Tēzcatl

by Oracle_Belmont

Summary:

Kang(s) has come to Earth 616, bringing a mess of events that both Shuri and Namor will have to some how work through. Separately and together.

Notes:

It's been a whole year since I started writing fanfic again, so I thought it would be a good time to post a canon compliant multi chapter fic that I have no business writing lololol. To everyone whose read my fics, I'm eternally grateful to you guys and this fandom. Please enjoy!

Chapter 1: Prologue: We begin with a wedding

 

It had been five years since her mother died. 

Since the alliance had been made with Talokan. 

Since she met Namor. K’uk’ulkan. God King to the people of Talokan . 

Shuri stood in front of the mirror in just her underwear. She touched her stomach where there was still a faint scar, a reminder that she had left on purpose for herself. Not to remember Namor’s violence, but to remind herself of the mistakes that she had made along the way.  Mistakes she could admit too, but she didn't think she would have changed anything she did if given the chance.

Her hand slid up her stomach, over her breast, and up her neck as she focused on her face. Despite the years that had passed and the grief and stress that should have aged her, she looked exactly the same as before. 

Not a single thing had aged her. 

She had her theories.

Theories that she was positive was a fact. 

Theories that originated to the bracelet that she wore on her wrist. 

She should have destroyed it the second she successfully became the Black panther. Destroyed it and tossed the broken pieces back into Namor’s face, but she could never bring herself to do it. Every time she held it, it was always with a careful and delicate touch. Even on her bad days, especially during the first year without her mother, the worst thing she would do was shove it into a locked drawer and force herself to forget about it. 

Forget about him. 

Shuri chewed on her lip as she touched her face just under her eyes, the only feature that had seemed to age in her young face. Just like the bracelet she couldn’t get rid of him either. No matter how hard she tried. 

Despite their tumultuous beginnings, the alliance had thrived. The foundations had been carefully laid out and slowly built over the years, and it had been clear to anyone how beneficial it had been for both countries. Talokan protected their oceans, brought information that did not reach Wakanda, and shared their own technology and resources. 

In return, Wakanda protected their secret, kept them in check so as not to reveal themselves unnecessarily, and dealt with the surface world in ways that Talokan was unable to. Talokan had been generous and open, and under the guidance of King M’Baku, so had Wakanda. 

Shuri had been relieved to see M’Baku thrive in his role as king. He was a far cry from the disgruntled leader of an isolated mountain tribe, and maybe that was one of the things that helped him and Namor get along so well. 

In the beginning, Namor had not seemed pleased that Shuri did not take the throne, but he never seemed to push it. Push her. It had taken more time for the two of them to start talking to each other again. For a long time Shuri had left that responsibility to her King, but having to had sit on numerous council meetings as dignitaries and discussions on strategy as the primary protectors of their nations, it was difficult to not speak to one another. 

For Shuri, their conversations had evolved from from quiet rage, to indifferent single word answers, to stilted conversations that only involved topics of their respective nations, to tentative passing comments, to finally officially being on speaking terms that were still mainly impersonal. 

She wasn’t sure how he felt about it, but to her she felt resigned to the fact that he would be a constant in her life. Her eyes blinked slowly, tilting her face from side to side. A constant that seemed would last for longer than a single lifetime. 

Her resignation came with time, along with the help of a mind that never seemed to turn off. After the events of their private battle on that beach, she could only think of him as a monster who killed her mother in front of her. But then her mind shifted through her memories, set them up carefully and she reexamined each one. As if to make sense of this unbreakable thing she could not label that linked her to Namor. 

Much to her dislike she gave reason to each and every action of everybody involved. 

Her mother came for her despite knowing the risks. Her mother chose her last surviving child over the safety of her kingdom. She had already lost so much to it. Shuri could not blame her mother’s actions. 

Nakia had come into this with the information that Talokan was dangerous and of her sister’s abduction. She had been told to do what she needed to do at any cost . Shuri could not blame her sister’s actions. 

Riri had simply done the impossible. She had the brain and the vision to make a machine that others could only dream of making and was successful. Riri had no way of knowing that she would expose a hidden civilization. Shuri could not blame her friend’s actions. 

T’Challa had revealed Wakanda in hopes of bringing about a better world. If he had lived, maybe that would have come true. Shuri could not blame her brother’s actions. 

Namor had a kingdom that he had protected for centuries with thousands of people who relied on him. He had witnessed how cruel the surface world could be, and after having opened his borders to a surface dweller for the first time, two of his people died for it. 

Shuri let out a shuddering breath. 

She could not blame him for his actions. 

It was a string of events that led to an inevitable tragedy. 

Her eyes dulled somewhat. 

That did not mean she forgave him, but she could at least come to terms with it. With him. 

And in return he did not blame her for her actions either. Did not expect her personal forgiveness. She wished that he was worse. Wished that he was the monster she had painted him as in her worst nightmares, but with the years of having known him she could understand him. 

However it was only something that she would admit to herself and never aloud. 

And since today was a day she decided to be honest with herself, it being the only thing she could control today, she could admit that she missed talking to him. To have that privacy of being open with someone and being able to read in their eyes that they would never judge you. She missed it more than anything, but she would never allow herself that luxury ever again for the memory of her mother. 

“Show him who you are.”

Her mother’s voice, tangible and distant. 

I gave him a glimpse, mama. That should be enough. 

A soft knock sounded at her bedroom door and Shuri pulled away from the mirror. Pushing her thoughts of Namor to the far reaches of her mind, even though she knew it would be almost impossible to keep them away completely. He would be within the palace today and it was always the hardest to keep him from her thoughts when he was in front of her. 

Shuri slipped off the bracelet and shoved it into a drawer, before opening her door to let in a number of palace workers that were there to help get her ready for the day. They brought in a number of things, ranging from the ornate dress she would wear, the headpiece and hair combs to be intertwined within her braids, shoes, jewelry, and make up. 

She stood stiffly as she was dressed and made up, feeling more like a doll than a person. And in a way she felt that to be true since none of what was happening to her today was by choice. Her mind found no joy in the process, so it carefully blocked it away, careful not to allow Namor back into her thoughts either. 

The women attending her were excitedly talking about the upcoming ceremony, but their voices were a distant blur. 

Princess of Wakanda. Chief scientist. Black panther. Officially, on paper, the last of the Golden Tribe. 

Shuri Udaku, was to be married today. 

 

---

 

Bast. Give me the strength to get through this day. 

Shuri let out a small breath as the ceremony was being performed. Trying her best not to let out a laugh at how her hands were shaking. Hands that could perform meticulous medical operations, build complex machinery, and had the strength to rip a man apart if she chose too. Hands that were now trembling with an emotion she could not place or did not wish to dwell on.  

In the grand scheme of things, the wedding was quite small, which strangely made it more suffocating to Shuri. It had been one of her stipulations of agreeing to the marriage. Well to be more specific it was one of her stipulations to agree to be less combative, because no matter what the wedding was going to happen whether she agreed to it or not. 

The council had wanted an assurance of a continued bloodline which would in turn strengthen the alliance between Wakanda and Talokan. 

Shuri honestly thought it was more of a well thought out punishment for nearly dragging Wakanda into an eternal war with Talokan, using an outdated concern to lock her in place. 

No one said it outloud, but she knew that the council was relieved she did not take the throne. 

She looked up at her husband to be, who stood with a self assured confidence that she currently envied, and she quickly looked back down at her hands. 

Blocking out the words of the one performing the ceremony, her mind recalled the first time she met Namor. The intensity of him made the memory feel as if it had happened just yesterday. 

Shuri glanced at Namor for the hundredth time that day, and as always, his eyes did not look at her. It irked her that he seemed to almost refuse to look at her the entire ceremony. 

She shouldn't care but she did.

Her mind instinctively tuned back in just as the final words were said. 

The final rites performed.

Shuri was now a married woman. 

 

---

 

Hours later Namor found Shuri standing on a secluded balcony, away from the festivities celebrating the union. She was staring up at the moon, her hands braced on the banister of the balcony. He opened his mouth to speak, but a peal of laughter from back inside made him pause. What would he even say to her? Would she even want to hear it coming from him? 

He swallowed thickly, placing a hand over his wrist. “Black Panther.” 

Shuri’s shoulders stiffened for a moment, before she relaxed and turned towards him. A careful mask of neutrality on her face. “Namor, You know you don't have to keep calling me that. I believe we are well past formalities.” 

… And we are past being enemies to one another, yet you still call me Namor.  

“It is simply a sign of respect.” 

“Well can you respect me enough to do what I ask, and just call me Shuri? I think I’ve had enough formalities for the day.” She shrugged a single shoulder, looking off to the side distractedly. 

“Alright…Shuri.” It was the first time he had ever called her by her first name. The sound of it rolling from his tongue felt too intimate.

Her eyes flickered and her mask slipped for a split second before she quickly turned away from him. Namor wasn’t sure if he should stay. If he should say something. 

Should he compliment her? Tell her how lovely she looked tonight? Although he had always thought that. Even when he had yielded to her all those years ago. 

Should he say something more appropriate, more formal to fit the occasion?

In the end he chose something that he had been meaning to ask since he had seen her hands trembling during the ceremony. Something that crossed the lines of their complicated relationship. “Are you alright, Shuri?” 

Her head whipped back towards him, looking at him in surprise. Their conversations had always been stilted, devoid of anything personal. Even questions as simple as the one he had just asked seemed jarring. 

Shuri let out a soft huff of laughter, as if she couldn’t believe he had asked her something so personal. She looked down at her hands, and clenched them into fists. The silence stretched long enough that Namor assumed that that was most likely the end of their conversation. 

However when he tried to walk back inside, Shuri surprised him with a question of her own. 

“Are you enjoying the party?” 

He watched her as she cautiously tilted her head towards the spot next to her, and not wanting to waste the small peace offering he slowly stepped further onto the balcony. Placing his hands on the banister to mirror her stance. “Attuma is enjoying himself for the whole of Talokan…the rest of my people are sorry to have not come and celebrated the union.” 

“Hmm…” Shuri glanced over her shoulder towards the music and murmurs of conversation. “I apologize for it being so small…I just…didn’t want to make it a big spectacle.” She laughed, and it was a heart wrenching sound. It was a laugh that held no joy in it. A sound that could have been better described as a sob. “I’m expected to be a baby maker now, the rest of my life will be a spectacle.”

The thought of her getting pregnant made his stomach churn uncomfortably, but Namor kept quiet, his eyes studying the space between their hands. They were only a foot apart, but Namor couldn’t decide whether they felt too close or too far apart. He could offer no words of comfort to her, none that she would want to hear from him. So all he could do was listen.  

She tapped her fingers on the smooth stone of the banister with an unsteady rhythm. A thing he noticed that she would do when she was uneasy. “A child who scoffs at tradition…and yet I am trapped by it.”   

A child with no love for the surface world…and yet…

Namor gently locked that thought away, numbing himself to a feeling that he knew he would never have the right to examine. 

“I am sure you will not make things so easy for the ones that have trapped you.” 

Shuri glanced up at him and a smile, although very small, lightened her features. Seeing it gave some relief to the tension Namor had been feeling since the marriage had been officially arranged and announced a month prior. He would have offered a smile back if they hadn’t been interrupted. 

“Shuri?” 

The two turned to look back as Shuri’s new husband Jiya walked onto the balcony dressed in the blue colors of the border tribe. He was a tall, foreboding looking man, years of being an exceptional warrior clearly etched on his features. 

Namor glanced at Shuri, his heart clenching painfully as he noticed that the smile was still on her face, but her eyes had considerably dulled. It was a mask that he hoped to never see again. His hand gripped tightly onto the banister. 

“Yes, husband?” It was meant to be a term of endearment, but Shuri made it sound like stone sinking into depths of a murky sea. 

“It’s getting late, we should say our goodbyes and retire for the night.” Jiya gestured for Shuri to come towards him, his hand hanging in the air as he waited. 

“...Of course.” 

Shuri looked at Namor, giving him the briefest nod. Jiya didn't even look at Namor, but that was nothing new. The border tribe, in general, had a strong dislike of the Talokanil, despite how well the alliance was going.  

