Even Batman hadn't expected that after jumping down from the Batwing and landing on the deck of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Helicarrier, the first troublesome matter he encountered wouldn't come from an adversary, but from Thor, the God of Thunder.
"Thor attacked Electro?" Batman asked back in surprise, listening to Iron Man's slightly furious voice over the encrypted comms.
Venom Robin immediately pricked up his ears. Since following Batman, he had never even seen such an expression on his face, making it hard for Robin not to be curious about what on earth was going on.
"You don't know the location? He's on a plain?" Batman inquired once more.
Upon receiving an affirmative response from Iron Man, he knit his brows and pondered for a few seconds:
"How long will it take for Stark Industries' satellites to pinpoint his location?"
"At least three hours," Iron Man said.
This involved scanning on a global scale under emergency circumstances, rather than scanning based on explicit coordinates provided by Batman.
Three hours was already the minimum time reconfirmed multiple times by JARVIS.
"Change your approach, Tony," Batman immediately formulated a countermeasure. "Hold on."
Tony offered a brief response from his end and fell silent.
"Alfie, how many weather satellites are currently in orbit globally? What is the minimum number of satellites required to assemble a weather network?" Batman asked.
Alfred's scope of activity was by no means limited to the Batcave; it encompassed Reflection, South Brother Island, all the Batsuits, and the vast majority of networks across the globe.
With Batman currently aboard the Helicarrier, there was naturally no need for Alfred to project a holographic avatar; his voice sounded directly within the suit:
"Master Wayne, due to the need to achieve this in a short timeframe without factoring in Earth's rotation, satellite orbital trajectories, or existing weather satellite distributions, a minimum of sixteen satellites is required."
Batman nodded, speaking to Tony Stark once again:
"Tony, I am sending you the serial numbers of eight weather satellites. Hack into them."
"JARVIS," Iron Man didn't hesitate for a single second.
"Alfie," Batman issued the command to Alfred as well.
How much time would it take for two artificial intelligences far ahead of their time to hack into weather satellites?
Venom Robin didn't know; all he knew was that the moment Batman finished issuing the order, Alfred's voice sounded:
"Ready, Master Wayne."
In the very next second, JARVIS's voice echoed over the encrypted comms as well:
"Ready, sir."
"I know what to do for the next step, Peter," Iron Man said.
Batman said nothing, instead rapidly checking the imagery transmitted after Alfred hacked into the weather satellites.
Regrettably, among his feeds, there were no scenes fitting Electro Max Dillon's description of "clouds rolling across the plain, with flashing lightning and roaring thunder."
It was Iron Man's side that made a discovery:
"Peter, I found it. Located in East Africa, the coordinates are..."
Batman glanced at the coordinates provided by Tony, rubbing his chin:
"Got it. Leave this to me."
"How are you going to handle it? Thor seems to have gone mad for some reason," Iron Man said.
"That isn't Thor; he's in Norway," Batman said. "Though I am not yet clear on who it actually is, I will arrange for a reliable person to go and retrieve Max Dillon."
"I trust you," Iron Man said. "Those coordinates?"
"That location is relatively close to Wakanda. T'Challa can arrive in time," Batman said.
"Huh?"
"Storms? Lightning? Electro?"
Within the royal city of Wakanda, T'Challa stood up abruptly:
"Dora Milaje, move out with me."
Clatter!
Beneath the throne, on both sides, the solemn-faced Dora Milaje clad in gold-and-red cloth armor raised their spears.
A few minutes later, King T'Challa had put on his suit, setting off directly for the coordinates provided by Batman alongside the Dora Milaje aboard several flight craft in his capacity as Black Panther.
The coordinates provided by Batman pointed to a plain. Because dark clouds rolled in the sky amid flashing lightning and roaring thunder, Stark Industries' satellites could not precisely pinpoint Electro Max Dillon's position.
Upon arriving at the plain, Black Panther's group split up immediately, speeding off in all directions to search for Electro.
"Your Majesty, found him!" Soon, one of the Dora Milaje members spoke into the comm channel.
"Tell him I am an ally of Batman and bring him back to Wakanda," Black Panther commanded.
"Your Majesty, aren't you coming back?" the Dora Milaje member asked.
"No rush," Black Panther said. "I've encountered someone."
"A person? Your Majesty, do you require backup?"
"No need. She harbors no malice," T'Challa said.
"But..."
"Head back."
Having finished speaking, T'Challa paid no further mind to the Dora Milaje, looking up instead toward the sky where lightning snakes rampaged.
The dark clouds gathered here into a swirling vortex, pitch-black like a demon tearing open the sky to open its eyes.
At the center of the vortex, a woman hovered in midair, her garments fluttering, her long white hair floating upward, and her eyes completely stark white.
T'Challa noticed that no matter how the lightning and storms surged, they swerved around that woman, as if the terrifying electricity were a gentle, endearing pet in her hands.
T'Challa stood quietly below at an angle, watching her.
Without knowing how much time had passed, the thunderclouds gradually dispersed, and the woman in the sky slowly drifted down to the ground, landing less than twenty meters away from T'Challa.
"You've been watching me for three full hours. What do you want?" she asked.
"I want nothing; I am simply looking at you," Black Panther T'Challa said. "I am T'Challa, a member of the Avengers."
"The Avengers? I've heard of them, but I have no intention of making an enemy of you," she said.
"Nor am I here to make an enemy of you, Ororo," T'Challa said, removing his helmet to reveal his face.
"You know me?" Ororo asked.
"Many tribes around here worship the Weather Goddess Ororo, but I always assumed it was a legend until I saw you today," T'Challa said. "Knowing your name isn't difficult."
"Compared to 'Weather Goddess,' I prefer the moniker 'Storm,'" Storm Ororo spoke.
"I received a distress call that a member of the Avengers was injured by your lightning..." T'Challa began.
"It was not intentional," Storm said. "My control over lightning is not yet refined."
"Fortunately, he is in no grave danger," Black Panther said. "May I invite you as a guest?"
"Where to?"
"Right here, on this plain free from disruption."
"Free from disruption? I wouldn't be so sure."
"Batman, thank you."
Several hours later, Batman—still aboard the Helicarrier—once again heard a dialogue that caught him off guard, coming from Black Panther T'Challa rather than the rescued Electro Max Dillon.
"I've figured out the cause of the storm... a woman," T'Challa said.
"Stay vigilant, T'Challa," Batman said.
"I'm afraid that will be difficult," T'Challa chuckled softly. "I've already fallen in love with her."
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