Chapter 126: Into The Savage Lands

The day was structured since even before Bronte had woken up from his harsh dreams, planned down to every detail. Mistakes accounted for. Teams made.

They had a world to change and a nation to birth in the face of humanity. 

What Bronte hadn't accounted for, was extra-- sensitive luggage. He never thought his younger brother would one day awaken his x-gene. He assumed one was enough in their small Harlem apartment. Twice over, he never thought he'd be taking him to a prehistoric land of myth and monsters. 

Yet there he sat on one knee, unprepared, ready to strap his brother, Junior, into the protective seats of a Wakandan Voyager-Jet. Gabbie sat to his left texting like maniac, probably bragging to her New-Mutant friends about her upcoming vacation.

At least he was unprepared. Was. Ideas had already spun and materialized in the deepest crevices of his brain like spiderwebs. 

One thing he learned since becoming a leader-figure to all mutants was to work on the fly. Bring things together were they fit. Prioritize your people. 

That's what he kept close to him as he watched the young red-headed boy fidget.

"You ever been in a jet, bro?" 

"Of course-- I live in Wakanda." Junior replied.

"Oh.....right." Bronte looked down at his hands.

Gabbie rolled her eyes and began texting with newfound fury.

Bronte's phone went off. He pulled it from his pocket and read the text from Gabbie, "Your brother was almost killed and you're talking about jets..... #dumbass"

She had a point. Plus, Junior wasn't like the wolverines. He didn't have the endless baggage and parental issues needed to shrug off an attempted murder. He wasn't a tough loner. He was twelve and terrified. Just as Bronte once was.

"I'm sorry I wasn't there for you." Bronte said. 

Junior cleared his throat, "It's ok, Tay. You're a superhero.....and a king. You can't be everywhere."

"Who told you I was a king?" 

"Ma."

"Of course she did. Listen, I'm gonna do everything in my power to keep you safe out there. Just stay with me, follow my lead and keep your eyes open." Bronte said. 

"But what if I hurt you?" Junior asked.

Bronte shook his head, "You won't. And if you do, it's fine. I bounce back real quick."

"Faster than Black Panther?" Junior asked. 

Bronte raised an eyebrow, "Did you hurt Black Panther?" 

Junior dropped his head, "Chill on me.... It was an accident." 

"Which one?" 

"The big one." 

Bronte swallowed. 

Gentle was nearly as strong as the Hulk. Hurting him was nothing to scoff at.

"He's ok now. Tay what if I get worse? I don't have powers like you and Gabbie. I can't be a superhero..... are you gonna send me to space like the avengers did with the Hulk?" 

Bronte brought his hands up, "Man, hold on! First of all, you're not going anywhere. I'm not letting you out of my sight. And your powers are just like mine. We get angry. That's us. We tweak out and beat ass. What makes us heroes is WHY we tweak.... And WHOS ass we beat--and most importantly, how hard we try to remain cool. Nobody is perfect. But we can try to be good. It's easy." 

"I thought it was easier to be evil...?" Junior mused.

Bronte shrugged, "It's easy for you to skin a puppy? That's not crazy?"

"Nah that's super crazy." Junior mumbled.

The two brothers shared a laugh. 

"You can be a hero-- obviously we gotta get you right first. Finish highschool and all that, but after, sure. You don't get to say you can't, understood?" 

Junior nodded. 

"Now what is a hero without his suit?" Bronte shook up with Junior. As their hands connected, Mend slithered off of Bronte's shoulder socket and covered Junior in a protective black suit. 

"Your arm was fake!?" Junior gasped. 

"For like the last year or two. I lost it fighting a... my great great great great grandather or something." 

"Will I have to do that?" Junior asked. 

"I hope not." 

It was then that Wanda stepped up the ramp and into the main floor of their jet. She wore her Scarlet Witch attire. A flowy red dress split and tied down by jewels and dark webbing. Her hood gave her face enough shadow to both hide her near elven beauty and embolden her red eyes.

"Hey, whats up?" Bronte asked. 

"Your supplies are stocked and fuel tank is full. The com links are strong but won't stay that way once you hit the poles and begin your dive. Be careful. Get in and out, if you don't I'll scalp the whole planet until I find you."

Bronte nodded as Junior's eyes went wider somehow. "Heard you. Whats my time limit again?" 

"One month. Remember, the goal of this mission is two dimensional expansion. We're looking to create access points for travel and to find more mutants. The more we bring back to Krakoa, the more legitimate we are as a nation."

"Got it." Bronte nodded. 

"Where is Ilyana--" 

A blue portal opened in the wall of the jet an out she came, causally taking her seat across from Gabbie with a bag full of books. The two waved at eachother.

"We're all here." Bronte said, "Be safe." 

Wanda nodded, "You too." She glanced over Junior once and left. 

"She's scary..." Junior said. 

"Bronte thought the same thing." Gabbie replied.

"Now why are you spilling my beans?" Bronte sat down beside Ilyana kissed her on the cheek. 

"Get used to it. We've got a whole month together in new lands. Just like old times!" Gabbie cheered. 

Her highlighting the similar circumstances made him realize how much had changed since then. 

He missed them all so much. 

Especially Laura. He could've used her guidance about a dozen times in the last hour even. 

"Alright, prepare for takeoff." The dora milaje pilot yelled back to them.

As the ramp went up to close the back half of the jet, Bronte and Junior caught, Ororo, Aneka and Wkabi waving amidst the bustling crowd of mutants and allied Wakandans in the grove.