Namor turned away from the retreating backs of Shuri and her new husband, noticing that the stone beneath his hand was now cracked. 

Chapter 2: Throne and Mantle

Notes:

Taking a lot of liberties here in terms of Wakandan politics and traditions. I'm mainly going off of the MCU than the comics, so I apologize if I screwed something up.

 

When Shuri had found herself the center of attention of a council meeting, it had been over a week since officially getting married to Jiya. Her elders and her King all had their eyes on her waiting for her to answer the question M’Kathu had directed at her. She didn’t dare look to see what Namor’s expression was, and kept her eyes on her husband who was looking at her coldly while he stood ramrod straight next to the border tribe elder. 

To be honest, she was surprised that this hadn’t been brought up sooner, but she supposed her husband was too embarrassed to have to bring it up. Making him look as if he was some child grasping onto his mother’s skirts when they were upset at something they thought unfair. 

The thought was a small consolation to Shuri, despite the heavy feeling of tension that filled the entire room. Everyone held their breath as they waited for the Princess to speak. 

Her husband and the border tribe were angry, the others were intensely curious, and Namor…Not being able to help herself, she flicked her eyes to Namor, their eyes meeting briefly, but his face was unreadable with his brow slightly creased. Shuri wondered if he felt like this was a waste of his time. She was sure her marital troubles were of no concern to the kingdom of Talokan. 

She let out a small bored sigh, wishing Okoye to be here, but she was currently on mission. 

“Well?” M’Kathu prompted, repeating his question. “Is there a reason you are abstaining from your marriage bed?”

 

---

 

About a week ago. 

The feeling of Jiya’s hand on her back, as he led her into their shared room, felt like a dead weight on her body. Cold, clammy, and heavy. She wanted nothing more than to break it off. Shuri took a deep breath through her nose and a slow shuddery breath out. 

Shuri watched stiffly as her husband walked straight to the bedside table to turn on a single lamp. The rest of the room was kept in relative darkness with the moonlight shining on the balcony. Her mind briefly went to Namor, his long fingers dark on the balcony banister, before she shut him out. 

She and Jiya mainly knew each other in passing. He of course knew who she was, but she simply knew him as someone from the border tribe. Shuri hadn’t even known that he was considered one of their most esteemed warriors. The elders had presented him as some sort of gift to Shuri, but he was essentially a stranger to her. 

A stranger who had taken off his cloak and made his way back to where she had not moved an inch. She took a breath when he reached out to touch her shoulder, before pressing his lips to hers. It was nothing but a simple press of dry skin to skin that made her feel nothing, and she wanted to sing her praises to Bast just then. 

She was curious to see if there could be a spark of something, but was glad in the end to feel nothing. Instead her mind wandered to their short engagement. How he hadn’t even tried to reach out and speak with her. He just never seemed interested. 

The kiss suddenly felt like sludge and she quickly turned her head away before he could deepen the kiss. It didn’t seem to phase him as he moved his mouth to her neck, his teeth snagging painfully on her throat. Making her think of a predator with his jaws around his prey's neck. 

Shuri remembered trying to speak with him once, and he looked almost bored. Irritated even. Her stomach turned when his hand slid up her back to reach for the clasps of her dress. She understood that this was simply a marriage of convenience, to continue her bloodline, but knowing that he would simply treat her as a prop finally had her pressing a hand squarely at the center of his chest.  

This would not do.  

Not like this. 

“I believe this is far enough.” Shuri stated as Jiya gave her a look of confusion. She turned from him and walked straight to the bathroom, turning on the lights as she went to flood the bedroom with light. 

‘I can say I at least tried’. She snorted to herself with the thought.

Shuri started by wiping the make up clean from her face, then moved to removing her jewelry and taking down her hair. Her husband had followed her, leaning against the door frame. He was so tall that his head nearly touched the top of the door, his height comparable to Wakanda’s King. She ignored him as she took the gold clasps out of her braids, knowing that he wanted her to elaborate. 

Not appreciating her lack of explanation, her husband was the first to break the tense silence. “Far enough? And what does that mean exactly?” 

“It means that nothing else will happen tonight.” She touched her face briefly, just under her eyes. It looked like she could use a nap…or a self induced coma. Shuri turned to Jiya who was still looming over her. “Or at all for that matter.” 

Jiya immediately bristled at her meaning, blocking her path when she tried to step back out of the bathroom. The cold face of a trained warrior staring down at her instead of a man newly wed. “Are you really meaning to kick me out of our marriage bed?” 

She shrugged. “You can stay in it if you want to, but I’m leaving.” Shuri pushed past him to get back into the bedroom to find a change of clothing in the closet.She found a simple slip of a dress and wondered if she should just leave the room. With the way she had to use some of her enhanced strength to get past Jiya in the bathroom, her instincts told her to just leave. 

However when she tried to go towards the door to leave, Jiya’s hand shot out and grabbed onto her arm, yanking her back slightly. “The entire purpose of this marriage is to produce an heir. It’s expected of you.” 

“Then I’ll figure out another way.” 

The fury in her husband's face finally broke whatever calm facade he had been keeping a hold of, gripping her arm a fraction tighter. Shuri was thankful for the first time that she had taken the heart shaped herb. Not because it would protect her people, but that it would protect her personally. Especially at this moment. 

“Trying to ‘woo’ me by forcing yourself on me isn’t something that I’m into.” Shuri said lightly, although she felt a rush of cold go through her. She did not want to be here. 

“I am your husband, it would not be considered forcing myself on you when it is your duty.” 

Her free hand shot up to grip onto the wrist that was holding her arm. “My duty? My duty is my service to Wakanda as both scientist and protector.” Shuri’s eyes narrowed as she tightened her hold on his wrist, his bones creaking under her hand. “And do you really want to try forcing yourself on the Black Panther?” 

There was a pinch of pain on his face, but he looked more angry than hurt as he quickly let go of her arm before she broke his. She gave him a level look and then walked out on him, slamming the door in his face.    

 

---

 

Present 

“I agreed to the marriage. I didn’t agree to sleep with him.” She waved her hand dismissively towards her husband. There was a snort of laughter that broke the tension for only a moment, but by the time everyone looked to King M’Baku, his face was already back to neutral. He nodded calmly for them to continue. 

M’Kathu looked sternly at his king before bringing his attention back to Shuri. “As a wife that is expected of you.” 

“And as a scientist I can just get myself pregnant. If my husband would be so kind as to provide a sample to the lab. It would be safer this way, and much more effective.” 

“And we’re to just trust your word?” Jiya asked, his shoulders and face stiff with an obvious dislike towards Shuri. She couldn’t help but roll her eyes at him, which only made him more upset. 

I deny him sex and he now hates me. How pathetic.  

Shuri directs her answer to the council. “I did as you asked of me by marrying him, and I will do as you ask of me by producing an heir. Why would it matter the way it's done?” Jiya looked as if he was about to speak, but M’Kathu held up a hand to quiet him. He looked momentarily disgruntled, but it was overtaken by one of contemplation. The look caused a chill of trepidation to run straight through her. 

“Well, there was one more thing we wanted to bring to the council, the next challenge day for the throne.” 

Silence fell heavy within the room, to the point that the others seemed almost too worried to even breathe. Out of the corner of her eye, Shuri could see Namor slowly looking around the room, clearly confused but he did not question it. He simply stayed quiet as he observed. 

Shuri swallowed thickly, already knowing where this was going, but still wanting confirmation. “I have no interest in the crown.” 

A slow smile spread on the border tribe’s face. “We don’t expect you too, but with your husband newly married into the royal family, we think it only fair for him to challenge for the throne. As well as the mantle of Black Panther.” It was clear that the border tribe had not discussed this with anyone else with all of the elders looking so stunned. The reaction didn’t phase M’Kathu as he looked all too pleased to say, “We need a suitable warrior as our protector, not a scientist.”

“I do not think-” M’Baku began cautiously, but Shuri was quick to cut him off as she stood from her seat. 

“There is a reason why the herb is passed down through the Golden tribes bloodline alone. It was why I even considered marrying that man.” She flicked her hand towards Jiya in annoyance. “The plant is toxic to those who do not have the blood of a Black Panther running through their veins, and even then we still technically die to attain that blessing.” 

“Well you are a scientist , I’m sure you could figure something out. In regards to me taking the herb.” Jiya remarked lightly. Shuri could have thrown her chair at him. 

M’Baku brought his staff down hard onto the floor, followed by two synchronized thumps from the Dora Milaje standing behind him. It brought the entire attention to him as he looked grimly at the room around him. “This discussion is over for the time being. I shall talk to our Black Panther alone.”   

Shuri dropped back down into her seat as the group dissipated. She caught Namor’s fleeting glance in her direction but she quickly looked away. Panic? Shame? Embarrassment? Rage? She wasn’t sure what the feeling was, but she wanted to pack it away. Along with this entire day. 

The room was silent once again, but it felt more somber than oppressive this time. M’Baku stood, leaning his staff against his throne and went to kneel by Shuri’s chair. “Has something like this happened before?” 

Her mind quickly went through old history lessons, disappointed by her own memory picking up a few examples over several generations. The line of succession had been largely amicable. It was disheartening to see it so disrupted, more than once, in her lifetime. First with Killmonger and her brother, and now with her and her own Husband. “Yes. It’s rare…but yes.” 

M’Baku let out a soft sigh, rubbing at his face as he stood back up. “I’m not sure how long I can stop this then. I can always deny the challenge, but I’m sure this can’t be their only plan. I did not think the border tribe would move this way…I did not think that your husband…” He trailed off, unsure on how to finish. 

A bitter taste filled Shuri’s mouth and she scoffed at her King. Her friend. “What did you think was going to happen when all of you married me off like some breeder? I’m sure that my brother would appreciate all that you’ve done for me.” As soon as the words left her she felt her stomach drop, not meaning to have taken it out on him. She glanced up and saw the stricken look on his face. “I apo-” 

He held up a hand, “Don’t. What you are saying isn’t untrue. I am…” M’Baku paused for a moment, looking older in a way that Shuri didn’t like. “I am beginning to feel the limitations of being King. I’ll support you in what I can. If you say you can get pregnant without your husband then I will support it. However,” M’Baku placed a hand on her head gently, “you have to show results. No mischief.” 

Shuri nodded curtly, looking away from him. “No mischief.” 

“If there was another …option. I would have pursued it.” M’Baku said carefully, holding Shuri’s gaze with a meaningful look. 

Her heart thudded heavily in her chest. She had suspected that he knew of Toussaint, but they had never spoken to one another openly about him. They would respect her brother’s last wishes, and considering the current temperament of the council, it did not seem wise to expose a child to it. Shuri simply nodded her head to let M’Baku know she understood. 

Toussaint was not an option for the throne. Not right now. 

“I am curious as to why they waited so long. Why not challenge me on the day I became King?” 

Shuri took a moment to gather her frazzled thoughts, thankful for a question that would have her carefully categorize the series of events that led to this moment. They did not challenge M’Baku immediately so it was possible that the throne was not the end goal…which left the mantle. It hit Shuri with a sudden clarity. “The heart shaped herb.” 

“Yes?” 

“I synthetically created the flower and although they were genetically sound, it took time for them to take root. Within the last year the plant had finally produced its own flowers organically, without any outside help.” Shuri looked down at her hand, a hand that was capable of anything, but currently, she felt useless. “They wanted the security of the future of the heart shaped herb before they moved forward.” 

M’Baku grunted softly, sounding remarkably close to a laugh but there was no joy in it. “I will do my part as King, and hold off the challenge for the throne for as long as possible.” He waited for Shuri’s slight nod, before suddenly looking uncomfortable. “I know it has only been a short time, but is Jiya-” 

“I can protect myself.” She turned her face away from her King, not feeling sympathetic enough to look at his expression. 

 

---

 

Shuri stayed behind after her King left the room, taking a moment to breathe in and out slowly. Attempting to keep her rage at a simmer. Something that she knew she should keep in control, even though she didn’t think she should.  

When her hands stopped trembling, she finally walked out of the room and instantly regretted it. 

“I thought we could have a small talk.” Jiya said, his face a placid mask. 

