Advanced chapters on P@treon.com/Saintbarbido.
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(General P.O.V)
The aircraft touched down on the outskirts of the Plateau. The sleek SSR transport jet was modified for high-priority operations.
The Wakandan royal guard lined the runway, their spears held high as a show of power.
They did not trust outsiders and made their hostility known as the ramp lowered with a hydraulic hiss.
Sebastian Shaw stepped into Wakanda.
Sw'Thandi's first impression of the man was exactly what he expected.
Polished. Calculated. Dangerous.
Shaw carried himself like a man who knew he belonged in any room he walked into, no matter how unwelcome he was.
His dark tailored suit barely wrinkled as he descended the ramp, and his expression was one of mild curiosity, as if stepping into the most advanced civilization on Earth was nothing more than an interesting footnote in his day.
King Azzuri stood beside Sw'Thandi, his expression unreadable. "Sebastian Shaw, welcome to Wakanda. I was told Lieutenant Peggy Carter would be accompanying you."
Shaw gave an easy smile, a practiced thing, the kind that masked true intentions. "Peggy and I had a...disagreement on how to effectively approach Sergeant Bond's situation. The higher ups agreed I was best suited to handle this matter alone, leading to her absence your Majesties. I must say, Wakanda is far more impressive than the rumors suggest."
"You did not cross an ocean for a tour Mr. Shaw. Your presence in Wakanda is for one reason," Azzuri said, voice cold. "Fix the man about to blow up half the continent."
Sw'thandi stiffened at the brief disdain that flashed in Shaw's eyes before it was quickly gone.
"Of course. I admire a man on point King Azzuri." Shaw tilted his head slightly, his calculating gaze flicking to Sw'Thandi. "And where is our patient?"
Sw'Thandi didn't reply. He simply turned and walked toward the Plateau site.
Shaw followed, only throwing a single glance at the SSR Transport Jet behind him, where the pilot was strangely missing from his seat at the cockpit.
'Good. Azazel is in.' Shaw thought with a hidden grin at the Dora Milaje surrounding the Jet. 'Some guards they are.'
"We've arrived." Sw'thandi informed him.
Up ahead, the scientists had erected a containment field supported by 4 metal pillars. The purple field warped as it suppressed the energy waves surging out of Bond's body.
"Incredible. Vibranium is truly God's gift to the world." Shaw muttered at the Vibranium pillars. "Harder than diamond, and can survive exposure to radiation in the megatons."
He suddenly turned to Sw'thandi. "Are you familiar with the Eastern myth of Buddha's challenge to the crafty Monkey King Sun Wukong?"
Sw'thandi gave no response and merely kept staring at him. Shaw's smile tightened. "In any case, these pillars are Buddha's fingers. An inescapable cage for the Monkey King who in this situation is our Sergeant James Bond."
Bond gave no reaction to the mention of his name. He sat on scorched ground at the center of the energy field, his skin faintly glowing with cracks of golden energy. Radiation waves surged out of the cracks in a slow, erratic rhythm.
His breathing was steady, but every exhale produced energy plumes, as if he were barely holding himself together.
Shaw approached, his hands in his pockets, studying Bond like a scientist examining an anomaly under a microscope.
Bond didn't open his eyes when he spoke.
"I recognize that look," he murmured, his voice hoarse. "The same one Hydra scientists had before they started cutting people open."
Shaw chuckled. "Come now, Sergeant, you mean you can see through your eyelids? That was not in your profile. Then again neither was all this." He gestured toward the crater. "My name is Sebastian Shaw and I'm not Hydra. If anything, they'd be the ones studying you right now, if not for Wakanda's intervention. You should be grateful. Oh and Peggy says hello."
Bond's eyes finally open and he lifted his head. Golden ember orbs locked onto Shaw's, and for the first time, Shaw hesitated. It felt like he was in the crosshairs of death.
"I probably shouldn't have mentioned Lieutenant Carter so casually. I apologize." Shaw stated, clearing his throat.
Bond closed his eyes once more and Shaw could breathe normally again. Ignoring Sw'thandi's amused snort, Shaw returned to studying Bond.
The energy radiating from him wasn't just raw radiation—it was exotic, not Thermal, electrical, solar or anything even an energy specialist like him had encountered before. And it was slowly evolving, both in quality and quantity.
