[ Borderlands, Wakanda ]
"Ah—!"
Batroc's carefully measured footwork faltered, his rhythm breaking. Daisy, watching from her supposed vantage point, smirked internally. Even a man like Batroc, as graceful as a predator, was beginning to fray under pressure.
Then it came—the sound of splintering trees, snapping like matchsticks under pressure, and the unmistakable seismic drumroll of doom.
From deep within the Wakandan forest, something charged forward with the subtlety of a collapsing skyscraper. The rhythm of destruction beat a path through the jungle. Each stomp was a declaration of war against the ground itself.
Through the shattered treeline came Juggernaut.
Towering nearly four meters now, he wasn't just big—he was impossible. Muscles like tectonic plates bulged under crimson armor, and a helmet so massive it made his piggish eyes look like buttons sewn onto a warhead. Juggernaut didn't stop to navigate the terrain. He conquered it.
Storm, hovering midair, felt the aura first—something ancient and foul. A demonic stench clung to the Juggernaut's aura, reminding her of blood rituals and forbidden places.
She narrowed her eyes. "I don't know who you are, but you reek of something unholy."
Without another word, she summoned the storm.
Lightning crackled overhead, wild and furious. She poured magic into her meteorological mastery, and a bolt thick as a tree trunk slashed down from the heavens. The sky roared, and the light flash momentarily turned day into blindness.
It struck Juggernaut squarely on the dome.
BOOM.
Everyone on the battlefield was momentarily deafened, some even temporarily blinded. The shockwave rolled like thunder, rattling bones.
But Juggernaut didn't stop. He didn't even stumble.
Storm's eyes widened. She hadn't faced someone like this before. This was like throwing water at a tank and expecting rust.
She tried to rise, instinct screaming at her to climb higher, out of reach—but flying wasn't just will. It required finesse, balance. And she had already poured her energy into the lightning.
Too late. Juggernaut surged toward her, fury incarnate.
Daisy moved.
Calculations. Angles. Velocities. Impact spread. Her brain, always one step ahead, shifted into overdrive.
She sprinted and launched into the air, every limb taut with purpose. With perfect timing, she snagged Storm midair and twisted their bodies, diving sideways.
Juggernaut brush past the two of them, close enough for Daisy to feel the impact of collision with his armor. A second slower, and Storm would've been pulp.
The shockwave still hit storm.
Storm, vulnerable and less durable, coughed violently, blood spraying her lips before her eyes rolled back. She went limp in Daisy's arms.
Daisy's original plan was to save Black Panther, but now she had to change her plan. She wanted Wakanda to give her the heart-shaped herb, so she didn't make any defensive vibration energy shield around and took the aftermath of the impact on her body.
The reason why she save Storm and had to change her plan was because she was afraid that the storm would not able to save herself. As Black Panther's childhood sweetheart, the old king's future daughter-in-law, and the future queen candidate, they would not ignore her, right? Saving one of them is still saving one of their, so it would be okay, right?
Unlike Storm, who is less durable, her physical fitness is much stronger.
Daisy winced, not from injury, but calculation. She'd already accepted the hit, planned her own trajectory.
The impact force of the Juggernaut was comparable to that of a train and was very terrifying, but the aftermath of the side impact was just that, and she would be fine after lying down for a while.
But Daisy strived for authenticity and ruthlessly broke several of her own bones with her powers. She spat out a mouthful of blood near Storm's unconscious body. Realism mattered.
"Drama sells," she whispered to herself then hugged the silver-haired beauty tightly and pretended to be unconscious.
The Dora Milaje noticed immediately. Two guards rushed forward amidst the chaos. As the roar of Black Panther and the powerful footsteps of Juggernaut could be heard.
They tried to lift Storm separately, but Daisy—even 'unconscious'—refused to let go. Her grip was the picture of loyalty, noble sacrifice, and theatrical flair. The guards hesitated, impressed. Clearly, these two shared a friendship forged in fire.
With a nod of respect, they carried both women together.
The battlefield behind them erupted anew. Black Panther, no longer interested in personal victory, signaled the skies. Wakandan fighter jets screamed overhead. Sonic disruptors and energy cannons joined the fray.
Juggernaut, who had crushed forests underfoot, now met the wrath of Wakandan tech. It wouldn't defeat him—but it would push him back.
Daisy was still holding Storm, and they were lying on a specially made stretcher.
In order to avoid exposing any flaw in her acting, she blocked most of her five senses and suppressed her brain waves, making her look like she was about to die.
She have been studying various forces and reaction forces in the past year or so. This impact force is nothing. She is faking her death, but Storm on the opposite side is really going to die.
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[ Royal Palace, Wakanda ]
Back at the palace, the jets made a swift landing. Daisy and Storm were laid out in the medical wing. The court healer frowned deeply.
"They're beyond our help," he announced gravely. "Their lives… minutes at most."
Daisy waited patiently for T'Challa to make a decision. It must be said that Black Panther is a good man.
And T'Challa didn't blink.
"Everyone out," he ordered, voice firm.
When the guards hesitated, he thundered, "Out!"
Then he turned to the remaining Dora Milaje. "Carry them. With me. Now."
They didn't question him. They followed.
Around the palace, they ran—taking a hidden path to the back mountain.
On the way, Daisy heard someone trying to stop them.
"You can't bring them here!" one shouted. "It's against royal protocol!"
"The Queen forbids it!" another chimed in.
T'Challa's jaw clenched. He didn't slow. "My mother is not the one who decides life or death."
Daisy heard every word. Her suppressed senses picked up the tones of tension. Ah, the eternal struggle of mother-in-law versus daughter-in-law. Even among Wakandan royalty, some problems were universal.
She'd been worried this tension might doom her gamble—but T'Challa proved himself reliable.
He wasn't just a prince—he was a man with a spine.
The old king T'Chaka never showed up from beginning to end. If asked later, he will says he didn't know about the matter, but Daisy wouldn't believe him. According to her political knowledge, the old king was probably afraid of taking political risks, so he hid behind the scenes. If something went wrong in the future, he could put the blame on his son.
But Daisy didn't mind it very much. The other party will pretend not to know, which was actually a kind of support.
As they enter the cave of heart-shaped herbs, Daisy felt the atmosphere change. Ancient energy pulsed in the cave.
"Bring us the heart-shaped herb," T'Challa demanded, his voice echoing off the walls. "Two of them."
The priests hesitated only a second after seeing that no one was trying to stop their Prince. And one glance at Storm's pale form and the 'dying' Daisy was enough understand the situation.
Without another word, they retrieved two glowing plants. T'Challa took them solemnly.
Daisy waited for the moment, muscles aching with tension as she slowly released Storm's form, letting her go limp in the stretcher beside her.
Her act had worked. She would get what she wanted—what she needed.
The heart-shaped herb.
Not just survival. Power.
To Be Continued...
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[POWER STONES AND REVIEWS PLS]