What is and What Should Never Be

When his cousin Khanata was captured by Kiber the Cruel, the Black Panther allows himself to get kidnapped as well in order to free Kiber’s prisoners. Fighting his way down into the villain’s secret chamber he is shocked by what he finds inside. Kiber had become a victim of his own matter-transfer experiments and has been mutated to a glob like form that needs the energy of humans to survive. Now that T’Challa knows Kiber’s secret, the freak tells him that there is much that he wishes to share.

Meanwhile, Khanata and the other prisoners are fighting against Kiber’s minions. With the others holding their own, Khanata decides to leave and find his cousin and see if he needs any help. When he reaches Kiber’s secret room, he finds T’Challa communing with the creature telepathically.[1] This was all a trick, allowing Kiber to attack T’Challa while his men come to retrieve both the intruders. T’Challa tries to fight back but he is outnumbered and decides to escape through the ventilation duct in order to regroup and come up with another plan. Searching the facility, the Panther discovers that Kiber’s minions are artificial life forms and that his hideout is hidden within some massive rock that juts out of the South Atlantic. He proclaims that this rock will be annexed into the kingdom of Wakanda before returning inside.

When he reaches the room where Kiber’s matter-converter, T’Challa discovers that all of the other prisoners have been killed and turned into energy out of desperation. Worse, Khanata will become the next victim if he doesn’t act right away. Fighting off the guards, the Panther then grabs the globe containing the life energies of the machine’s last victim and tosses it at them. The resulting explosion slays the guards and clears a path back to Kiber’s chamber. As Kiber is being fed the last of the stolen energies, T’Challa contacts him through the facility PA system and tells the inhuman monster that he is coming to end his life.

Fighting through the last of the guards, T’Challa then steals the last of the energy globes. Kiber pleads with T’Challa to allow him to feed on the energies to sustain his life, saying that his victims don’t actually die, but live on as part of him. This just disgusts T’Challa further who decides to leave with the energy to see if his scientists back in Wakanda can do anything to restore the people to normal. Kiber begs T’Challa not to leave him as he will starve if not tended to, but his pleas fall on deaf ears

Recurring Characters

Black Panther, Kiber the Cruel, Khanata, Avengers (Captain America, Iron Man, Scarlet Witch, Vision)

Continuity Notes

1. T’Challa gained mental powers after being exposed to unrefined Vibranium in issue #10. These powers will eventually fade next issue.