With nothing left to be done, they were off. Flying in a blur, scheduled to land in two days.

Sometime during their journey to a new world, they'd all hear the telepathic accouncement that Krakoa was the nation of all mutants and the world would heed to its demands or risk war. He only hoped when he returned to his life, his fellow people would choose peace.

***

Monday Morning, June 12th 2022, Antarctic Peninsula.

Two days passed in a blur of many forms…. for everyone but Bronte.

He slept ninety percent of the flight. He never knew exhaustion so strong, it seemed to be waiting to hit the moment he was away from his nation of mutants.

Thankfully, no nightmares. Only anxieties. He woke frequently through the days in the sky and nights over the sea to sights of Ilyana teaching Gabbie, Mend and Junior about The Savage Lands as she rummaged through her books. All signed by Beast.

He missed the blue werecat. He dreamt about his physicals with Laura and Raze and Daken watching on the other side of the glass. They must've been praying he was as strong as they came. They needed him. And now, he needed them. He always did. He just didn't know.

Sad dreams aside, he could feel them getting stir crazy. So when he wasn't sleeping, he awoke to sing songs and dance for them.

Which was arguably racist….. at least from an optics standpoint.

The only black person in the jet left to dance and sing for the….

Anyway.

It was fun. It was nice to get away. But the best things come in waves. And the worst come in droves.

"Our entry point into The Savage Lands has been pinpointed and decided at Mount Erebus." The Dora Milaje pilot announced over the intercom.

"The volcano?" Junior asked.

"Yes."

"I'm gonna have to do something about that, huh?" Bronte said.

"You will."

With that being said, the back door of the jet began to open. Brontë stood up and stretched, his thick muscles popped and groaned beneath the snug hold of his suit.

As the door opened, his dreads flowed and twisted around him. The air was crisp. Like cold water and mint gum. It almost burned to inhale. Even under the bright morning sun, it was cold. He took in the winds through his nose, catching the absence of city smog and grime.

"Go break a leg." Gabbie saluted him.

When Junior looked at her, she shrugged, "He'll heal."

"Oh yea."

Ilyana winked at Bronte. "Maybe this will wake you up."

"For sure." Bronte fell out of the jet and rode the Antarctic winds.

The whiteness of the world was blinding, leaving him shielding his eyes as he cut and spun through the air like a homing missile gone haywire.

Still, it felt good to move.

His eyes adjusted. Even if they didn't he could smell the volcanic stone of Mount Erebus ahead. Endless icy ocean spread behind it, not that he could see. The volcano was huge.

A burst of wind had him slashing through the sound barrier as he made his way towards the mouth.

Once he was within a few hundred feet, he cut upward for the sky. Along the way, he pulled the freezing cold winds with him until he moved as a spinning tornado of ice.

His Storm-State went glacial. His dreads froze into a glass crown. Ice coated his bones and gave his skin a frosty sheen. Bobby would've appreciated the look.

He flew over the volcano. A beacon of sub zero chaos.

In a flash, he dove. The whole way down, he beckoned more cold, building more ice and force until he was unable to be traced by human eyes.

He crashed into the volcano like a meteor.

A mushroom cloud of steam bloomed from the impact as the world shook. In the distance glaciers split and flipped. Inside the volcano, a flash freeze turned the magma to stone and steam, left spinning for minutes before finally slowing.

The jet hovered.

Brontë flew from the mouth and back into the jet, covered in rubble and ice shards.

"Are we clear for entry?"

Brontë stood wide eyed for a moment, "Yea."

"What did you see?" Gabbie asked.

"Exactly what y'all have been reading about."

The jet dove into the mouth of the volcano, that was now more like an inverted cave.

Brontë punched a tunnel into it all the way to the world hidden beneath, where a sky of glaciers and cracked earth gave way to new fragments of sunlight.

They'd entered the Savage Lands.

As they flew, ancient birds rose from the trees, terrified at the sounds of the loud engine.

"Woahhh! LOOK!" Junior yelled as they gazed out of the windows.

On their left and right, pterodactyls soared on wings that were difficult to even comprehend. Like painted batwings as large as buses.

When the canopy below split, they found themselves watching valleys where raptors and t-Rex's lived like the monsters they were.

It was terrifying and beautiful and unmistakably wild.

Dangerously wild.

Things moved in the dark that shouldn't ha—

A loud tear of metal ripped them out of there reverie.

"We're hit! Left wing unoperational!" The pilot yelled as alarms went off and safeguards were triggered, "Starting emergency landing!"

"Alright, everybody tighten up."

Brontë and Gabbie popped their claws.

Ilyana brandished her Soul-Sword.

Junior's eyes turned yellow.

The ship landed and the team flew out ready for war.

All they found was a quiet jungle all around them. Anacondas lounged on the trees. Alligators bellowed from the rivers at boars.

Nothing that could've knocked down their plane.

Brontë decided to access the damage.

It was a spear, thrown straight through the wing. Basic. Wood and stone…. Except.

"What is that?" Bronte leaned in and found himself studying a tentacle of red slime spinning around the weapon and slithering into the ship.

"Everybody back up." Bronte said before carpet bombing the ship with lightning.

As the damaged remains cooled, he found everyone looking at him with worry.

It would be smart to keep them informed.

"Whoever was here that attacked us has a Symbiote. And it's a strong one. Like mine."

"How do you know that?" Gabbie asked.

"Its immune to fire." Bronte pointed to the rubble of the jet, highlighting the symbiote still inside, seemingly searching for something.

"Let's get moving."