Disclaimer - I don't, and have never claimed to, own Marvel or its Intellectual Property. This is all just so that I can take my maladaptive daydreaming and turn it into something so that it does not ruin the rest of my day.
DoorMan #75
Ta-Lo [February 17, 2008]
–Colin Baxter–
"So, you say that even you have not explored these areas?" Shuri asked him as both of them stood atop one of his Doors, which was being gently propelled forward, away from the area of influence of the Water Dragon.
"Yup," He nodded as he steered the Air Door with his mind, senses carefully peeled, just in case something unexpected happened, because this was the part of Ta-Lo that he had not been allowed to see, at all.
Ta-Lo, as a magical hotspot and pocket dimension was odd, even amongst the dozens of magical enclaves around the planet. He had not been to all of them but he most certainly knew how they functioned. Ta-Lo was unique in the sense that a Dragon was the one that powered the whole thing or at least kept it all together. The same Dragon that had been weakening over time, leading the Dragon to cede territory of the pocket dimension they were in.
The original size of the pocket dimension was huge and only over time, did the bubble of influence of the Water Dragon shrank so much, culminating in a small radius around the Great Lake where the Water Dragon currently resided.
That didn't mean that the pocket dimension itself was losing its size. No, the entirety of the pocket dimension was maintained by the Water Dragon, and in maintaining the small bubble where it reigned almost supreme, the Water Dragon made sure that the entire pocket dimension was stable.
It just didn't have the strength and energy to regulate and lord over the entirety of the Pocket dimension….Until now.
Yup, even as he crossed the invisible threshold stopping anyone from Ta-Lo ever visiting the uncontrolled lands, he could feel the invisible sight of the Water Dragon, the pulsing strength of their soul. Yup, it was confirmed, the Water Dragon was much, much stronger than they were in the movies.
It gave them a much better chance with dealing with the Demon from the End, when Wenwu would come knocking. He mentally noted to himself, to track down the madman to either stop him from enacting his foolish agenda and confiscate the rings, or kill the man and be done with the rings. He did not have any mercy for centuries old warlords with a kill count in the tens or maybe even hundreds of thousands, given that he was Asian.
Man, Asian conflicts, not even full scale wars had casualty figures that would rattle anyone who was just accustomed to major World Wars having that high number of casualties.
"Should I be worried?" Shuri asked him, her drones nowhere in sight as her suit had gained the bulk it had before, leaving only her face exposed and even then, he could see the nanites around her neck in a constant state of flux, moving around subtly, as if they were ready to be deployed at a moment's notice and shield Shuri's face from any incoming harm.
"Why?" He asked as he remained ready, his senses detecting a small surge of magic at the edge of his sensory range, something that the Water Dragon probably could not sense anymore because he could not feel the invisible gaze of the Water Dragon anymore.
They were now over 100 miles from the edge of Ta-Lo, and he was finally starting to see some signs of activity now. The scene in front of him was straight from a horror movie. No sign of any life yet but the fog, the eerie silence, and the limited visibility, even after Shuri used whatever high powered lights she had in her suit. It all painted a very grim picture.
Shuri replied after a couple of minutes, "Because you, the strongest person, physically, that I have met is tense as if they were about to face death. Your heart rate is elevated, your muscles are tense and your eyes continue to move in a pattern that screams of you looking for something that might jump out."
"Well," he replied, still not looking at her, "thank you for the compliment and yes, I am expecting some attacks but don't worry, they will not be anything major. Hell, I wager that you would easily be able to handle them with your suit alone."
And if not, he had two overpowered bodyguards just waiting for something to jump him so they could blow off some steam and just obliterate the poor guy.
"If you say so," Shuri said but still, the liquid nanites around her continued to inch up slowly. Well, she was a Princess of a nation so her safety was probably paramount to her.
Speaking of which, "How are you here without Wakanda being turned upside down by your family? I thought all of the members of the Royal Family were either tightly monitored or accompanied by a member of the Dora Milaje at all times?"
"Well, let's just say that my relations with my family are not at their peak."
"....You declared your intent on becoming Queen?"
Shuri's neck whipped so fast it had to have been the nanites that helped her achieve that speed. "....."
"Too soon?" He offered as he raised his hand in front of them and cycled through his Doors. Well, it might tell Shuri and to an extent, Bast as well but he didn't mind that, since the Goddess was soon either going to fall in line or fall out of relevance, courtesy of yours truly.
He truly had no patience or mercy for mind control. It was truly one of the most detestable things you could do, and he knew the hypocrisy in that statement because Kamar Taj regularly employed spells that altered people's perceptions, removed memories of mystical encounters, and more.
He mentally justified those practices to himself because some mystical encounters actually left people insane, their minds unable to comprehend the scenery in front of them, and the most that the Sorcerers at Kamar Taj did was remove memories, not actively control anyone, let alone an entire Country.
As he let loose a mid sized air shockwave, Shuri spoke, her suit of armour probably scanning the whole thing, "I won't ask how you know that but yes, I have decided to become Queen of Wakanda, challenging my brother and my father for the throne. As you can tell, not the greatest family bonding exercise one could do."
"Understandable," He nodded and then cycled to the next Door in line, the Fire one, "Mentally finding the one with the biggest Fire geyser, he opened the Door and watched with a raised eyebrow as the stream of fire literally disappeared into the fog, barely raising the temperature around them but doing nothing to the Fog."
"Huh."
Changing gears, since he could not feel anything now, not even the reassuring presence of Jin'Ya behind him, "Don't be alarmed."
A deep dark red Door appeared in front of them, alarming Shuri to some extent as she took a step closer to him, "What is that?"
Instead of answering, he resized the Door and let loose the biggest barrage of Kinetic Laser he could at the moment, lighting up their entire surroundings in a bright red, that finally cleared some of the fog and removed whatever interference there was that was jamming his senses.
He smiled as he heard some grunts and registered some pings on his magical radar as well. Still nothing from Jin'Ya though but that was fine for now. The mental link was always there if he needed it but the magical presence was gone, which was not new because the Psionic Dragon was so much better than him at hiding and everything else as well.
"Since when can you do that?"! Shuri asked him as they slowly inched forward bit by bit.
____xx____
Romania
–?--
"Sire, we have lost track of the LifeGiver." In the shadowy room, a small movement indicated a thrall entering the chambers of one of the Elder Vampires, the only sign of movement in the room being the door closing on its own.
After a suffocating moment of tense silence, two bright red eyes snapped open, illuminating the chambers in their fiery glow. The gaze pinned down the thrall, making the air feel heavier in the room.
"And the Matron?"
The thrall kept its head bowed, knowing what fate befell its comrades because they were unfortunate enough to lay eyes on their Sire. "We have confirmed contact, Sire. We have lost track of her as well."
There was a deep, gravelly chuckle in the room that made the very chambers vibrate as the very air was suffused with power. Power unlike anything the thrall had ever felt before in its life, burning its clothing and fusing said clothing with its skin. Despite the pain, the thrall kept its head bowed and its body still, knowing the fate it shall suffer if it made any mistakes.
"So, she took the bait. Good. Good."
"Begone," The thrall scrambled out of the room like its life depended on it because it actually did.
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