Chapter 381: Hank Pym Has Been Waiting
Batman was right, and T'Challa knew it. By his own pride and by Wakanda's honor, had their positions been reversed, he would have done exactly the same -- and it was precisely that promise he had made when he handed over the Kimoyo Bead.
Neither man wasted time on sentiment. They moved directly into preparation.
"Every king who has worn the Black Panther mantle has consumed the Heart-Shaped Herb to receive the Panther God's power. I haven't. My physical conditioning is exceptional by human standards -- but it's nowhere near M'Baku's level now. I need a suit."
They worked across the worn table in the apartment -- a prince of Wakanda and the Dark Knight of Gotham, the planning methodical and urgent in equal measure.
"I'll get you a Vibranium suit." Batman said without hesitation.
"We don't have--" T'Challa stopped mid-sentence. "You're talking about the piece I gave you."
"Three kilograms total. Not enough for heavy plate armor, but I can--"
T'Challa raised a hand quickly to stop him.
"No. Three kilograms is enough."
Batman paused.
"Three kilograms. Wrapping Vibranium around you like a membrane?"
"Exactly. The Black Panther suit has never been like yours." T'Challa glanced at Batman's chest.
The Arkham suit sat between armored and form-fitting -- half supported by the musculature beneath it, half by layered plating. The chest piece was the thickest section, visibly raised and prominent.
"Give me the design." Batman said.
He had already been calculating alternatives -- a hybrid of Vibranium and Adamantium if the Vibranium proved insufficient. But Adamantium required Antarctic Vibranium fused with specialty metals, and Silver Sable's team had only just arrived on the continent. That timeline wouldn't work.
T'Challa found paper and a pen in the apartment and sketched quickly.
Batman looked it over. The Black Panther suit was entirely form-fitting -- change the color, add webbing, and it was essentially Spider-Man's silhouette.
"Weapons. I need non-lethal only." T'Challa slid the finished sketch across and tapped it. "Our opposition isn't just M'Baku and Klaue's mercenaries -- it's also Wakanda's own military forces. I can't hurt them."
"Wakanda's terrain map."
"Approach routes."
Working in tandem, a clear and detailed plan took shape rapidly. Batman ran it through additional mental simulations, stress-testing the gaps, and quietly layered in several fallback contingencies.
Then came the manufacturing.
"This is how Vibranium is processed." T'Challa wrote a sequence of technical data on paper -- specific sonic frequencies required to disrupt the stability of the atomic bonds -- and handed it over without hesitation.
What he was handing over should have been classified at the highest level. Letting it leave Wakandan royal hands was the equivalent of making an enemy of Wakanda. T'Challa passed it across anyway. It was the same as pressing the blade of a knife against your own chest and putting the handle in someone else's hands.
Batman read it once. Then he crumpled the paper, drew a small vial from his utility belt, and let a single drop of liquid fall on the wadded sheet.
In two or three seconds, the paper dissolved entirely. Not a trace left.
T'Challa looked at him, puzzled.
Batman tapped his temple.
"I've already memorized it."
T'Challa spread his hands and moved on without comment.
"Batman -- I don't know your actual capabilities. If you're willing, I'd like to spar before we finalize the plan. It would make everything more reliable."
T'Challa knew the stories circulating in New York. He knew Batman's technological resources were extraordinary. But the man's raw combat ability was a complete unknown to him.
Batman didn't answer. He stood, walked to the apartment's living room, and turned to beckon T'Challa in.
"In here?" T'Challa blinked.
"Yes. No damage to anything in the apartment. You'll have a clearer picture of what I can and can't do." Batman said.
T'Challa nodded. He was weakened right now -- no Heart-Shaped Herb, seven days without food -- but even at this level he could defeat any world-class heavyweight fighter without much difficulty.
Since Batman was asking, T'Challa didn't argue. He pushed off one foot and came forward.
---
Late that night.
T'Challa remained in the apartment. Batman changed into the Uru armor and went directly to the Pym Technologies building.
Ant-Man and Wasp had been absent for roughly two weeks following the confrontation in the Adirondacks. Batman had come several times during that period and been met each time by giant ants and Ultron robots. He had left handwritten notes on each visit, telling Ant-Man and Wasp he would return.
This wasn't provocation. He wasn't coming back to steal more Pym Particles in front of them.
He was coming because of a suspicion he'd been sitting with: if the inference he and Hawkeye and Black Widow had made was correct -- if S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury was HYDRA -- then what did that make Ant-Man? The man who secretly managed what was designated the D-2 Ant Farm?
Hawkeye and Black Widow had been dark since their departure. Batman knew he had to make this contact himself.
He landed soundlessly on the edge of the Pym Technologies building's light well. The glass panel above it -- the one Venom Robin had smashed through on a previous visit -- had been replaced with triple-layered bulletproof, blast-resistant glass threaded with metal wire. If broken by force, the wire would electrify instantly.
Batman was already working through his entry approach when something stopped him.
The rooftop beside him was wrong. Hidden beneath the surface: a metal mechanism that hadn't been there on any of his previous visits.
As he watched, one of the roof panels rose and slid aside.
An Ultron robot head rose from the opening, blue light in its eye sockets. Its jaw worked as it addressed him:
"Mr. Hank Pym has been waiting. Please follow me."
The surrounding roof panels began sliding outward in sequence, opening up in all directions, and a bright, wide staircase appeared in the space below.