55 Gathering of Champions

(Sorry about not posting for 2 days. I started doing research for my next book and next thing I know, I already have 7k words written, not including the 2.3K worth of notes I wrote about the plot and characters)

-- A few months after the wedding --

J'Zaki had spent the months after his wedding training with the champions that would partake in the Contest of Champions while Ororo took control of the nation with the help of her mother and Queen Rowagar Ramonda.

On the grounds outside of the manor, N'Jadaka and T'Challa were having a sparring match with one another. Both were wearing Shuri's latest version of the Black Panther habit. The former wore one with bronze or golden designs while the latter had a silver design to his.

Black tentacles emerged from N'Jadaka's suit before they lifted T'Challa up in the air. Most of the tentacles were focused on his limbs while a few were on his torso. The tentacles tried to force their way into T'Challa's suit but the suit was so tight that none of them could find an opening.

"Come on, Cuz! That all you got?" N'Jadaka taunted T'Challa as he held him in the air. While they were sparring, his main focus was on dodging all T'Challa's blows and waiting until he found an opening. Because neither made contact with one other, his suit couldn't use its special function on releasing kinetic energy in a spontaneous burst.

T'Challa kept trying to free himself by twisting and turning but there was nothing he could do. If T'Challa was like a panther when he hunted, N'Jadaka was a hybrid of a tiger and spider. He would watch his prey and look for an opening before trapping his opponent and crushing their neck in a single blow.

"Alright, enough." J'Zaki clapped his hands and ended the fight. He had seen enough. With this, the lineup for the battle was pretty much determined.

Nezhno, Idie, Shuri, and N'Jadaka were going to be the main fighters while T'Challa would be a substitute or backup depending on the other side's lineup.

Nezhno and Idie were the most obvious two to pick. While T'Challa and N'Jadaka were more experienced and better fighters, they lacked the raw firepower that these two had. With them, J'Zaki was confident that even Hercules would have a hard time taking on both him and Nezhno at the same time while Idie could take on multiple weaker heroes at the same time. Besides them, the other members of the Royal Family could take on pretty much anyone else.

Just as he was about to give them some instructions, a pillar of light appeared out of nowhere in front of the group. J'Zaki immediately activated his eyes to see what was inside but the energy was so thick that he couldn't see anything within it.

Ororo flew over from the castle while several different groups of armed forces around Wakanda rushed over. "Ki. What is going on?"

J'Zaki was about to answer when he felt a buzzing in his mind.

'Child,' Sekhmet's voice was reaching into his mind. 'Your opponents are here. The battle shall take place at dawn tomorrow morning. Only allow the 5 who shall battle them be present for the damage that the group will cause will kill anyone in the vicinity or result in a break of the rules.'

Hearing that his opponents were in the pillar of light, J'Zaki got even more curious. He didn't answer Ororo immediately but concentrated on the pillar. His eyes began to bleed while he began to slowly tear through the veil of light. But when he glanced inside, he was shocked by his vision.

J'Zaki immediately shut down his vision and covered his eyes. Without knowing how tiring it was, he began to fall to the ground. Luckily, Ororo and Shuri had been able to catch him.

"Ki! Are you alright?"

"Big brother!"

J'Zaki waved his hands while he caught his breath and thought about the figures inside.

"I'm fine. Just getting a better understanding of what we are going up against. Those are the enemies we will be battling tomorrow for Wakanda's future." he looked at the pillar in apprehension. He had expected a heavy hitter or two but not as many as they had brought. But at the very least, he was able to guess their identities thanks to their armor and weapons."Change of plans. Shuri is out. T'Challa, you will have to replace her."

The others were confused. Shuri was their best fighter since she could copy the moves of any opponent. But none of them questioned it. J'Zaki wouldn't put in all the effort that he had to throw it all away at the last moment.

The rest of the night was tense. Not only were the people of Wakanda able to see the pillar of light but it was visible for anyone to see as the light extended all the way into space. The number of calls that they had received wanting to confirm what the light was and for permission to enter Wakanda was countless.

The 2 former queens, the current queen, and Princess Shuri were kept busy dealing with everything while the warriors prepared for the battle they would have to partake in the next morning. The rest of the world could be dealt with later.

When the night had passed, and the sunlight rose, the pillar of light started to thin out. J'Zaki and the other warriors could see who they were going up against with their bare eyes.

The team consisted of the same gender ratio as Wakanda's. In the center was a large man wearing green armor with a huge mace on his back.

To his right was a man holding a spear and shield in one hand while to the giant man's left was a woman with blonde hair, wearing all white.

On the far end to the left was a blonde man who seemed to be the only one armed with modern weapons.

The last member of the group was on the far right. The man looked very familiar to the mutant that just wouldn't stay down when J'Zaki had fought with the X-Men.

The man in the center looked at J'Zaki and could tell that he was the strongest.

"Good man!" his voice boomed. "Let us have a glorious battle!"