She didn’t understand the pretense of keeping up appearances now. Not with him. Shuri did not want to waste another second of her time. “Oh. Now you would like to talk with me? I believe you said enough during the meeting. I’m busy.” She turned on her heel to walk away from him, but his arm shot out in front of her, blocking her path as he placed his hand on the wall. Her eyes focused on the stiff bandage on his wrist. 

“We could have been partners in this relationship, but you were the one to refuse me.” 

Shuri flicked her eyes to him, raising a single brow. “Partners? Partners in what? Because from what I can see is that I would be reduced to nothing but a broodmare to you, and you would get everything you clearly wanted from the beginning. I believe you need to reexamine the definition of partners.” 

“This marriage isn’t about your accomplishments, your goals, your mind. This marriage is about the continuation of the royal bloodline. That’s it. So be logical about this.” Jiya moved his hand from the wall to place on her shoulder, but she slapped his hand away as if he were an annoying gnat.

“I am being logical about this. I will get pregnant without your help and,” Shuri fully faced him then, leveling a glare at him with a calm hatred that she had never experienced before. “And, King M’Baku will not be the only person you would have to get through for a throne.” She honestly did not want it. Never had an interest in it, but she would be damned if it went to him. 

He firmly placed a hand on her shoulder, his fingers digging into her shoulder. “I will not allow you to make a fool out of me. I will not allow-” 

“How is your wrist feeling, dearest husband? ” She asked sweetly as she placed her fingers delicately over the bandaged wrist that was holding her. “Were you too embarrassed to get it fixed by a healer?” 

Her taunting did not deter him, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. Ironically making them look like the newly wed couple that they were. “The moment the mantle is stripped from you. You will respect and submit to me. As your husband, I will make sure of it.” 

Shuri’s stomach roiled sickly at the implications. She didn’t allow her face to change, but his dark promise had her hands shaking again, so she removed her hand from his wrist so he could not feel his affect on her. 

The palace felt too small to her for the first time in her life.

“Black Panther.” 

The soft yet strangely loud voice broke through the tension between husband and wife, and Shuri never thought she would be so relieved to see Namor. Although he looked murderous himself as he stared at both her and Jiya, she would much rather be stuck in a room with him in this moment. The look on his face was curious, but Shuri would think on it later.  

“Yes, Namor.” 

His eyes flicked to hers, the intensity of his gaze dissipating somewhat. “I wish to discuss the previous meeting with you, since it concerns our alliance.” 

Jiya stood straighter, as if to boast his height over the shorter man. “My wife and I are in the mid-” 

Shuri shoved past him and walked right up to Namor. “Now is perfect. Let’s go to my lab. I promised you a tour, right?” 

The God King took a moment longer to stare at her husband, his face finally going to neutral when he turned to her with a small nod. “Lead the way, Black Panther.” 

 

---

 

Namor quietly watched as she clasped her hands together tightly. He would hazard a guess that she wasn’t praying, but simply trying to keep her hands from visibly shaking. It was faint, but he could still see the slight twitch of her fingers. They were standing in the elevator that would lead to her lab, a place he had never stepped foot in before.

She had boldly lied about her offer to give him a tour, but he would not question it. 

Not after what he had heard. 

He clenched his own hand into a fist under his cloak, reminding himself that her personal affairs were none of his. Even if it felt like it was tearing him in two.  

Focus on what can be done.  

As soon as the doors opened to the lab, Shuri froze, seeing how full the room was. She swallowed and tapped onto her Kimoyo beads. “Griot. Please inform everyone in the lab to go home for the day.” 

“ Certainly Princess.”  

She gestured for him to follow her, as everyone quietly left their work at their stations. Curiously looking at the two of them as they passed by. Shuri glanced at him, “It felt too crowded.” 

Namor gave her a small nod, choosing to stay quiet until she was ready to talk. She went to a workstation that looked to be hers and she began pulling up various designs and schematics, working through a few of them as Namor curiously looked around. His eyes instantly went to the column at the center of the lab where there was a collection of black and white patterns and colorful masks covering the entire surface. 

Seeing as she had easily ordered everyone out and how much calmer she looked as she worked, he assumed that this was her work. She worked nearly for twenty minutes before she finally spoke to him. He was looking at the various prototypes and enhancements to her suit designs when she found him. 

“I apologize for keeping you waiting.” Her voice was calm and her body less frazzled looking. He did not mind the wait if it gave her the space to decompress.

“I can come back another time if you would like? I did not mean to interrupt you and-” 

“No.” She said quickly, letting out a quiet sigh. “No, this is fine. Honestly if you want to interrupt us, then I won’t ever stop you.” Shuri joked lightly, but it didn’t remotely reach her eyes. He looked at her at a loss for words. Again unsure what would be appropriate in this moment, and what was his business. Namor had witnessed everything that had happened between her and her husband in the hallway. Heard everything. He gripped a hand onto his gauntlet and it creaked under his tight hold. 

If he could say what he wanted to say, do what he wanted to do…he would probably start another war between their nations. He couldn’t afford to do that to Talokan. He couldn’t afford to be selfish again. 

Namor could only manage a small nod. 

She suddenly looked self conscious, rubbing her arm as she looked away. They stood in an awkward silence before she suddenly blurted, ““I’m going to pretend that his semen is infertile, I don't want that man’s child, but I'm sure they’ll figure it out.” Her eyes flicked to his before looking away again. “Sorry. I shouldn’t be talking to you about this but-” 

“Who else could you talk to?” Namor asked and she brought her gaze back to him. “I will not say a word.” 

Shuri nodded slowly and wrapped both arms around her middle, standing a little straighter. “We thought that they would be fine with a potential heir to both the throne and mantle…” She said quietly, then quickly shook her head and cleared her throat. “What did you want to discuss?” 

Focus on what can be done.  

“It concerns the mantle of the Black Panther.” Namor gestured to her and she went stiff with suspicion so he quickly continued to show his intentions. “I yielded to you, not him. If you are no longer the Black Panther, then I would propose that our alliance is no more.” 

The princess blinked rapidly, stunned. 

“I do not mean for this to be a threat, simply…an observation. What you do with that is up to you.” It was the only thing he could do for her. The only way he could help her. He just hoped that she would see it that way. 

Shuri looked down, biting her lip as her mind was clearly whirring with rapid thought. She slowly nodded before looking back up to him, her eyes guarded yet grateful. A thin fragile sliver of understanding passed between them. “I will bring the information to the King.” 

Namor could almost feel the ‘thank you; she wanted to speak aloud but she held back, and that was fine. He didn’t need it. What he needed-…Again he reminded himself not to be selfish. This is all that I can do. He didn’t think she would accept anything more from him. 

They stood across from each other, less awkward but more unsure now. 

However, Griot would be the one to break the silence. “Princess, I apologize for the interruption, but there has been a broadcast televised worldwide. I believe it would be of interest to both you and King K’uk’ulkan.”  

“Worldwide?” Shuri asked curiously, her head tilting slightly. “Please bring it up.” Griot brought up on the screen nearest to them. The screen showed a man standing in front of the ocean with an impossibly large stone head peeking above the sea.  

Namor went suddenly numb with realization. He knew where that was, but he focused on the man instead. A man who looked inhumanly calm, like he had all the time in the world. 

“....You can call me, Kang.” 

Notes:

I'll try to leave notes here for parts of the MCU that Im using for story elements, for example, all you need to know about Kang is that there's a lot of him and he likes to hop skip time/dimensions.

Chapter 3: Pearl

Notes:

Just in case, movies mentioned here are:
Eternals (upcoming Spoilers for this one concerning the giant celestial in the ocean, but I'll try to keep it self contained to this story)

Antman and the Wasp Quantum Verse (this one you don't have to watch, just taking some minor things, mainly just Kang's introduction )

 

“What am I even looking at?” M’Baku asked as he stood in front of an enlarged screen with a frozen still of the video that had been played worldwide. Which was still currently being played on every news channel. A variety of reporters, government officials, anyone with a phone, young and old, wildly speculating on the appearance of Kang and what it could mean. 

The video was short, Kang’s message had been both cryptic and brief. Leaving the world on the edge of mass hysteria.  

“You can call me Kang. I expect full cooperation or I will bring every known power to their knees. I will keep in contact.”

Shuri and Namor were standing on either side of M’Baku, representatives as protectors of their respective nations. Brought together by a potential threat. Namor watched as Shuri stepped up to the screen, swiping away the man who called himself Kang and zoomed in on the large head and hand peeking just out of the ocean. She then made it slightly smaller to bring up photos isolating the statue to show what it looked like under the surface of the ocean, with diagrams depicting size and speculation. 

“This appeared about half a year after the final war with Thanos. It appeared somewhere in the Indian ocean.” Shuri zoomed away from face slightly, a blue print finishing what the body was speculated to look like based off of the very little information they had. “We weren’t sure what it was or how it came to be, but we’ve kept sensors there in case of any movement . The only theory we have is that there was a large amount of activity around the site, both volcanic and tectonic. It’s possible that it was somehow unearthed…but…” 

“How did something that big appear so quickly?” Namor supplied, his arms crossed as he stared critically at the statue. It had been largely debated amongst his own people. Some saw it as an omen, a new god emerging. Namor wasn’t so sure. Considering everything that had gone to pass on the surface world with both the other worldly invasion and the ‘snap’, he was sure there was a concrete explanation to why the statue suddenly appeared. 

She gave him a small nod, tapping on the stone itself, closing in on the circular designs within it. “We don’t know how deep it goes or if it’s even whole. We also don’t even know what it's even made of. The stone is similar to Vibranium in the sense that it cannot be found organically anywhere else on earth.” 

“I believe I can help answer the first part.” Namor stepped forward to hand Shuri a circular jade coin. She hesitated for a moment before opening her hand to him, allowing him to place it on the center of her upturned palm. The coin was a few inches in diameter, thin, and was carved with intricate patterns along the smooth surface. He could see the curiosity spark in her eyes but he didn’t give her the chance to fully look at it, tapping the center twice to activate the device. The carved lines lit a soft blue before emitting an image directly above it. 

Shuri let out a soft gasp as the blue image bloomed in front of her. For a moment he forgot all about the statue, as he watched her face look almost younger in her fascination. 

Her King took a step closer to look, “Is that…?” 

“Talokan of course felt its appearance and we conducted our own investigations as well.” Namor answered, flicking his hand along the light to slowly turn the hologram. It was an unobstructed view of the statue unfurling from the center of the earth, reaching just past the surface of the ocean. 

“How did you get such a clear image?” Shuri asked and Namor could practically hear her mind whirring as she inspected the device in her hand. As if she was starved for new technology, new information. It was an eagerness that he hadn’t witnessed since he had first met her. She looked up at him in earnest, waiting for his answer. 

He felt his face soften at her enthusiasm and she quickly looked away from him, bringing him sharpley back to the present. “My people can communicate with the creatures of the ocean, mainly through sonar. Our technology is somewhat built around that.”  

“Somewhat? What else do you base-” 

“Shuri.” M’Baku cut in, a quiet reprimand in his voice. 

She swallowed, looking a little embarrassed by her loss of focus. “Apologies my King.” Her fingers traced along the blue outline of the statue. “Do you know the make of the stone?” 

“Our findings were inconclusive as well. Only that it appears older than Talokan itself.” Which seemed impossible considering the pristine condition it was in. As if it was actually brand new. 

“So we know absolutely nothing about this giant.” M’Baku grumbled, running a hand along the back of his head in frustration. 

Shuri shook her head, curling her hand around the jade coin, causing the image to fully disappear in the darkness of her small hand. “Unfortunately no. There were ‘sightings’ of one in the sky, but according to those sightings there was an electrical interference that prevented photos being taken. All we could do was keep an eye on things.” 

“Well then what about that man? Kang was it?” As the King of Wakanda spoke the name aloud  an image of the man in question came up on the screen. Namor kept quiet as Shuri spoke, having nothing to add about the mystery man. 

The only thing that Namor had on Kang was the creeping sensation that this man would bring chaos in his wake. The determination in his gaze was like the calm found in the eye of a storm. 