"…You're still changing," Shaw mused, his curiosity deepening.
Bond exhaled. "That's the problem."
Shaw knelt down, studying Bond's condition more closely. "Your body should have torn itself apart by now. But instead, it's adapting."
Bond's jaw clenched. "And if it adapts too far?"
Shaw smirked. "Then you'll become something new or eventually be devoured by the storm of ever-increasing radiation. It's a struggle of the fittest, where the first to hits their limit falls to the victor. Evolution, a fascinating concept, don't you think?"
Sw'Thandi cut in, voice sharp. "We didn't bring you here to theorize, Shaw. We need a solution. Now."
Shaw sighed, standing up and brushing imaginary dust from his sleeves. "A solution? To what, exactly?" He turned to the gathered scientists. "This man has surpassed anything the Super Soldier Serum with all its flaws and subversion of nature, was designed to achieve. His body is stabilizing itself—"
Bond let out a short, humorless laugh. "You think this is stable?"
The air around him warped, the heat rising, and the ground beneath him cracked from the sheer energy pushing outward. The containment fields flickered, struggling to hold.
Shaw's expression shifted ever so slightly. "Alright," he admitted. "Maybe not. But I believe in your mutation, sergeant. You can still wrest back control. Believe in your God given gift and prevail!"
Sw'thandi frowned at Shaw's words.
"I thought you were bringing in a specialist Sw'thandi. What is this believe in yourself crap?" Bond growled. Sw'thandi grimaced while Shaw looked offended.
"Listen Shaw." Bond bit out, gripping his forearms as if trying to physically hold himself together. "If you have a way to help, now's the time…Wakanda won't survive the next explosion."
Shaw's grin returned. "I can and I will my dear Sergeant."
He motioned for one of the Wakandan scientists to hand him a data pad and scrolled through the energy readings.
"I can stabilize him by offloading the excess energy elsewhere." Shaw said after a moment. "It won't be as simple as a cure but it might lead to a permanent solution."
King Azzuri's gaze hardened. "So what do you propose?"
Shaw looked directly at Bond.
"We complete the transformation."
The silence that followed was deafening.
Bond's hands curled into fists. "Define 'complete.'"
Shaw stepped forward. "With periodic energy offloading, we can balance the equation of body vs power and guide the process until you can adapt to every iota of the energy."
Sw'Thandi folded his arms. "And what does this offloading entail?"
Shaw's smile was sharp. "A controlled energy transfer. We need to move the excess power into something else. Something durable enough to temporarily hold the excess radiation, for Bond's adaptation to outpace his growing power. A conduit if you will."
Sw'Thandi frowned. "And what exactly do you suggest we use as a conduit?"
Shaw shrugged. "Oh, I don't know. Wakanda's full of interesting artifacts. I'm sure we can find something like...say a ton of Vibranium for it's energy absorbing capability?"
The tension in the air thickened.
King Azzuri's expression was unreadable. "No cost is too great for Wakanda's Savior. But more concerningly, you want to experiment on him."
Shaw tilted his head. "He's already an experiment. The difference is, now we have a chance to perfect it."
Bond stood. He'd heard enough and knew that Shaw was lying about his intentions.
The pillars groaned as the energy surges became faster. Fortunately for everyone around, Bond's control had increased enough that he redirected the worst of it onto the ground below him. The earth cracked and melted beneath the golden beam.
Bond stayed floating in the air above the forming pit, his movements calm and measured. Shaw met his eyes and for a moment, neither man spoke.
Then Bond smirked. "I don't trust you, Sebastian Shaw."
Shaw smirked back. "Smart."
Bond rolled his shoulders, testing his movement. "But if your 'offloading' plan stops me from leveling an entire country just by breathing wrong…"
A beat of silence.
Bond exhaled.
"Then bloody hell, let's do it."
"That's the fearless Sergeant Bond I've heard about!" An elated Shaw clapped his hands, turning to the scientists. "Write this down, I'll need as much Vibranium ores you can fit into a container tank..."
Bond shared a look with Sw'Thandi. After 6 months working together, they could understand each other.
He could see Sw'thandi's suspicions too.
And yet… there was no other option but to play along until Shaw exposed himself.