Marvel: Incursio

Opening his eyes, Liam found himself back in the throne room. The purple smoke surrounding him slowly pulled away, but to his surprise, it remained in the air a few meters away.

The smoke then began moving towards a single point, compressing itself into what started to look like text.

'5 years.' Liam read. As he did, the smoke dispersed once more, pulling away towards the trapdoor behind the throne.

'So that's the deadline she has given me, huh?' Liam thought, his expression darkening.

'I can also take this as a sign,' he mused bitterly. 'It's very likely that Bast will pull out her people before it truly gets dangerous, but at the same time, the danger has to be clearly visible to them to guarentee they choose her will.'

Sighing, Liam looked up at the stars through the ceiling windows.

'The barrier really doesn't have that much time left, huh?'

Liam had expected to have at least eight to ten more years before the barrier broke. But now, with Bast's behavior, it seemed unlikely he had that long before it became too dangerous for her people—who were far more advanced compared to the regular people out in the world.

Shaking his head, Liam activated his invisibility as he walked out of the throne room. 'This just means I have to speed up many of my plans.'

The next few days passed quickly as Liam settled the remaining details with King T'Chaka. They had come to terms regarding how they would proceed from this point.

"T'Chaka will send a total of fifty people for the first three months," Liam wrote down. "Once those three months pass, he will re-evaluate the deal based on the reports his people send back to him. Depending on the outcome, he will either send more people or withdraw from the deal."

"Out of those fifty people, there are forty border army members, four Dora Milaje, and six scientists." Liam noted the final details before closing his notebook and storing it in his dimensional pocket.

Manpower wasn't the only thing they had talked about, the topic of beast corpses had also been discussed. As previously agreed, Liam had permitted Wakandans to take back the remains of any creatures they had slain.

Furthermore, he had given King T'Chaka introductory books on some of the creatures they might encounter. These books detailed their appearance, strengths, weaknesses, and special abilities.

'These books don't have any real information about high-level beings—only a basic explanation of the power system,' Liam thought, having planned this move carefully.

The risks of revealing too much too soon far outweighed any benefits he could gain from it, leading him to take a slower approach. He would provide more information gradually, each time Wakanda sent additional people he could train as sorcerers.

'Tomorrow, I'll get to portal the Wakandans back to Kamar-Taj,' Liam thought, walking to the glass window in his room.

Outside, the sun had already begun to set.

'I'll leave them in Wong's hands for a while so I can set up an actual headquarters building,' he thought, gazing over the city.

Since first getting the idea of an organization, Liam had already imagined a proper headquarters. The only problem had been money. But thanks to another deal with King T'Chaka, he now possessed five kilos of vibranium he could sell.

'King T'Chaka thought it was a bad deal for me, which helped me negotiate for a generous amount of vibranium,' Liam mused, smiling. 'But it wasn't actually that big of a problem; rather, I would say it helps me quite a lot.'

In exchange for this vibranium, Liam had agreed to delay involving other countries in his organization for at least six months, giving Wakanda a considerable head start.

'Right now, I don't even have a headquarters building, nor do I have anyone capable of managing all these people. Recruiting more members at this stage would be impossible anyway,' Liam reasoned, walking back to his bed.

He planned to use the next six months wisely—building a hidden headquarters building after selling the vibranium to Tony. Since he had no real use for the vibranium right now, he might as well exchange it for hundreds of millions.

'Selling the vibranium to Tony is like swatting two flies at once,' Liam thought. 'He'll be able to upgrade his armor, and I'll secure the funding to establish my organization.'

As for what would happen if Tony refused? Liam hadn't even considered it.

'There's no way Tony would turn this down,' Liam thought as he lay in bed. 'He's a smart businessman. Even if he's still upset about what I did to Vanko, he won't refuse the strongest material currently known to the outside world.'

Closing his eyes, Liam fell asleep.

In his sleep, he once again heard the whispers. However, no strange dreams followed—no dreams of the past, like the one where he relived his first kills in this world. A dream like that, despite a couple of months passing by, had never appeared again.

The next morning, Liam made his way to the royal palace.

Outside, the fifty Wakandans chosen to accompany him were already assembled. They stood in disciplined formation, outwardly calm and serious as they observed Liam. But he could easily tell that most of them were nervous.

Clearly, the commanders of both the Dora Milaje and the border army had informed their respective groups and allowed them to make their own decisions about joining this mission. Being properly informed also meant they understood the possible dangers they might face—explaining their nervousness.

At the very front of the group stood King T'Chaka, T'Challa, Shuri, and Okoye.

As Liam approached, King T'Chaka extended a hand for a handshake. Liam accepted it, exchanging a few words of small talk before moving on to shake T'Challa and Shuri's hands as well.

This wasn't just a simple gesture—it was a calculated move on King T'Chaka's part. By openly showing his trust in Liam, he was setting an example for the others, making it easier for them to accept Liam as their new leader.