthening the unity and cohesion between the Border Tribe and the Golden Tribe. That along with the information about his nephew, may have very well prevented a possible coup d'etat.

Reclaiming the historical Vibranium weapon of their ancestors would also improve the Golden Tribe's image in Wakandan's political landscape. T'Chaka was already thinking about gifting the weapon to the Jabari Tribe, after they had gotten hold of it.

The Jabari were very traditional and prefered the old-fashioned way of living. A weapon of historical origin would probably be a good start for a possible alliance.

Still, the first thing he planned to do, when they reached the Citadel, was to talk to his son. T'Challa wasn't only the current generations Black Panther, but also his heir for the throne. It was important for him to know that this Silver wasn't to be provoked.

A man, with that much knowledge about a land as isolated as theirs, was a dangerous opponent, even without his powers. Which according to his gut feeling were at least equally impressive.

One Heart-Shaped Herb to have him as a possible ally seemed like a deal well-made to T'Chaka.

Not to mention that parting on friendly terms with him, would also let him sleep peacefully at night.

…

I arrived back at Durban in the late afternoon, and it only took me a few seconds to appear back on the boat. My mental connection to Wanda leading me under the deck, where I found her in the kitchen preparing dinner for us.

Feeling my arms wrap around her from behind and having sensed my approach, Wanda pressed herself back into me.

"It's good that you are back early. I missed you.", she whispered.

"I missed you too.", I whispered back, while pressing my lips against the side of her neck and inhaling her wonderful scent.

"Now, can you tell me where you have been?", Wanda asked with an equal mixture of curiosity and worry.

"Wakanda.", I replied calmly.

I could feel her tense up for a moment, clearly realizing that this hadn't exactly been a safe trip. I have told her about Wakanda and their incredible technology after all.

"Why would you go there?"

I didn't reply and simply grabbed the small glass container with a beautiful-glowing lilac flower inside.

"Is that what I think it is?", Wanda inquried, captivated by the flower's beauty.

"The Heart-Shaped Herb.", I confirmed.

Wanda didn't have to ask if the herb was meant for her, as she knew that I had no interest in another serum or herb that would grant me superhuman abilities.

She simple turned around in my arms and gave me a soft kiss, before resting her head on my chest.

…

[2011 – February]

Roughly four weeks later, we were back home in Brussels.

Wanda had taken the herb on that same evening a month ago, and had since been training to adapt to her new physical abilites. Her Chaos Magic had also gotten considerably more dangerous.

After eating the herb, she had been able to visit the Astral Plane, where she had learned a lot about her own abilities. She had tried to explain it to me in more detail, but it was hard to imagine your soul leaving your body to enter another dimension.

Still, as I understood it, in her Astral Form Wanda had managed to connect with her magic on a deeper and more direct level, making it easier for her to unearth her full potential.

Wanda was currently learning how to enter the Astral Plane at will, as well as exit it. According to her, she would need some time to master this ability.

I myself planned to stay at home during the next few months, training and working on the Vibranium. It wasn't going to be easy, as I had a lot of studying to do.

I also planned to install some new training equipment, specifically counterweigths from a crane, a pulley system and reinforced floor tiles.

It was necessary so that I could continue training my physical body. Thanks to Extremis I had gained superhuman strength, though I could already lift roughly three tons before through training alone. With Extremis this limit had somewhat tripled, but I didn't plan to stop there.

My durability had increased the most though thanks to Extremis, as my body had to adapt to it, so that it could contain the constantly growing firepower of Extremis my growth skill provided me with.

Fire cannot be contained by paper, so my body had to grow alongside my inner fire.

My fire also had to grow stronger and hotter, so that in combination with my weapons it would allow me to cut up even the toughest defenses. Vibranium for example has a melting point of around 3000 degrees Celsius. The maximum temperature I could reach was around 3500 degrees Celsius, which allowed me to melt it easily enough.

With my weapons ability to focus and channel the heat and fire emitted by me, I could maybe add a few hundred degrees more, but I didn't want to rely on that too much, as I knew that there were tougher materials in this world.

I had also planned to built a small Arc Reactor according to Vanko's plans and a device that would transform its energy into electricity, as I thought it was time to built up some resistance towards that.

Logically speaking, Thor is the only one from the Avengers who might pose a threat to me. Lightning travels at a speed a thousand times faster than sound, which makes it impossible to dodge for the current me, but that doesn't mean it can't be resisted. That fact combined with my growth skill and it was only a matter of time, before I would be able to shrug off his lightning strikes, at least I hoped so.

It would require an insane durability to endure the heat of the lightning, but heat resistance was kinda my wheelhouse. Still, I had a lot of painful hours of resistance training to look forward to. Fortunately I had a healing factor, so I didn't have to worry about any long-term injuries.

Though I suppose it wouldn't be a good idea to tell Wanda, that I planned to fry myself with lightning for hours on end.

…

[2011 – July]

Watching Tony Stark get beat up by Ivan Vanko in Monaco on television was definitely a great way to relax after all the harsh training I had undergone the last few months.

And even though Stark won the fight a few minutes later, he had lost his halo of glory, just like Vanko had planned. 'Make god bleed and the people cease to believe in him.', as Vanko had once said in the original timeline.

Still, seeing this broadcast also served as a hint for me. A hint that it was time to visit the United States and get some stuff done.

"It's time, isn't it?", Wanda asked me after the broadcast had finished, looking up from my lap, where she had rested her head on.

"It is, my love. Time to meet Tony Stark.", I answered lightly, while brushing my fingers through her hair.