“I’ve checked all known databases in an attempt to cross reference both his face and name, but there’s nothing.” Shuri shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, but there was a frustration clear on her face. She turned her back on the image to face her King. “Nicholas Fury may know. I received a message from him an hour after the video had appeared. He requested my presence today.” 

“Would you require my assistance at all?” Namor asked. He had never personally met Fury, but he was well aware of the man. Wakanda had kept him and his people secret, but it had been discussed in length that if another threat similar to Thanos appeared, Namor would at the very least add his strength to the fight. 

The God King had a feeling that this might be that fight. 

Shuri shook her head slowly, but not unkindly. She was clearly calculating what would be the best course of action. “Not right at this moment. Let me speak with Fury first and then we can decide if it’s absolutely necessary.”

“Understood.” It was never lost on him how seriously she took her promise of keeping Talokan’s secret, and he knew he would never be able to express his gratitude. Not in a way she would accept. He watched her face carefully as she stared up at the screen, her brow creased in thought. When she turned to look at him, he looked away, gesturing towards the large statue in the ocean. “The ocean is still my area of expertise. I will send out a few of my warriors to gather intelligence for the time being. We know how to be discreet.” 

M’Baku nodded to them both, approving the plan and moved to leave. “I will inform the council. Black Panther, let me know how your meeting goes as soon as it’s done.” As he passed to leave, Shuri crossed her arms to salute him and Namor simply nodded his head in respect. With M’Baku gone it simply left the two of them alone. 

She avoided his gaze, looking back down at the jade coin that was still in her hand. Her thumb grazed over it before she passed it back to him. The look of reluctance crossing her features made him smile. 

Namor reached for it, careful not to touch her, and took the coin back. Instead of leaving her hand empty he managed to switch the coin with another bit of Talokan technology. 

Shuri blinked as she saw the raw looking black pearl in her hand. She finally looked up to meet his gaze. “What’s this?” The pearl was similar to the coin in the sense that there were faint lines in a similar pattern across the uneven surface of the pearl. As she pressed a thumb to the misshapen jewel it began emitting a faint blue pulse through the lines.  

“You can personally reach me with this, much like your beads.” He moved his hand to tap on the many pearl necklaces around his neck, bringing her attention to the single black pearl that stood out amongst them. “That pearl can only be used by you.” 

“It can tell the difference?” Shuri asked, her interest piqued again. Her fingers carefully turned the pearl in her palm. 

“Yes. It has been attuned to the vibrations of your heart beat the second you held it in your hand.” Her eyebrows shot up in surprise at his answer, glancing back down at the device. He tilted his head to catch her eyes again, speaking softly. “If you have need of me, I will come.” And then he quietly added to himself, keep safe. 

 

---

 

As Shuri made her way to her ship, she looked down at her wrist where she wore her kimoyo beads. All perfectly spherical and matching in color. All but one. Her fingers brushed along the misshapen black pearl amongst the beads.

It made her think of the bracelet hidden in her room. 

When she made it to her ship, her pleasant mood curdled instantly. Seeing that her husband was waiting for her, leaning against the hull. He was attempting to look casual, but Shuri could see the tension in his shoulders and the way his hands fisted tightly when he saw her. She could see the frown etch his face into something more severe. 

It sent an unpleasant chill up her spine. She missed the look of disinterest when they were first engaged. 

“Husband.” Shuri said mildly, placing her bag inside of her ship before turning to face him.  It annoyed her to see him so soon, especially when she had made up her mind to never see him again. The last council meeting solidified her feelings on the matter. 

How do you tell your husband of less than a month that you never want to be in the same room with him? 

“Did you need something? If your expecting a kiss goodbye-”

“I’m expecting to be made aware of where my wife is going.” Jiya cut her off, standing at his full height that shadowed her from the sun. 

Shuri bristled at his tone. It instantly raked against her nerves. “I am doing my duty as protector of Wakanda.”

“And what is that exactly?” He persisted. 

“It will be brought up during the next meeting, you may join us again if you like. Possibly discuss how you will never be the Black panther.” 

“Actually, wife, this is the perfect time to show the council that this is more reason for you to pass the mantle. This crisis does not change the fact that you should be with child in the near future.” 

Shuri glared at him, wanting to shove him off of a cliff. Instead she balled one hand into a fist and climbed into her ship. “Then I’ll see you at the next council meeting. Be sure to deliver your samples of semen to the lab, since you have not done so yet and are so eager to see me bedridden.” He looked as if he was about to speak again but she shut the ship's door on him, and immediately settled herself into the seat of the cockpit. Her fingers flew over the control panel to set her coordinates, desperate to forget about her problems as she went over the details of her current mission. She was almost thankful for Kang’s disruptive appearance. It gave her a chance to escape Wakanda briefly so she could breath. 

The thought weighed heavily on her, sad to see that it had come to this. 

… Focus on what can be done.  

 

---

 

The Avengers compound was in the middle of the ocean. Miles from land and nearly impossible to be ambushed. Shuri snorted to herself. They wouldn’t have so boldly built their compound on the ocean if they knew what she knew of the sea. 

Fury was waiting for Shuri on the landing pad, his stature was always a curious blend of casual and intimidating. He was clearly a man who was confident in himself and what he needed to do. It was something that Shuri alway admired about him. 

“Glad you could make it.” He nodded his head to her, his good eye admiring the ship she climbed out of. 

She had dressed casually for the occasion, but her habit was on clear display, bright against the black top she wore. The meeting was simply meant for a gathering of information, but she would be ready at a moment’s notice if need be. “Thank you for contacting me.”

Fury gave her a small friendly chuckle, gesturing for her to follow him. “Me not calling you would have branded me a fool.” He gave her a quick once over before looking forward as they walked side by side, casually slipping in, “Congratulations by the way.” 

Shuri felt herself tense uncomfortably, not wanting to be reminded of her problems so soon after leaving them behind, and eyed Fury cautiously. “It looks like we need to tighten our defenses.”

“Possibly,” The man grinned, giving her a small shrug that put her at ease, “but to be quite honest Mr. Barnes may have mentioned it. Can see that it’s a sore spot.”

Bucky and his big mouth. She had told him about her upcoming marriage when they had last spoken, but so much had changed in that little time. Shuri let out a derisive huff of laughter. Sore spot indeed. “More like gangrene.” 

Fury let out a low whistle, but did not ask any further questions about the topic. To which she was grateful for. He led her into the floating building, leading her down a series of hallways before finally bringing her into a large conference room. There were already a few people sitting at the table, and Shuri instantly recognized two of them. 

Despite her earlier annoyance at Bucky, she didn’t hesitate to pull him into a tight hug. With her increased workload it was rare to see him, but he always managed to make it feel like it was only yesterday. 

“It’s good to see you Mrs.-” 

Shuri let go of him and smacked him in the chest. “Some covert spy you are, telling my secrets.” 

“You never said it was a secret.” He grinned, but the smile suddenly dropped at the serious look on her face. “Shit Shuri, no really I didn’t know it was a secret. Normally you let me know…” 

When she had told him, it had been in passing. She had wanted to tell someone outside of Wakanda, and Bucky was always ready to listen to her. It had been nice to hear his teasing, and she had pretended to be optimistic about it. That conversation felt like years ago now. “It’s not really a secret. I just don’t want to talk about it.” 

Bucky tilted his head in question, studying her face. Her stomach flipped when she saw a look of concerned realization cross his features. “Shuri-” Before he could question her further, Sam cut through, extending his hand with a friendly smile. She latched onto the interruption like a lifeline. 

“Not sure if you remember me.” Sam joked lightly.  

Shuri rolled her eyes and shook his hand, a cheeky smirk on her face. “You are borrowing Wakandan tech, of course I remember you.” Her elders had been less than thrilled with her for designing the suit for the American, but she assured them that she kept tabs on everything. And so far Sam had proven himself time and time again. 

He took her comment in stride, “Just let me know when you need it back. Let me introduce you to the others.” Sam moved to lead her to the front of the table where a woman with a tablet was standing. She was in the middle of bringing images and schematics up onto a larger screen, stopping when Sam got close. “This is Dr. Monica Rambeau, she’ll be helping give us an overview of everything we know so far.” 

Shuri smiled at the beautiful woman with a halo of curls. Her posture held a confidence in her position and her eyes were beyond kind looking. Shuri decided she liked her instantly. “It’s nice to meet you Dr. Rambeau, My name-” 

“Princess Shuri Udaku.” The woman said excitedly, before clearing her throat and tamping her excitement down. “I know all about you. Your work is nothing short of amazing. Please call me Monica. It’s so good to finally meet you.”

“Thank you, please call me Shuri.” 

Monica nodded with a warm smile, gesturing to a man who was watching them with interest. He froze when they turned his way, and he gave them a sheepish wave. “This is Shang-Chi and this is-”

“I’m Kamala!” A younger girl popped up from behind Monica, bursting with an excitement that left her nearly breathless. The fact that she didn’t even bother to hide it was instantly endearing. It was hard not to grin back at her show of enthusiasm. 

Shuri had read about everyone in the room through a briefing sent to her by Fury after accepting his invitation. So she remembered the video attachment, showcasing Kamala saving a young child from falling. It surprised Shuri at how young she was. 

“I saw that video of you. I’m very curious about your powers.”  

Kamala blinked in surprise and turned to look at Monica with a dazed smile. “A real life princess knows about me.” The older woman snorted and mouthed to her to ‘calm down’. Instead the younger girl pointed at Shang-Chi with renewed energy. “Did you see the video of Shang-Chi blowing up a bus?” 

“I did not blow up a bus.” Shang-Chi immediately stood, holding up a hand in embarrassment. 

“But the bus was destroyed.” 

He looked between the girls quickly and let out a huff of laughter. “…Technically not my fault.” 

Monica cut in, scrunching her nose as she held up her hand. Pressing her thumb and index finger together. “A little your fault.” 

Before the man could further defend himself, Fury cut in with a loud clearing of his throat. “Monica, if you could.” He gestured to the larger screens, and took a seat near the head of the table.

“Right! Right.” Monica gestured for everyone to take a seat and turned back to her screens, tapping on her tablet to enlarge an image of their first topic of discussion. The mystery man called Kang. The cold determination in his eyes made clearer as his image was enlarged to the size of Monica herself. “As anticlimactic as it sounds, we know close to nothing. Antman, who couldn’t make it today, had briefed us on an encounter that he had with…another version of him.” 

“What does that mean exactly?” Questioned Sam, leaning his forearms on the table. He looked casual in appearance, but Shuri could see how tightly he gripped his hands together. 

“From what I can understand, from the gathered information of both Antman and Dr. Strange, there are billions of multiverses. Billions of different versions of everyone and everything throughout time and space. Apparently this man,” Monica tilted her head towards Kang, “has some way of accessing it.” 

Kamala raised her hand politely, waiting until Monica nodded her head before speaking. “So you’re telling me that we are up against billions of…him?” 

“I don’t think so.” The doctor looked down at her tablet, bringing up an overhead shot of the ocean where the giant statue was located. It was disconcerting to see the scale of its size so plainly. Making it hard to believe that it was also a picture of Earth. “This is a satellite photo of the statue he was standing in front of in the video. This was taken before the broadcast. This-” She brought up another photo, but a large circle of the photo was digitized, blocking out the statue and the island it was near. “This was taken after the broadcast. The electrical interference is possibly hiding a base of operations.” 

“Although the area is large, we doubt he has that many people there.” Fury spoke up briefly, nodding for Monica to continue. 

Bucky added in a quick question before she could continue. “And if he had that type of man power, why ask for our ‘cooperation’?” 

“Exactly. If we could get close to Kang’s compound, or whatever it is, maybe we could see what we are up against. I was hoping that I could bring a small team with me just for a small amount of recon.” Monica’s eyes flicked to Fury who looked as if he was about to protest so she quickly added, “Nothing invasive yet of course. It would be covert.” 

“What about the statue?” Shang-Chi asked. 

“Unfortunately we know less about that thing then we know about Kang.” 

“It isn’t much-” Shuri began, speaking for the first time since Monica began. She had wanted to absorb as much information as she could before sharing the little she had. With her kimoyo beads, Shuri threw up an image of Namor’s hologram onto the screen, showing everyone the true scale of the statue. 

