"Damned wretches," Okoye muttered as she contemplated, alongside the prince and her warriors, the cell that rose before them.
On the other side of the glass, shackled to the wall by hands and feet with heavy chains and with thick metal collars fastened to the structure, were the rest of the Dora Milaje who had remained at the palace guarding the submarine.
The cell was completely devoid of water, fitted with a decompression system that simulated surface pressure. There, stripped of their armor and wearing only their combat undergarments, the women were beaten and bloodied.
"They were tortured," T'Challa said beside her, observing the scene with sorrow.
Okoye sighed and, within seconds, recovered her usual iron composure.
She moved a few steps away from the cell toward a nearby ventilation duct and, with a motion of her spear, destroyed the grate in one blow. Inside, the prisoners' suits and weapons were stacked.
"Right where Byrrah said he'd leave them," the prince commented from a distance, watching the maneuver.
She nodded in silence and signaled her subordinates. The warriors collected the armor and crossed the decompression chamber to enter the containment cell.
"I know you are all extremely tough, but... will they be alright?" the prince asked, watching the prisoners as they began to be freed and attended to by their companions.
Okoye turned her face toward him, imperturbable.
"The very fact that they're still alive and haven't chosen a permanent end means they're alright, my prince. We were trained to endure pain."
After a few minutes, the Dora Milaje — including those who had just been freed — lined up before Okoye and their prince.
"Three of ours were killed," reported one of the freed warriors, maintaining her firm posture despite the exhaustion. "The rest of us are at sixty-five percent capacity. More than enough."
"Good — let's move," Okoye ordered.
The warriors nodded and deployed immediately, keeping T'Challa at the center alongside Okoye. The group moved quickly through the structure until they reached a monumental room with an imposing portrait of Atlantis's founder.
The commander advanced directly toward the painting. She ran her hand over the canvas and the wood until she stopped at a specific point. She pressed once more and the picture emitted a faint glow for a second before beginning to slide smoothly to one side, gradually revealing a wide, dark passageway.
"Everyone wants secret corridors these days," T'Challa commented with some irony as he moved to the front of the group.
Behind them, the enormous painting slid back to its original position, covering the entrance.
"Everything has gone well so far," the prince mentioned as he swam through the corridor's dimness.
Okoye nodded without taking her eyes off what was ahead.
"That's never a good sign."
T'Challa smiled faintly.
"Either our plan is too good and Lady Bast is favoring us... or something is about to go very wrong."
"It wouldn't be bad if something went right for a change, would it, my prince?"
"Has anything gone right since all of this started?" he replied with irony.
The group continued forward in silence for a while longer until they reached the end of the passage. Emerging outside, they spotted the submarine they had arrived in in the distance, held down against the ocean floor by heavy chains fastened to the coral.
"Secure and inspect the vessel," Okoye ordered.
Four Dora Milaje nodded immediately and moved ahead toward the craft. They inspected the perimeter and cut the chains. After a few moments, one of the warriors signaled that the vessel was clear and out of danger.
"It's safe," Okoye informed the prince. "We can proceed."
The group moved toward the vessel while the warriors on board began powering up the submarine's systems. However, Okoye didn't lower her guard for a single second, scrutinizing the surroundings with suspicion. It was then that she noticed an almost imperceptible movement in the coral structures.
That faint flicker in the landscape was enough for her. She raised her hand abruptly, stopping the prince and the rest of the group.
At that precise instant, everything went to hell.
The submarine detonated in an enormous fireball — the explosion shook the water while the shockwave pushed the group back. Out of nowhere, dozens of barbarians camouflaged with algae and sediment shot up from the ground and the coral walls, opening crossfire against them.
Among the shots, several bursts of sonic weapons struck the formation protecting T'Challa. It was an ambush — they had been waiting for them.
The Dora Milaje reacted as fast as they could, deploying their energy shields.
"Retreat!" Okoye shouted, covering the prince's body with her own shield.
A few meters away, two of her warriors were struck head-on by the destabilizing sonic waves. Their suit systems collapsed instantly under the extreme vibration — barely a muffled, dull explosion was heard and, in a second, absolutely nothing remained of them but a dense cloud of blood dispersing in the current.
The rest of the group's shields held long enough to allow them to fall back quickly and take cover behind a dense formation of rocks.
Now only three warriors, the prince, and Okoye remained.
The general rapidly assessed the surroundings while enemy bursts hammered the rock they were using as cover.
