Location: Wakanda – 1894 (Pre-Colonial Era)
Time: Temporal Anchor Synced
It was like stepping into a dream painted in obsidian and gold.
Wakanda in the 19th century was breathtaking. Towering cliffs shaped by ancient hands. Lush valleys buzzing with unspoiled energy. The Heart-Shaped Herb fields glowed faintly beneath the twin moons, protected by a tribe that had no idea their destiny was under attack.
And in the middle of it all: Omega operatives with plasma rifles—aimed at a village elder surrounded by children.
I landed hard, fire trailing behind me from the Ashstep burst.
"Hey," I called out, my voice echoing across the stone.
"Wrong timeline."
---
[System Alert: Mission Priority]
> Protect: Bashenga the Seer
Threat Level: Omega-Class Strike Team
Enemy Composition: 3 Enhanced Operatives | 1 Temporal Displacer
Bonus: Preserve the Heart-Shaped Herb Grove
Reward: Pantherblood Resonance (Potential Trait)
The man they were targeting—Bashenga—wasn't just a wise old villager.
He was the ancestor of the Black Panther bloodline.
If he died here… Wakanda would fall centuries before Thanos ever touched Earth.
---
I fired first.
Two quick pistol shots—non-lethal disruptor rounds I loaded before the jump. The first operative's rifle exploded in his hands. The second ducked—but too late. I Ashstepped behind him, grabbed his arm, and slammed him into the mud.
The third, a woman with silver skin implants, activated a cloaking veil and vanished.
---
[Scan Engaged – Heat Signatures Detected]
I pulsed my Scan & Analyze, lighting up her footsteps in glowing orange. She was circling Bashenga.
Nope.
I pulled the Symbiote Fragment from my inventory and slammed it against my chest.
It spread like liquid ink, forming black armor over my body with silver highlights. My senses sharpened. My heart rate synced to the suit's pulse.
---
[Symbiote Trait: Adaptive Reflex Activated]
> Incoming Attack Predicted – Counter Suggested: Elbow Strike, Follow-Up Sweep
I did exactly that.
She decloaked mid-strike, shocked I could see her. My elbow caught her jaw. She hit the ground, dazed.
"Three down," I muttered.
Then a fourth stepped out of the air—wearing a red temporal cloak and carrying a crystalline spear made of reverse-phase Vibranium.
"Victor Wick," he said, voice distorted. "Sovereign sends his regards."
I tilted my head. "Do all you timeline terrorists introduce yourselves before dying?"
"No," he said, "only the ones that survive."
He struck.
---
Round One: Fire vs Phase
The spear moved like liquid thunder. I blocked it with a wrist shield, but the Vibranium reacted—its frequency scrambled my armor's structure.
Pain flashed through my arm.
Symbiote armor flared. My suit healed, but the message was clear—his spear was anti-tech and anti-magic.
Which meant I had to get creative.
I launched Ashstep, burning behind him in a blink, and tried to sweep his legs. He phased—literally—his body slipping between frames of reality.
"Quantum dancer," I realized aloud. "You're not fully here."
"I'm exactly where I need to be," he replied—and slashed again.
---
[Status: -28 HP | Symbiote Stability: 82%]
I activated Chrono-Focus.
Time slowed. I mapped his movements like a math problem. For the first time, I saw the rhythm of his phasing.
He dipped in and out every 2.3 seconds. A delay. A pattern.
And I had a window.
When he reappeared, I hit him with a modified Null-Spike—tuned to a Vibranium frequency Wong helped me build.
The spike detonated on contact.
Pop.
He phased—and stayed phased.
Glitching.
Screaming.
Then his body crystallized into stillness—frozen in a half-phase state.
---
[System Notification: Primary Threat Neutralized]
> Temporal Integrity: 97%
Bashenga: Unharmed
Herb Grove: Untouched
Wakanda's timeline… preserved.
---
Bashenga approached me cautiously. His robes rustled like dry leaves. His eyes—sharp, old beyond years—studied me.
"You are not of this land… or this time."
"Correct."
"Then why do you bleed for us?"
I paused.
"Because someone tried to erase your legacy. That legacy… builds the future I need."
Bashenga smiled faintly. Then reached forward and placed two fingers on my forehead.
He whispered something ancient—words that tasted like roots and thunder.
My system lit up.
---
[Trait Unlocked: Pantherblood Resonance]
> Passive Boosts: Enhanced Night Vision | Heart-Rate Awareness in Combat
Instinct Overdrive: Allows reflex-based combat decisions to override conscious lag
(Unlocks deeper Panther abilities if exposed to Heart-Shaped Herb in future)
I dropped to one knee from the sudden overload.
Bashenga was gone—vanished into the grove with his people.
Wakanda knew how to keep its secrets.
---
Return Portal – Kamar-Taj
I stepped through the portal to find Wong waiting.
"You succeeded," he said.
"Just barely."
He nodded toward the glowing tablet on the table. "MI-13 intercepted this."
On the screen: A list of upcoming Omega incursions. Locations. Targets. Names.
At the top:
"Target Timeline Event: Avengers Formation – Interference Imminent"
Below that, two targets circled in red.
Tony Stark
Steve Rogers
---
"Victor," Wong said, voice grave, "they're going after the moment the Avengers form."
"They're not trying to win battles anymore," I replied. "They're trying to delete legends."
I clenched my fists. Fire licked at my boots from my Ashstep aura.
"They want war across all timelines?"
"Then let's give them one."
---