“Holy crap.” Kamala breathed out, clearly speaking for the rest of the group as they all held the same expression of awe. “Is that thing going to move? Because I don’t think we can do anything about that if it does.” 

Fury let out a long sigh, pinching the bridge of his nose as he screwed his eye shut. “I sincerely hope not.” He looked up at the image briefly before turning to everyone around the table. “So, with the hopefully unmoving giant the size of Earth aside, we need all hands on deck to deal with this Kang .” Fury gestured to Kamala with a look of tired resignation. “Which is why we are unfortunately recruiting the young for this as well. I don’t know what he wants, but I want him the hell off of this planet. It’s already crowded enough as it is.” 

“Yes!” Kamala said with an optimism that deeply contrasted against Fury’s pessimism. “The Young Justice crew needs to make its debut.” 

“We are not calling them that.” 

“Fine.” Kamala sighed, chewing the inside of her cheek before asking, “Young Avengers? 

The older man paused for a long moment, staring at Kamala with an unreadable expression. “No.” 

She excitedly pointed at Fury as if she had caught him. “Ah! You sort of like it, I can tell! Right Monica?” Kamala turned towards the doctor who was trying to suppress a smile.

“Don't answer that.” Fury snapped. 

“She's right though.” 

Fury was in the process of rubbing his neck when Monica answered and he whipped his gaze back to her looking betrayed. “Whose side are you on?”

The table watched on in bemusement as the trio continued to bicker amongst themselves, showcasing a comfortable familiarity amongst them. Shuri relaxed in her seat. Despite the circumstances, the small distraction was exactly what she needed. 

There was a faint pulse against her wrist that brought her attention to the pearl amongst her kimoyo beads. Blue light threaded through it, lighting with the tempo of a heartbeat that was not her own. “Excuse me.” She murmured, stepping outside of the conference room and into the hallway before anyone could ask her what was wrong.  

With the small bit of privacy she tapped twice on the pearl, the way Namor had shown her earlier, and a blue hologram bloomed in front of her. She had been expecting Namor’s image, but his voice came through in his softly deep timbre. It felt strangely intimate to have just his voice so close, causing a shiver to run up her spine. 

It was pleasant in a way that she didn’t want to focus on, so she zeroed in on the photo in front of her. Which appeared to be a layout of a land mass, decorated with several blue dots and small structures. Shuri realized what she was looking at when she saw the statue peeking through as a backdrop amongst the terrain. 

“Black Panther. We were able to acquire a partial view of the area near the statue, but unfortunately we could not risk getting any closer.” 

“The blue dots are people?” She knew the answer, but it was alarming to see the amount on the hologram.

“Yes. If we discover anything more, I will contact you directly.”  

Shuri bit her lip, not wanting to thank him, but the information was invaluable. Talokan’s technology could be what they needed to get a better idea of what they were up against. It was easier to say the words then she would have liked. “Thank you, Namor. I will brief you on what I learn after my meeting is over.” 

There was a long pause, long enough to make her think he disconnected the call before he finally spoke. Her name on his lips making her unconsciously grip the edge of her shirt. 

“Of course, Shuri. I will be waiting then. ” 

The image disappeared, signifying the end of the call. Shuri took a few seconds to calm herself before walking back into the conference room. All heads turned to her when she came in. 

Fury lifted a brow expectantly. “Everything good?” 

“Yes.” She looked down at the pearl on her wrist. “I wanted to tell you I know someone who could possibly help.” 

Notes:

Also I came up with this idea before The Marvels came out, so I'm just taking elements (mainly the relationship between the characters) but not the story

I hope you guys enjoyed. A little information dumpy for a bit before the story moves forward :)

Let me know what you guys think and ty for reading!

Chapter 4: What comes after marriage

 

“As previously agreed upon, I will join you. However, I will reserve judgment on whether I involve any of my warriors.” Namor glanced back at his general Namora, who stood to the right of him. She responded with a bow of her head in agreement. 

“Of course.” A look of relief, although subtle, settled over Shuri’s features. Her posture was still held stiffly whenever she spoke to Namor, but it showed in the slow blink of her eye and the loose grip of her hands in her lap. “I believe your help alone will be more than enough. I will simply introduce you as an ally and we will keep it at that. Although I’m sure the others will have questions, they trust me.”

Then that is enough for me. 

Namor kept the words to himself and instead gave the Princess a curt nod. If the years of their alliance had taught him anything, it was that he trusted Shuri’s judgment. Even if he had no desire to meet any of the other surface dwellers. He did not care about their ‘heros’. 

It was late in the evening, but an emergency council meeting had been held as soon as Shuri had gotten back from her meeting with Fury. She had gone over the details of what had been told of Kang, including the map Namor’s people had provided. As well as what they knew of the large statue. The majority of the council kept their questions minimal. Largely due to not even knowing what to ask. 

Between Kang and the statue there were just too many unknown variables. Namor could see the frustration in Shuri’s posture as she spoke. He knew how much she hated it when she had no avenue of studying the things she did not know. Her meeting with Fury and the others must have only created more questions that she could not answer. 

There was a level of skepticism that spread across the other faces in the room when the term multiverse had been used, but everyone held their tongue. It wasn’t like they hadn’t experienced the strange and unexplainable before. 

Since the meeting had only been called to discuss Shuri’s findings, and the hour being late, it did not last much longer when Shuri was done speaking. However, just as M’Baku was about to call for the end of it, the Mining tribe Elder raised her hand to stop her King. 

“In regards to the Princess’s plans for the Golden Tribe’s future progeny, I think we should be updated on the progress.” 

Namor felt a chill go through him, curling up around his spine and settling uncomfortably at the base of his mind. He hated that this affected him so. It was not his business, yet he could not shake the complicated emotions that would rise from deep within him whenever the topic would come up in his presence. Namor could easily name each emotion if he took a moment to reflect, but he refused to do it. 

It was not his business. 

The image of Shuri and her husband standing close together, the disgusting promise on her husband’s lips raked against Namor’s nerves in an excruciating way that he had never experienced before. He shifted in his seat to calmly place a hand down on the armrest. 

M’Baku shifted in his seat as well, unable to hide the emotions on his face, his annoyance clear. “This meeting was about the threats this man Kang poses for humanity. I hardly think the topic of babies is appropriate when there are more important things to discuss.” 

“With the Black Panther putting herself in a possible dangerous situation, that could mean her life. So of course it should be something that is discussed.” The Elder had said with a calm superiority, lifting a single eyebrow as she stared her king down. 

At this the Wakandan King looked at a loss for words. 

With a chilling clench at his heart, Namor realized that this was not the same tribe who had argued with Shuri before. The purpose of Shuri’s marriage had always been made clear, but it had always been the Border tribe to be the most vocal. 

Shuri finally cleared her throat to get the attention of the council. Looking to each of the Elders as she spoke. “Nothing has progressed as of yet. My husband has not provided the sperm sample to my lab as I had requested.” She lastly turned to M’Kathu to speak to him directly. “If you would be so kind as to remind him, since he doesn’t seem to listen to me.” 

The Border tribe Elder looked a bit disgruntled by the comment, but he nodded to her. Letting her know it would be done. 

Namor had watched Shuri the entire time throughout the exchange. She held herself well in his opinion. With a delicate strength that he knew was hard to maintain on the surface. Her face was impassive, but it was always her eyes that would give her away if you knew what to look for. 

And if he couldn’t directly look her in the eye…

His eyes drifted down to her hands. He didn’t have to see the worry in her gaze when it was so clear in her hands. The way they trembled ever so slightly.  

The arm of his chair creaked softly and Namor felt the cool touch of Namora’s fingertips gently brush his arm for the briefest of seconds. A blink and you would miss it type of movement, but it was enough for Namor to loosen his grip. He flicked his eyes away from Shuri to his hand to see the faint splintered cracks within the wood of his chair just under his hand. 

 

---

 

The day was gorgeous, clear skies, warm sun, cool breeze. Filled with the delicious smells of the nearby food stalls and children laughing as they played. It was the type of day that would remind you that life had its moments of peace when you could find the beauty in simplicity. 

Not to Shuri. 

It was marred, like a splash of contrasting paint across a finished piece of art. 

She limply held onto a small bag of falafel as she walked down the market district with her husband. A placid smile on her face whenever she made eye contact with the people around her. The council were adamant that they make weekly public appearances early in her marriage. A show to uplift public morale with the new addition to the royal family. 

Shuri would have fought to get out of such a waste of time, especially with the new threat of Kang, but she was hoping that this small bit of compliance would keep the Elders at bay. However she did not anticipate how much more she would come to dislike Jiya. 

In the public eye he was friendly and charming. All smiles and easy conversation with every single person. To all but her. He was the real display in this show of their marriage, and he truly seemed to enjoy it. 

A spark of annoyance flared within Shuri at the sight. Especially when she compared it to the memories of their engagement where he had hardly put in the effort. If he had put in at least a percentage of how he acted in public when they first officially met then maybe they would be on more amicable terms. 

She supposed that the silver lining was that since he revealed himself so early in their marriage that she wouldn’t have to waste time on navigating any complicated emotions. 

Shuri took a bite of the food in her hand, needing something to do with her hands, but after one bite she put the half eaten falafel back in the bag. She couldn’t taste anything and her appetite was non-existent.  

The rest of their walk continued within that same vein. Jiya played the charming prince consort while Shuri followed listlessly behind, like a shadow. He would occasionally place a hand on her back to check in with her, his affectionate display making older women fawn over them. 

Shuri was going to need to lie down after this as she felt a migraine coming on.  

Most of it had been uneventful until a ball had rolled into her view, gently bumping into her ankle. Shuri looked up to see a group of young children laughing, both Wakandan and Talokanil, jumping and waving at her excitedly. She couldn’t help but crack a genuine smile back at them, reminded of her nephew's smiling face. 

For a moment she could feel the warmth of the sun soak into her skin and the taste of the herbs and spices from the falafel still lingering on her tongue.  

“Sorry Princess!! Can you throw it back!” One of the Wakandan boys called out, his voice cracking cutely. 

Her face broke into a full grin, and she bent to grab the ball. “Sure!” However before she could grab the ball her husband beat her to it. Jiya crouched low to the ground and instead of tossing the ball back he waved for the boy to come to him. A look of hesitation flitted across the young child’s face but he obediently came over to them. 

Shuri had expected to see more of Jiya’s showboating but it was quite the opposite. 

When Jiya placed the ball in the child’s outstretched hands, he quickly gripped his free hand around the boy’s wrist. His voice was a low threat that made both the boy and Shuri freeze in place. “You would do well to show your princess some more respect, eh?” His hand gripped tighter and the boy flinched at the pressure. “Understood?”

“Jiya.” Shuri said sharply, and her husband calmly let go of the child’s hand who immediately ran off to his friends. The boy glanced at Shuri in such a confused way that it broke her heart. Jiya was already walking away when she glanced back at him. He easily slid into a laughing conversation and all Shuri could do was numbly watch him. 

This was the man that she was expected to have children with. 

This was the man who was expected to be the father of her future daughter or son. 

Her hand strayed to her stomach as the chill that rushed through was enough to make her shiver under the heat of the sun. 

When it was first presented to her that she had to marry to further the Golden Tribe’s family line, she had thought that she would be the problem when it came to parenting. She hadn’t been sure if she ever wanted to be a mother and was worried that she wouldn't do the job justice. Not in the ways that her mother did. But she at least liked children. Being with Toussaint had been so much fun that she had allowed herself to think that maybe being a mother wouldn’t be the worst thing. 

It didn’t occur to her to think about the father. 

Before Jiya had been decided on as her intended, the idea of a ‘father’ figure didn't matter. The man was an end to a means in her opinion, and if she happened to get along with him then that would just be a bonus. 

But then Jiya entered the picture. 

Shuri looked back to where the children had been playing to see that they had left. She thought of the boy’s confused face. 

Which then morphed into the face of her nephew. 

Which then morphed into the face of her unborn child with a mix of hers and Jiya’s features, filled with confusion and hurt. 