Her three companions tried to return fire with their own weapons to slow the hostile advance, but the enemy vastly outnumbered them. Under such suppressing fire, they couldn't even calculate how many barbarians they were facing.
The general looked at her warriors and then fixed her gaze on T'Challa. The prince, like her, was frantically searching for an escape route in the environment — but Okoye knew no such thing existed. Not without sacrifice.
She directed her gaze toward the secret corridor they had come through. If the prince could reach that entrance, he would have a chance of surviving — but crossing the open space under the barrage of sonic weapons and enemy fire was suicide.
"Sisters," Okoye said firmly. "Our moment has come."
The three warriors nodded without hesitating for a single second.
"Okoye..." T'Challa intervened, anticipating her intentions.
"You know as well as I do that it's the only way," she interrupted.
"Of course I know that," the prince said, gritting his teeth while frustration weighed on his words. "But that doesn't make it any easier... We've already lost too many. We weren't supposed to leave anyone behind, and now..."
Okoye placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Listen — we will buy you as much time as we can. You must go back."
T'Challa was quiet for a moment, his face hardened by helplessness.
"Understood?" she pressed, looking at him steadily.
The prince nodded heavily.
"Your sacrifice will be remembered."
Okoye gave a faint smile behind her helmet's visor.
"Goddess Bast awaits us. Don't get sentimental... Look after Shuri, yes?"
T'Challa nodded again and positioned himself to shoot toward the passageway the moment the distraction began. Beside him, Okoye and the three remaining Dora Milaje readied their shields and spears, prepared to launch in different directions and draw all enemy attention onto themselves.
"Ready..." she announced.
But just as she was about to give the attack signal, a violent tremor shook the water.
A torpedo struck dead center of the enemy formation. The explosion disintegrated several barbarians instantly, sending debris in all directions and staining the sea a deep red.
The surviving attackers turned, confused and alarmed. Emerging from the ocean's gloom, an impressive, highly technological submarine advanced with heavy fire against them. Continuous bursts cut through dozens of barbarians in seconds, while a salvo of smart torpedoes autonomously sought out the densest concentrations of hostile troops to eradicate them.
The barbarians tried to return fire, but were immediately crushed by the vessel's overwhelming firepower.
Okoye watched the massacre with wide eyes.
"That submarine..." she murmured.
"Hunter?" T'Challa concluded, recognizing the technology.
The prince's group remained on guard with spears raised, watching the vehicle with suspicion. However, T'Challa began to step out from behind the rocks.
"It's not safe," the general tried to stop him, grabbing his arm.
"Please, Okoye — it offends me that you'd think I'd be capable of taking my brother's life," Hunter's voice came through the communication systems.
The submarine's hatch finished opening. From inside, Hunter emerged wearing his distinctive white Hatut Zeraze suit, accompanied by two more soldiers. They advanced through the water until they maintained a prudent distance from T'Challa's group.
Hunter raised both hands in a gesture of peace.
"I won't harm you — I swear on the land that raised me."
"You betrayed our sacred land," Okoye replied coldly, aiming firmly at him with her spear from cover. "Your oath means nothing."
Hunter dropped his shoulders and let out a long sigh.
"Everything I do is for Wakanda's protection," he explained, looking at Okoye and then at his brother. "I warned about the real danger Namor and his plan represented against us, but T'Chaka dismissed my suspicions. So I had to handle it myself. My group and I, as always... Everything we do, we do for Wakanda."
"A plan? What plan are you talking about, brother?" T'Challa asked.
Hunter began to explain the situation.
"One of my men investigated the Atlantean attack on our miners. He managed to capture one of the aggressors and brought him to me for interrogation. The damned man only spoke some strange tongue nobody understood, so we pressed him until he finally spoke a language we could follow — Igbo. From there, everything became easier."
Hunter glanced sideways at one of his companions before continuing.
"To summarize, the man confessed that what was being guarded in that cave was an ancient Atlantean weapon. A mysterious crystal that emits an extremely dangerous vapor capable of killing almost instantly and that is impossible to contain for long. Namor plans to use that crystal and hurl it at Wakanda — detonate it and let that cursed vapor spread across our lands, razing everything in its path."
Hunter moved slightly closer to the prince.
"Brother — that man is planning a massive chemical attack against our people."
T'Challa furrowed his brow behind his helmet's visor.
"And our father wouldn't listen to you about something this serious?"
