Broken Wings

Chapter 9 Kiss of Life

Talia buckled in the last strap on her armoured top, took a deep breath before she glanced at her companions.

Nakia was also taking steady breaths, getting into the right mental state before what was to come. Shuri meanwhile was adjusting her gauntlet to fit more comfortably on her hands; once she was done, the princess also looked up and caught Talia's eyes. Talia tilted her head questioningly, and Shuri nodded before she stepped out of the shadows and in front of the main hangar doors. Nakia and Talia followed suit, each powering up their own weapons before Talia hit the button Shuri indicated.

At once, the doors slid open to reveal the open hangar and the wide Wakandan plains beyond. But Talia immediately fired her gun as her eyes instantly landed on the guards standing restlessly before the royal ship. In the distance, a miniature war had broken out in the middle of the green plains as the Border Tribe and what looked like armoured rhinos attacked T'Challa and tried to prevent him from coming any closer to the Great Mound. It seemed General Okoye and her Dora Milaje however had elected to remain loyal to the Wakandan King as the fierce women took on both Killmonger and the Border Tribe who challenged T'Challa.

It was the battle with Killmonger, led by Okoye, that they had a better view of as the American took on Okoye and two of her Dora further down near the mouth of the hangar. And as Shuri and Nakia headed for the royal ship still parked at the back of the hangar, Talia moved swiftly toward the duel where the Dora were slowly getting overpowered by the enhanced male. She arrived just as Killmonger and the Dora looked up when the Royal Talon - now powered by Shuri's device and piloted by Everett - suddenly took off after the other Wakandan ships laden with weapons that were already headed for the border. And Talia used the moment to leap between the Dora and swing her spear-shaped gun down on Killmonger's helmeted head.

The former agent barely avoided getting his head clobbered as he just managed to block Talia's attack with his own short spear and sword.

"Go! We can't let those weapons get beyond Wakanda!"

Talia heard Shuri's voice come over her comms as she instructed Everett. Talia meanwhile swiftly kicked Killmonger in the stomach, forcing him to drop his arms as he automatically grasped toward the pain while she tumbled back and landed in a crouch at the same time that Okoye shouted.

"Now!"

The Dora jumped quickly on the opportunity Talia had created, snapping their long spears into place against Killmonger's torso and locking his arms against his body. Killmonger howled as the Dora charged up their spears, electrocuting him through his suit while he was unable to fight them as they kept him held firmly in place.

"Get him down!" Okoye barked even as she kicked Killmonger harshly on the back of his knee.

His knee buckled at once and Killmonger was forced down on his knees as the Dora shoved their full weight against him and kept him immobilized with their electric spears.

"Get the necklace!" Okoye ordered as the Dora moved their spears and locked it around Killmonger's neck.

Talia came over and she reached for the gold fang necklace around Killmonger's neck, which matched T'Challa's silver one and which she suspected was the source of Killmonger's new black and gold panther suit. But it was as she was reaching for the ex-agent's neck that Talia noticed the way Killmonger's suit sparkled with golden light. There was something familiar about the pattern and it was only a second later that she remembered seeing the same light appearing on T'Challa's suit after he'd absorbed the grenade blast in Korea.

"Get back!" Talia yelled in warning as she grabbed at Killmonger's neck with belated haste. But she was too late.

Talia's fingers had just curled around the necklace when Killmonger released the pent-up kinetic energy his suit had stored. Okoye and the Dora went flying, screaming as they hurtled toward the plains below the hangar where they landed painfully on the ground and rolled into the middle of a battlefield. Talia meanwhile was caught as Killmonger grabbed her by the wrist before she could wrench off his necklace and he twisted her arm at the very moment she lost her balance as a result of his energy blast. Talia screamed, her hand loosening automatically.