Her stomach roiled sickly and she quickly moved to sit down on a bench nearby, lined against the wall of a small bright building. The cool stone of the building on her back made her stomach calm slightly, and she closed her eyes, trying her best not to panic. 

Think of something else. Anything else.  

How was she supposed to handle this situation? 

Who could she even talk to? 

Her King was married with children, but he kept them in Jabari land. Her sister Nakia was out of the question. She already felt guilt for the weight that was placed on Shuri’s shoulders when she and her brother decided to keep Toussaint away from Wakandan politics.  

She was alone. 

“Who else could you talk to?”  

Shuri opened her eyes at the memory of her and Namor talking in her lab, just before the appearance of Kang. She wondered how Namor would have handled this situation. She was sure with his status that his own advisors would have suggested marriage to ensure a royal line. He had mentioned that he aged slowly but that didn't mean he was immortal. 

He would be a good father.  

The thought came so suddenly and loud in her mind that it momentarily stunned her, but she couldn’t argue against it. He did everything he could to protect the people he called his children. And anytime she witnessed him with an actual child he was always patient and kind with them. 

Namor with a wife however…

Shuri shook her head to banish the thought of what his wife would look like before it could form, closing her eyes again. Who cares? Even though she felt her stomach turn slightly. 

She was so caught up with her musings that she had not realized when Jiya had sat next to her until she felt the bag of falafel lift from her hand. Her body went rigid as the uncomfortable feeling came back and she watched him carefully as he ate half the bag. 

“Are you enjoying yourself, Wife?” He asked mildly, finding the piece that she had half eaten. 

Shuri made sure to give him a pleasant smile before she answered, a taunting lilt in her tone. “Clearly not as much as you, husband.” 

“You always have to make things more difficult don’t you.” He lowered his voice, but the disdain was obvious. “Appearances are important to maintain, especially in such a position as ours.” 

“Ours?” Shuri scoffed, sitting up with the intention of leaving. “You act as if I hadn’t been raised within the palace, when you have only been here for all of five minutes.” 

Jiya reached out quickly cupping the side of her face that was visible to the public with a firm hand, stilling her from leaving. Before she could rip herself away he clicked his tongue at her. “Ah ah…we’re in public remember? You have to behave .” With his other hand hidden between the wall and her face, he pressed the small piece of falafel to her lips. 

From her peripherals Shuri could see onlookers excitedly talking about the new couple and Shuri knew she had to play along. Reluctantly, Shuri opened her mouth to accept the offered food. 

Her husband smiled at her triumphantly and swiftly took advantage, shoving his thumb into her mouth to push the food further in. She nearly gagged but she tried to remain calm, when it was clear that he enjoyed her discomfort. “Isn’t it easier when you play your part?” 

Rage burned up her spine, causing her to snap her jaws shut and bite deeply into his flesh. The skin broke and his bone crunched between her teeth, and her mouth filled with the taste of copper before he pulled his hands away from her face. He quickly stood to stand in front of her, blocking both of their faces from view.   

Shuri caught a quick glimpse of his mangled thumb before he hid it from view behind his blue cloak. She met his glare with a glare of her own. There was a brief moment where she thought about spitting the food and blood back in his face, but instead she swallowed both without breaking eye contact. 

She had her fill of her husband for the day, and stood up without caring how close he was, forcing him to take a step away from her. Shuri had worn her lab coat on their little excursion, having left the lab to meet him and hoping to get right back when she was done. So when she wiped her mouth with the sleeve of her sheer coat, Jiya’s blood stood starkly against the white fabric. 

 

---

 

Namor was surprised to have received Shuri’s call. There was a large part of him that had expected Shuri to never use the gift he had given her, so he had expected the worst when she had asked him to meet with her.  

She had sent him coordinates to her location, and he was surprised yet again to be walking out of the same river where he had first met her. The sense of deja vu hit him in waves; the surrounding quiet, the moonlight reflecting off of the river, and Shuri sitting near a small fire. She was curled into herself, her arms wrapped tightly around her legs.

The feeling struck him even harder when he realized that even her face had looked similar to that evening all those years ago. Her face a grim mask as her eyes burned with rage, reflecting the chaotic nature of the fire in front of her. 

He flew out of the water and landed softly in front of the fire, straight across from her, but she didn't seem to notice. “Black Panther.” Shuri didn't move. He tried again, “Princess?” Still nothing. Namor rounded the fire, careful to keep his distance as he felt himself already drying, and kneeled next to her. Instinctually he kept his voice soft, “Shuri.” 

That snapped her out of her mind and she came back with a gasp, whipping her head to Namor to meet his gaze before immediately standing. He followed, standing along with her.  

“Sorry to call you so late.” 

“It is fine. Why-” 

“I wanted to go over our itinerary for when we meet with Fury.” 

“...I- I see.” His apparent confusion had her looking away from him and back to the fire. They had already gone over this. She had even sent him a written file copy of what had been discussed. So it was clear to him that this was not the reason why he was there. Namor took a moment to flick his eyes over her entire form in an attempt to find the reason why he was here when his eyes snagged on the brownish red on her sleeve. It was startlingly garish against the white fabric and without thinking he reached out to hover his hand over her wrist. “Are you hurt?” 

Shuri followed his gaze to the dried blood on her sleeve and her eyes dulled. She quickly pulled away from him and turned her body to hide the sleeve. “It’s nothing.” 

With his hand still reaching out to her, he lowered his eyes and gripped the empty air, bringing his arm down. He decided to play along. “So we leave in a few days, at the end of the week. Yes?” Namor prompted, purposefully starting with the incorrect information. They would actually be leaving the day after tomorrow. 

It was an obvious ploy, but the grateful look on her face was worth it. 

They both sat down again, and Shuri rattled off the details of their mission in great detail. Namor studied her face as she spoke, noticing how going through the little details calmed her. She was less fidgety, although her hands wouldn’t stop moving as she spoke. 

Midway through her explanation of the people he would most likely meet, she cut herself off and asked him a question that completely caught him off guard. “Have you ever been married?” 

Namor blinked, “I-” He promptly shut his mouth and cleared his throat. Even if the question had caught him off guard, it at least gave him some clarification as to why he was there. She needed a distraction. He could do that for her. “No. Although lately my advisors have been more vocal about me taking it into more consideration.” 

“Because you're getting older?” She pointed to the gray hair that was beginning to show along the edge of his hairline. “I understand you age slower than most, but I’m sure your advisors had noticed.” 

“Yes.” He gave her a slow smile. “But their concern is most likely due to the fact that I was close to death several years ago.” 

“Oh.” Shuri blinked, her turn to be caught off guard. It didn’t stop her curiosity though. “Do you have any children? Biologically I mean.” 

“None.” 

“Really? After so many centuries? Can you not-” Shuri cut herself off with a grimace. 

Namor rubbed his jaw to keep from chuckling. Having a chair at the Wakandan council for several years now had him learn very quickly how often Shuri tended to let her mouth get the better of her. “No, it’s just something that has been…prevented is all. When I am ready to produce an heir is when Talokan will be ready to have a Queen. It will most likely be something I will have to consider soon.” 

Which was the truth. It was a headache that he did not want to deal with if he were being completely honest. The worry of his progeny had never been an issue before, and it would be several centuries before he finally moved on, but his near death had shaken his people. 

Before meeting Shuri, the idea of marriage had been simply another obligation to fulfill for Talokan, which admittedly had held some charm in the hopes of finding some companionship. Now…He watched as Shuri chewed on her lip in thought, thinking of what he had just told her…Now, the idea of marriage in his future was simply a void. 

The rest of their night was spent with Shuri peppering Namor with dozens of questions surrounding Talokan’s cultural practices concerning marriage and children, and he answered each and every one. 

 

---

 

Shuri sat alone in her lab as she worked. The hour was late and everyone had gone home for the evening. It wasn't unusual to be there by herself, and she was grateful for the time alone. She wasn’t sure if she could think properly with so many people in the room with her. She wasn’t even sure if she could properly breathe. 

For the past hour she had run a series of tests on a small vial of sperm that her husband had finally provided. She was able to disconnect and treat it like any other lab specimen. After she was done she slipped the vial into a small rectangular glass box, and turned it numbly between her fingers. The box was of her particular design, meant to keep the single vial chilled. A palm sized refrigerator. It was easier to focus on the box than what it was protecting. 

She knew she had asked specifically for this, but a small part of her had hoped that Jiya would have strung this out a little longer. Now she had his offering in her hand and it was now her responsibility to make the next move. 

To keep up her end of this strange bargain. 

Shuri wanted to throw up. 

“Princess. Okoye is on the line for you.”

“Thank you Griot. Please accept the call.” She placed the box down on the table. 

A digital image of Okoye appeared before Shuri, looking as if she was sitting across the table from her. Shuri felt herself relaxing at Okoye’s familiar face. It had been weeks when she had last seen her and it would probably be awhile before she would see her in person. 

There had been tension surrounding their outreach programs and the US government. With Shuri’s upcoming marriage, Okoye had volunteered to handle the problem both covertly and politically which had been a blessing for Shuri. She had thought she would be able to join her but between Jiya and Kang, Shuri didn’t think she would be able to now. 

Okoye sighed heavily as soon as she saw Shuri. “Bast, child, of course you would pick up at this hour. You look like you could use a full week's worth of sleep.” 

At her immediate reprimand, Shuri couldn’t help but snort. “Hello to you too.” 

She gave Shuri a level look before her features softened. “Are you alright? Aneka had been updating me on what has been happening with the situation with Kang. Did you need me to come back?” 

“No. I want you to secure the outreach programs before you come back. I will call you when I absolutely need you.” 

There was a long pause before she finally responded with, “Alright.” But then Okoye went quiet as she studied Shuri's face.

“What?” Shuri asked, squirming slightly under Okoye's scrutiny. 

“Aneka had told me something else as well,” The older woman began cautiously, keep her eyes glued to Shuri’s face, “…about your husband?” 

Shuri tried her best to look normal, knowing full well how sharp her friend was. “...What did she say?” 

“You're refusing your bed with him.” Okoye quickly held up a hand as soon as she noticed Shuri about to argue. “Not that I think that’s a problem. It’s just…I was worried. Are you sure you're alright?

“It’s not that I’m denying him a baby or anything.” She made a show of rolling her eyes, picking up the encased vial to show Okoye. Presenting it with a silly flourish of her hand. “I have the future of Wakanda right here actually.” 

Okoye didn't appear fooled by it. “Shuri…I-” She paused, taking a moment to gather her thoughts. “Just know that I’ll stand with you. Whatever you decide. I’m loyal to you .” 

A sudden wave of emotion hit Shuri from the simple declaration, causing her throat to tighten. It wasn’t that Okoye’s loyalty was a surprise, but it was something that Shuri desperately needed to hear. “Thank you, Okoye…I’ll keep in touch. Goodnight.” 

“May Bast protect you.” Were Okoye’s last words before the call was dropped. Her digital form disappearing and leaving Shuri alone in the lab again. 

Shuri looked down at the encased vial in her hand. Emboldened by the short conversation. She had done all of her tests on the sperm and found it to be healthy and unfortunately fertile. The next steps would be insemination, and she began reminding herself of all the reasons why she was doing this. 

But her mind rebelled and began listing the reasons why she shouldn’t. 

Firstly, Kang was still very much a problem. She could not risk getting pregnant if she was needed on the frontline. Her husband would probably demand her step down the second she was with child. 

Secondly, Jiya would be the father.

….and lastly…She couldn’t help but think of Namor’s words; 

“I yielded to you, not him.”

“I am sure you will not make things so easy for the ones that have trapped you.” 

Shuri placed the container back down on the table, turning it in a slow circle lost in thought. Her emotions swirled and churned within her, but she was sure about one thing.  

She brought up a digital keyboard on the workstation’s surface, tapping a few keys to open a small circular hole at the center of the table. The encased vial made a soft scraping noise as she flicked it into the hole, followed briefly by a bright flash of flame before Shuri closed the incinerator shut. 

Notes:

Not today Jiya! Sorry to inflict you with more of him in this chap 😬

Thank you guys for reading!

--

Neighbors next!

Chapter 5: Barriers

 

“I don’t like this.” 

“Noted.” 