"There was nothing of this in the official report," Hunter mentioned. "And that was true. The reports and investigations we had carried out on the Atlanteans had been subtly altered — key notes and observations had been deleted. Somehow, they infiltrated our network and erased any relevant information my group and I had gathered. We couldn't trust anyone else. Everything we did, we did alone."
"Were you responsible for the attacks and the murders of Namor's mother and grandfather?" T'Challa asked.
Hunter tilted his head slightly.
"I'm ashamed to say it, but I couldn't control my entire squadron. Some of them — impatient to prove they were still worthy of being Wakanda's dogs — got ahead of themselves and acted on their own."
"Why kill his mother then?"
"Probably for the same reason they eliminated Thakorr," Hunter replied. "Namor is too strong. They likely decided that, lacking the ability to harm him directly, the best course was to threaten those he loved. If they demonstrated they could kill his mother, he would know they could go after his grandfather too."
"This didn't have to go this way," T'Challa said, shaking his head.
"I agree... If they had listened to us, none of ours would have died. The last thing I asked of King T'Chaka was a bomb — something powerful enough to eliminate an entire country. He refused and threatened to lock me away... I had no other choice but to steal the experimental weapon Shuri designed to contain Hulk and attempt to assassinate Namor myself. But you've seen how that turned out."
T'Challa lowered his head for a second and closed his eyes. He brought his hand briefly to the device his father had given him before departing, then looked back up at Hunter.
"You were deceived, brother."
Hunter looked at him, thrown off.
"I beg your pardon?"
"Yes — someone infiltrated our network," the prince affirmed seriously. "But it wasn't the Atlanteans..."
====
The impact of the staff echoed through the vault as it struck one of the barbarians squarely in the torso, sending him flying through the water. Another tried to attack from the left, but Legion stopped him in time with a green light shield projected from his forearm. He tried to return the blow, but the warrior blocked the attack.
Without wasting time, the hero twisted the staff's grip to shorten it, aimed at the man's chest and pressed a button. A high-pressure jet of water shot out, sending the barbarian crashing directly into the wall.
Three more came at him.
Legion brought his hand to his leg, where the suit opened to reveal his multi-function weapon — now renamed the Proto-Tool in honor of the trusty companion of Ben Tennyson. He grabbed it quickly and fired at two of them who weren't expecting it, sending them smashing against the walls.
The third managed to dodge the shot. Legion put up the shield to cover himself, but the barbarian tricked him with a feint — moved fast and landed two heavy stabs. The armor's metal screeched from the impact and, although it absorbed part of the damage, Legion felt the blows through his body, leaving a metallic taste in his mouth.
"I told you it was a feint, sir," SID said.
"And I heard you, but I'm not fast enough to keep up with you — especially underwater, alright?" he cursed under his breath.
His weapon's barrel shifted form instantly. He fired an energy bola that left the man trapped and unable to move, and before he could react, Legion landed a staff blow directly to his face that knocked him out cold.
While trying to catch his breath, he watched as two barbarians moved away, crossing the vault door in a hurry while carrying a large metal cylinder. Legion raised his weapon, ready to take down the fleeing men, but SID's voice stopped his movement.
"At your six — two enemies preparing to fire."
He reacted quickly and entered a command into his tool, which became a large shield before him. He took four direct shots, absorbed the energy and sent it back at the attackers in one burst. One took the impact full on while the other dodged it, drew a sword from his belt and came at him.
While covering the sword strikes as best he could, Legion opened the communication channel.
"How are things on your end, Shuri?"
"Great. This guy is a pushover..."
The princess's voice was cut off by a sharp thud. A groan from her followed, the sound of her suit exerting force, and a small explosion in the background.
"Sounds like he's giving you quite a bit of trouble," he said while blocking another attack.
"Trouble? Pfft, not at all," she replied over the voice channel. "I'm just giving him the chance to give it everything he's got — so I can crush him like a cockroach afterwards and leave him crying on the floor."
Another thud reverberated through the communicator.
"Step back one meter. Now," SID warned Legion.
The hero obeyed instantly and propelled himself backward in the water. The warrior attacking him tried to advance to catch up, but a body hit him at high speed, sending them both crashing into the nearest wall and leaving him out of commission.
That body was Shuri, who ended up sprawled on top of him, grabbing her armor's stomach section while cursing under her breath.
Legion looked at her for a second over his shoulder.
"You might want to stop giving him so many chances and finish it already, don't you think, Princess?"
Shuri got up quickly and looked at him steadily.
"That's exactly what I was thinking."
"Weak and pathetic surface dwellers... A group of sardines would pose a greater challenge," a heavy voice was heard.