“I’m serious.”

Shuri let out a quiet sigh, closing the lid on the crate of equipment she was bringing with her to the Avenger’s compound. She lifted it with ease and placed it into the airship she would be taking with Namor. Which was currently the topic of argument between her and her husband at the moment. She did not have the capacity to care nor the time to deal with this. 

“It does not matter what you do and do not like. I have my duty to Wakanda to uphold and that is what I am doing.” Shuri dusted her hands off to finally look at her husband, tall enough to block out the sun from her vision as it he always did. It highlighted his frame and threw his face into shadow, but it could not hide the grim disdain on his face. A face that she could have once described as handsome, but now it just made her feel ill to look at it. “I grow tired of this argument. The facts remain the same. You are staying and I am leaving. With Namor. ”

The last detail was a jab she could not help but add in. Satisfied with the noticeable twitch of Jiya’s right eyelid. 

“And what of the child?” 

“What child?” She scoffed, hoping to hide the sudden tension she felt in her body. Remembering the distinct heat of the incinerator before she closed it shut. “Fertilization takes some time, so nothing as of yet. I checked this morning.” 

Jiya took one step closer to Shuri, and it took everything in her not to step back. “So you-” 

“Black Panther. All is prepared?” Namor walked to Shuri’s side, placing a thick cloth bag of his things into the ship. His interruption had Jiya closing his mouth into a tense line. The taller man stared at the shorter God king, but Namor paid him no mind. 

“Yes,” She answered, straining to keep the relief from her voice. “Ready when you are.” With a quick nod, Namor climbed onto the ship swiftly, her eyes catching on the single black pearl amongst his other necklaces as he moved past her. Shuri took this opportunity to follow closely behind him and closed the door, not even bothering to say goodbye to her husband.

As Namor settled in the copilot seat, Shuri took a second to gather herself. Wondering how long she could keep up the facade of attempting to conceive. Feasibly, maybe a couple more weeks. If she was lucky a month, but that felt like she would be pushing it. 

She needed another plan and quick. 

Shuri glanced over to see Namor looking at the control panels and helm with interest. She supposed a new plan could wait until after Kang was dealt with. 

Another problem to be dealt with later.  

Before she sat in her seat, Shuri began flipping switches above them and tapped on her Kimoyo beads to transfer the coordinates of the compound to the airship's mainframe. The trip wouldn’t be a very long one and she could always put everything on autopilot, but she personally liked flying manually. 

There was an odd mixture of control and freedom to it.

She peaked out of the corner of her eye to see Namor watching her hands as she worked. Then her eyes strayed to his ankles where she could see the soft looking feathers of his wings, contrasted starkly against his richer skin tone. 

She wondered how he felt when he flew. 

“Did you look over the files I gave you for who you would most likely meet?” Shuri asked instead, and was delightedly amused by the disgruntled look on his face. She couldn’t help but tease, “You don’t like meeting new people do you?” 

He gave her a dry look, crossing his arms across his chest, his wings twitching agitatedly. “It is…not quite that, I would say. They make me cautious is all.” 

That was understandable, she couldn’t fault him that. She gave him a quick look and managed a small reassuring smile. “Like I said before, we’ll keep information about you simple. You're my ally and you're willing to help…there is no need for them to know anything more than that.”

There was a beat of silence, and Shuri thought that was the end of the conversation but Namor’s deep voice sounded out softly. 

“I trust you.” 

Shuri blinked, stunned by the confession. She took another glance at him, but he was already turning his head away from her to look out the window. It gave her the opportunity to study his profile, suddenly hit with how comfortable and intimate it felt to be here with him. Even if it was for strictly business reasons. 

There was a painful twist in her heart and she could feel herself mentally withdrawing, effectively ending any further conversation between them. 

I trust you.  

Considering everything that had ever happened between them…It frightened her to think that she echoed the same sentiment.

 

---

 

When they landed, it did not surprise her to see Fury waiting for them. He had other workers help with their things, explaining that he would have them taken to the rooms that were set aside for them. There was an awkward moment where Fury simply stood sentry as he took in the appearance of Namor, their coat and cloak whipping in the cold wind dramatically as they stared each other down. 

Shuri cleared her throat and turned to Namor first to make the introductions, “This is director Fury, he’s the one who arranged to have…like minded individuals meet in regards to dealing with Kang.” When she turned to Fury she could see the slight twitch of his lips at her introduction of him. “Director Fury, this is Namor. Wakanda’s ally.” 

He lifted an eyebrow over his good eye at the rather short introduction, but he still didn’t move an inch to bring them inside. “Namor huh? Any last name?” 

“None that you deserve to hear.” Namor responded lightly. It suddenly struck Shuri that she didn’t actually know his name. The thought had never occurred to her before. Namor and K’uk’ulkan were technically titles given to him…she was sure his mother had given him a proper name. 

Fury was not phased by the lack of answer and continued his questions, “You from earth?” 

“Yes.” 

“A reason you’re only coming out now to help?” 

“I’m only here to assist the Black panther.” There was a slight movement, a quarter of a step that could have been missed if you blinked, but Shuri could feel Namor move closer to her. “Nothing more.”

“An-” 

“Namor was the one to actually provide the map of Kang’s encampment.” Shuri quickly cut in, anxious to get past this mini interrogation. She could feel the tension rolling off of Namor in waves. 

There was a tense beat of silence from the interruption, but Fury let out a sigh and nodded, taking a step back and waving an arm towards the entrance. “You are some of the first to show up. And considering that map…well Monica is eager to meet with you on that point.” 

With an internal sigh of relief, Shuri and Namor followed Fury through the hallways, leading them to the large conference room where there was only Monica and Shang-Chi waiting for them. Monica had been leaning on the table in conversation with Shang-Chi who had been sitting down. She took a curious large step back from the other man, but her face only held a large smile as she saw Shuri. 

“Welcome back.” Monica then turned her smile to Namor, infinitely more welcoming than Fury had been earlier. Introducing herself and Shang-Chi in such a calm way that put Namor at ease enough to introduce himself. After hearing his name, she picked up a tablet she had placed on the table behind her, bringing up the map Namor had provided on the larger screen on the wall. “Shuri had mentioned you had provided the map, is it alright if I ask your opinion on a few things?”  

Namor looked at Shuri briefly, who simply lifted her eyebrows at him in response, tilting her head to Monica. He let out a soft huff and walked over to Monica to speak further with her. 

I can’t tell if he’s uncomfortable or just shy. Shuri thought in amusement as she watched him interact with the others. A brush at her shoulder had her looking at Fury, who moved to stand next to her as he watched the others. 

“I wouldn’t quite call him gangrene .” 

Shuri blinked, then blinked again. “Ah-” A sudden heat rushed into her cheeks as she realized what he meant. “That is not my husband. Namor is an ally of Wakanda, nothing more.”  She hissed, hating how embarrassed she felt. It was a simple fact. There shouldn’t be anything to be embarrassed about. 

There shouldn’t be any feeling about it at all . 

If anything she should feel disgusted by the entire notion of being married to him. 

A nervous energy went through her so she moved to join the others, but not before she heard Fury saying, “Nothing more, huh?”

Nothing more. She confirmed internally, forcing herself to stand next to Shang-Chi. They were in the middle of conversing, but Namor managed to glance back at Shuri, lifting a brow in question. 

Not knowing how to answer his look, Shuri simply looked away. 

“-ect. Just what I needed to hear.” Monica turned to Shuri, her eyes hopeful. “So, I was wondering if you would be able to help me with a small recon mission, before the others get here. The two of you actually.” She gestured to Namor as well. “We’ll be in and out. I just want to get a closer look. See what we’re up against.” 

“I still don’t think this is a good idea.” Fury pointed out, but he held back any further argument. There was a palpable feeling of tension as Monica brought her attention to the older man. Making it clear that this had been an ongoing argument between the two. 

“In and out. No fighting.” Monica mimicked Fury’s posture as she crossed her arms, a look of challenge flashing in her eyes. “You always said we need to enter any fight prepared, and I agree. So let me do this.” 

Only a huff of annoyance came out of Fury in response. 

“Did you need my help at all?” Shang-Chi offered, cutting into the conversation to ease the tension. It seemed to do the trick, relaxing Monica’s shoulders as she grinned at him with a shake of her head. 

“You stay put. We’ll be needing a little more stealth on this mission.” 

 

---

 

The weather apparently understood the assignment as the clouds gathered thickly above them, masking the moonlight from revealing their location. Shuri had cloaked her ship and landed them in a spot that Namor’s map had specified as ‘unoccupied’. Which was extremely helpful considering that it looked like the island was completely vacant of any life, let alone an entire encampment. 

It was also eerily quiet, with only the sounds of the ocean, but there was a faint glimmer of a forcefield if you knew where to look. Which was keeping the entire encampment completely hidden from view. 

Shuri took three kimoyo beads off of her bracelet, tossing them into the air to allow them to transform into what looked like three large bugs. They zoomed away, scanning the surrounding forcefield but there was nothing new of note. A part of her wanted to touch it, test its structure against the weight of a simple touch, but she knew that would be a foolish mistake. So for now they kept their distance. 

Just as she snatched her kimoyo bugs from the air, Namor stepped out of the ocean, smoothing his hair back as he placed his spear in the soft sand to stand on its own. “The barrier reaches all the way to the ocean floor. I have set up markers to attune itself to the vibrations of the barrier itself, but it will take some time.” 

“Once attuned, you would be able to take down the barrier?” Monica asked in interest. 

“Yes, however I recommend waiting to use it at a more opportune time.” 

I wonder if that’s what was used to break into Wakanda, all those years ago. The bitterness of that thought clung to her for a moment, but it slipped away from her before she could hold onto it. There was none of the usual anger left in its wake, just an uncomfortable reminder that would always be there. 

Shuri had to look away from Namor.  

Upset that she was not as upset as she should be. 

She replaced the kimoyo beads on her bracelet, her fingers brushing across them and lingering on the single raw pearl. 

“Well then… this is the part where we keep from Fury. Unless it’s successful of course.” Both Namor and Shuri looked at Monica in surprise. She didn’t respond at first, just simply shrugged out of her jacket and placed her bag down. Leaving her in a black and white jumpsuit that hugged snugly against her curves. “So I know you read up a little bit on my own abilities and I’m still admittedly figuring out a few things but I can get through that barrier.” 

The look of nervous uncertainty on Monica’s face gave Shuri pause, but there was also a determination there that she didn’t think she could argue against. 

“How can you pass through?” Namor asked curiously. 

Monica looked back at the forcefield, flexing her hands. “I think it might be quicker to show then to explain it.”

“Wait.” Shuri’s hand shot out, holding Monica still. “Explain your plan first before you leave us.” 

The other woman nodded, blinking once and surprising both Namor and Shuri when she opened her eyes to show them glowing blue. She pointed to a spot on the barrier, making a small circular motion. “It's faint, but I can see some of the encampment. I noticed there are several circular machines all over. I want to see one for myself and the overall layout of their encampment, but I won’t go any further.” 

It was a risk, and Shuri was sure that Fury knew Monica would attempt something like this. 

Unfortunately, it was exactly something Shuri would try. 

She quickly pulled off a kimoyo bead and handed it to Monica. “Place this one on the machine. It will take a moment, but it should be able to make a digital copy of the entire thing. We can study it later.”  

“Thank you.” Monica’s form flickered in and out, until it was simply a haze of herself, “Be right back.” She turned and slipped through the barrier, disappearing completely. Both Namor and Shuri stilled, waiting for any sign of Monica being detected, but all remained blessedly silent. 

After a minute of continued undisturbed silence, Namor turned to Shuri. “I need to collect the markers. Here,” He reached up for the black pearl amongst the others and squeezed it between his fingers. Shuri felt his heartbeat pulse against her wrist, and by the look of his own pulsing with blue light, he could feel hers as well. “A precaution in case anything goes wrong.” 

Shuri could only nod mutely, watching him dive into the water noiselessly. She receded her suit just enough for her hand to be exposed, cupping the pearl on her wrist. His heartbeat felt strong and steady on her skin, giving her something to focus on as she waited. 

It was a strange comfort. 