Orka was swimming slowly toward them. His enormous body bore barely a few superficial scratches and bruises that he didn't even seem to feel. At his side, seven more barbarians took their positions.
Legion adjusted the staff in his hands, measuring the distance from the group.
"Easy there, Nemo — save some air because the show is just getting started."
"Any plan?" Shuri asked quickly over the channel.
"From what I saw, King Crab there is pretty resistant, right?"
"Well, yes — he is."
"Resistant enough to take a rocket without dying?"
Shuri turned her head, looking at him sideways, not sure she had heard her companion correctly.
Legion retracted his staff with a snap, hooking it to his waist, and activated the Proto-Tool. The device shifted form in his hands, adjusting its components until it became a heavy rocket launcher that he had to hold with both hands.
Orka tilted his head and raised an eyebrow, intrigued and confused by what that guy was trying to do.
"Say hello to my little friend," the hero said before pulling the trigger.
The rocket shot out and struck Orka square in the chest, catching everyone off guard. The explosion shook the vault. Legion and Shuri stepped back, sheltering behind their shields to withstand the shockwave.
Shuri turned toward him, staring at him in astonishment behind her helmet.
"Why didn't you use that earlier?" she demanded.
"What do you think I am — a tech company?" Legion protested, adjusting the weight of the multi-function tool as the smoke cleared. "Do you know how long it took me to make this thing? And it's not even finished — I only had one shot. I had to make it count... Leaving that aside — are they definitely not going to die?" he asked SID.
"The warriors will need first aid as soon as possible, sir," the artificial intelligence replied. "As for Orka..."
The wave of dust and water cleared, revealing the barbarians scattered and out of commission from the impact. But Orka's enormous figure was still standing. His suit was destroyed and his body covered in cuts, with blood trickling from his chest and mouth. He was leaning, holding the area where he'd been hit — but a brutal smile spread across his face.
"Good... at least it has to be like this if this is going to be fun," the Atlantean growled. "Now that the trash is out, it's just you and me."
The giant stretched his arms, cracking his joints, then rolled his neck.
"Get ready, because—"
Before he could finish the sentence, Legion threw a marble directly at his face. The sphere exploded, releasing a dense foam that expanded instantly, enveloping Orka almost completely.
The Atlantean's eyes went wide — trapped and unable to move.
"Sorry, big guy, but I'm not one for sitting through monologues," Legion said.
"You said you had no more of those!" Orka snarled.
Legion simply shrugged.
"I lied."
Orka stared at him, unable to believe this primate had interrupted him and was now mocking him on top of it.
Shuri couldn't hold back her laughter and pointed directly at him.
"You should see your face! Hahaha!" She moved in without fear and patted him on the head. "What's wrong? Can little Orka not play anymore?" she said, giving his cheek a few pats while the giant ground his teeth in fury.
"Celebrate while you can, girl. Because at the end of this story, you and yours will die by our hands."
Shuri smiled behind her helmet and got right up in his face.
"Oh yeah? And how exactly do you plan to do that from in there, hm?"
Orka returned the smile.
Before anyone could say another word, a violent explosion shook the entire vault. The ocean floor trembled hard, forcing Legion and Shuri to adjust their footing as they looked around in bewilderment.
"We were only taking care of the annoying, boring part," Orka said, enjoying their reactions. "Meanwhile, the others are tearing through the Atlantean defenses."
Shuri looked at him seriously, shaking her head.
"They wouldn't dare. Namor is still here."
Orka tilted his head slowly.
"Are you sure?"
Shuri and Legion exchanged a glance for a second. Another explosion rumbled through the place, making the structure's pillars tremble.
Orka let out a laugh.
"My guys should have already escaped with our objective by now — so I'm afraid to tell you that you're already dead."
Suddenly, a crackle of static broke through both their communicators. Byrrah's voice came through heavy with interference.
"Kzzt!... This... bad... Namor... moved up the preparations... left with... without telling anyone... Attuma and his men... thousands of barbarians... city under attack... titan... Giganto is... Kzzt!"
The line cut off abruptly, leaving only a dull ringing in both their ears.
===
EVERYONE DOING OKAY? HOPE SO!
WELL, THE PLOT IS MOVING FORWARD — TOUGH FIGHTS ARE AHEAD AND THINGS KEEP GETTING MORE COMPLICATED. WHAT WILL OUR HEROES DO NOW? WE'LL FIND OUT IN THE NEXT CHAPTER.
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