 

---

 

Just when Shuri was beginning to worry, Monica ran past the barrier, becoming completely tangible when she stood in front of Shuri. The look of confused alarm on the other woman’s face, had Shuri nervous. 

“Wh-” 

“It’s like a whole city has been built. Months, maybe years, of work built in days. And there’s hundreds of…him. Just him. All of them different, but all of them Kang.” 

“As in clones?”  

“I don’t think so. I’m willing to guess that it’s him from across different times and dimensions.” Monica shook her head slowly, going over what she saw in her mind over and over again. She rolled the kimoyo bead in her hand, lost in thought, before finally handing it back to Shuri. “It’s strange…the spherical machines…they had the same energy signatures as Shang-Chi’s bangles.”

Shuri looked down to place her kimoyo bead back in its spot, and when she looked back to Monica, to ask what she had meant, her heart froze. A large figure with a face hidden by a helmet loomed behind Monica, inhumanely silent as he moved to attack. The only sound being the wind whipping around his weapon as it sliced through the air.

Without a word, Shuri yanked Monica out of the way, using her full strength without thinking. Catapulting them into the soft sand of the beach a few feet away. The figure followed swiftly, switching his attention to Shuri. 

She twisted nimbly away from the spear that he was wielding, attempting to put some distance between her and Monica, however she wasn’t fast enough as the blade grazed the back of her shoulder. There was a cold searing pain that had her gasping, but she didn’t have time to think on it as she had to keep moving. The man surprised her with his speed, coming at her with a range of attacks that wouldn’t allow her any way of getting closer to him. 

With his attention completely on Shuri, Monica managed to get in close and  kick the side of his knee hard, twisting it in a way that had the man grunting out in surprised pain. He switched his attention back to her, swinging his spear in a wide arc, but his spear harmlessly went through her suddenly intangible body. 

He was fast, but clearly terrible at multitasking.  

Shuri jumped onto his back, yanking the mask from his head just as Namor called out to her to move. She spared Namor one glance, seeing him just barely out of the ocean as he was about to launch his own spear. The vibrations of his heartbeat thudding loudly against her wrist. 

She pressed her feet into the back of the man, pushing him forward as she flipped backwards, driving Namor’s thrown spear that much deeper into his neck. 

The man, his weapon dropped and forgotten in the sand, violently jerked his body around as he tried to pull the golden spear from his neck. It was too firmly lodged in his throat and he ultimately fell to the ground twitching. His gurgled breathing tapering off into silence. 

Curious, they all cautiously gathered around the dead body to look at his face. It was Kang, but not the one Shuri had recognized on the broadcasts. He was notably wider. Was this what Monica meant? 

All of them different, but all of them Kang.

Namor broke Shuri out of her scrutiny over the dead man, his voice rough with alarm. “You are hurt.” The body was completely forgotten to them both as he stepped close to grab Shuri's good shoulder to steady her. The smell of the ocean enveloped her as he leaned in closely to examine the slice that curled up from her back to around her shoulder.

Oh- Was all she could think when her face was met with his neck, then the adrenaline of the earlier fight drained from her and all feeling went to her shoulder. The pain was sharp and strangely cold, and when she went to examine it herself, her neck was too stiff to move. She let out a soft hiss when her arm twinged uncomfortably. The sound had Namor instantly take his hand off of her shoulder and he stepped away from her. 

The loss of his warmth made her swallow thickly. 

“We should leave.” Namor turned away from Shuri to retrieve his spear from the corpse, yanking it out roughly, with his foot planted on the dead Kang’s chest. “I will take care of the body.” 

Monica, who had been still studying the body, glanced up at Namor curiously. “Alright, but can I ask how?” 

“I will call on a nearby Xook .”

“A what?” 

“I think he means shark.” Shuri supplied, flexing her fingers experimentally. Her arm was going numb. She had to press her good hand to keep her injured one steady. When she had translated the word without the use of Griot, Namor glanced up at her with a raised brow, but Monica spoke before Shuri could say anything more-

“A what?” She repeated her question in shock. 

“Go on,” Namor gestured to the direction of ship with his spear, “I will be with you shortly.” 

Monica helped Shuri call her ship to them, her arm nearly useless now. There was no way she could fly in this state, so she prepped the ship for autopilot reluctantly. She reclined on one of the bench seats along the wall of the ship when Namor had climbed on. They took off shortly after that. Not wanting to risk being on the island a moment longer.

He had brought both the spear and helm from the Kang that had attacked them, which Shuri was grateful for because she had come to an unsettling discovery and would need to study the weapon soon. 

Why hasn’t my suit recovered yet?

Even with the wound, her suit should have at least regrown to cover her shoulder so she could heal it later, but that particular area did not seem to respond to her commands. Namor had also noticed. 

“Your wound is shallow and does not appear out of the ordinary. Do you feel unwell?” 

“Just cold.” Shuri admitted quietly, watching as Monica was verbally recording everything that she had witnessed on the island. Her fingers absentmindedly prodded around the wound and the edges of her torn suit. Wondering what she should study first when they got back to the compound. 

For a brief moment, Namor disappeared from her side, only to return to place his cloak on her shoulders. Despite her wound remaining cold, the rest of her body was instantly comforted. She looked up to find his gaze already on hers. 

With a slowness, that she suspected not to startle her, he adjusted the cloak minutely. His hand slid to rest briefly atop her hand, instantly stilling her fingers from her fiddling with her torn suit. Despite the fabric separating them, she could still feel the heat of his hand soak through. 

The entire cloak suddenly became too hot. 

“Namor, could you explain to me how deep the barrier went?” Monica suddenly asked, cutting through the quiet hum of the ship.

Shuri’s breath caught, and he was gone. 

Namor walked away from her to answer Monica’s question, who was still looking down at the tablet in her lap. Apparently witnessing nothing that had just transpired between her and Namor. 

Shakily, Shuri moved her fingers from her shoulder to pinch the soft woven fabric of the cloak, and pulled it closer around her. Desperately trying to think of what Monica could have seen on the other side of the barrier, what the weapon Kang had used was made of, or the ways she could fix her unresponsive suit. 

Desperately trying to think of anything at all.

Notes:

I am delighted to say you wont see Jiya for a bit lololol but things will just get a tad more complicated.

Ty guys for reading! I really can't wait to get to certain parts of the story but I must build to it uggggghhhhh (which I enjoy but uugggggh)

Chapter 6: Stasis

 

Namor already knew where Shuri's rooms were, but he would have found her based on her low mutterings alone. The door to her room was partially left open and Namor heard as she talked to herself, theorizing and calculating her new findings. He made sure to make noise as he opened the door to her room further, tapping lightly on the door, but she was so absorbed in her work that she didn't notice him.

The room that was provided to her was identical as the room provided to him. Simple, with just a bed, a desk, and a door leading to a single bathroom with a shower stall. It was somewhat depressing as there were no windows on the surrounding gunmetal gray walls. 

It was a suffocating little box in Namor’s opinion. 

Shuri was sitting on her bed with a hologram above her kimoyo beads, showing both her suit and the weapon they had taken from the dead Kang. She was dressed in a pair of spandex shorts and a loose camisole. 

There was a surge of annoyance when Namor noted that the wound on her shoulder had been left unhealed. Her arm was still essentially useless, which she clearly seemed to forget about when she would try to move it, letting out a slight hiss of pain every so often. 

He would have taken advantage of her ignorance of him being there, admiring the look of concentration on her face, but he couldn’t help but click his tongue before speaking.  

“Why have you not healed the slice along your back and shoulder?” 

Shuri’s body jolted in surprise at his voice, whipping her body in his direction. Then promptly hissed out again in pain, grabbing onto her injured arm. “Ah! Shit! Bast curse you.” She glowered at him, but he simply raised a brow and nodded to her shoulder, waiting for her answer. “It would have taken too long, and I needed to study the blade that was used immediately.” 

Namor stayed at the doorway, leaning against the frame. Even though her words alarmed him and he wanted to walk in further to take care of her arm himself. “Too long?” 

Her face brightened, confusing him as she enlarged the spear on the hologram, focusing on the blade itself. “That weapon the Kang variant used somehow was able to stop, or better it would be better said that it slowed down my suit’s growth capabilities. That’s why it was able to cut through the vibranium. It just momentarily incapacitated it on impact.”  

As she continued her excited speech on her findings, Namor took the chance to walk further into her room. Glancing at the display on the hologram for only a moment before taking a better look at the wound on her shoulder. It dismayed him to see that it was still bleeding, nothing heavy but it was seeping into her shirt, staining the cream fabric into a brownish red. 

“The metal itself isn’t anything special.” She continued, handing him the weapon so that he could take a closer look at it. Shuri clearly thought that he had walked closer in interest to what she was saying. And honestly he was always interested in what she had to say normally, but right now he could care less. “The blade has been layered with the same metal, but not quite the same. I’m guessing the metal comes from different timelines, different dimensions. So this weapon should not technically exist.”

“So if your suit was put into a type of stasis, I suppose your wound is in the same condition?” 

“Exactly! I was lucky that it was just a graze and not a full on hit. I was able to fix my suit at least after studying the weapon. I was working on making a shield that could be utilized with any further fights against the other Kangs and- “ 

“Shuri.” 

The sudden interruption and use of her name had Shuri looking at Namor in innocent surprise. He sighed heavily and placed the weapon on her desk, next to the helm they had also taken.  

“You should heal your wound.” 

Shuri made a face and huffed out in annoyance, prodding her shoulder gingerly. “I tried earlier, but the angle is a bit hard…and the healing process is taking twice as long because of said stasis. Meaning I will be twice as exhausted by the time it's finished.” 

“Will you allow me to help you then?” Namor asked, his voice soft. Let me help you, you stubborn girl. He thought as he saw her instant reaction was to say no to him. “We would not want you to bleed out over a small scratch, a rather pathetic end for the Black Panther I would think.” 

A startled snort came out of Shuri and Namor couldn’t help but give her a small smile back. She stared at him a moment longer before rolling her eyes, plucking a single kimoyo bead from her bracelet and handed it to him. “Fine, no need for the dramatics.” 

Namor plucked the bead from her hand, and moved his cloak to better sit on the bed behind her. At this close he could smell the floral scent of her skin as she moved her plaited braids over her uninjured shoulder. His eyes drifted from the cut to the delicate curve of her neck, and he swallowed thickly as his throat went dry. “Explain to me how this works.” 

“Squeeze the medical bead gently above the wound and the bead will determine where to repair.” Her body stiffened a fraction as the next words came out. “You may need to hold the cut together to get better results.” 

“...Of course.” 

The room seemed to shrink in on them, boxing them into just the size of her bed. Namor placed his hand on her back, gently pinching the cut together as he started the process of healing. Desperately ignoring how smooth and warm her skin felt. “The helmet held no interest?” 

There was a beat of heavy silence and Shuri had to clear her throat first before speaking. “No, none. It was mainly used as a breathing apparatus. I suppose that version of Kang had trouble breathing in our atmosphere.” 

After half an inch of the cut was healed, Namor wiped some of the blood away with a slow drag of his thumb.  

“I-” Shuri began, but promptly stopped. When she tried again her voice was a little lower. “Explain to me how your medical practices work- Talokan’s medical practices?” 

“A number of things, not nearly as effective as Wakandan technology.” 

“The medical beads assist with smaller and superficial wounds. Anything bigger we have to go to Wakanda’s medical facilities for proper care.”  

“I see.” Namor spoke absentmindedly, his eyes flicking up when she moved her head to glance back at him. 

“Well? I would like to know.” 

He gave her another small smile at her eagerness. “As I was saying, a number of things; minerals cultivated at the ocean depths, a hybrid of medicinal herbs and kelp grown in Talokanil gardens, hot springs baths, as well as the use of song from our healers.” Namor moved his hand along the edges of her wound slowly, embarrassed by how much he felt affected by such a small touch.  

Centuries of living and I am reduced to that of a young man. 

Shuri continued to ask him several questions, asking for more detail about everything he had just said and he answered each of her questions. Eager for the distraction. 

“So you use the kelp as bandages?” 

“Yes, a layering of both cloth and kelp, we have noticed a marked difference in healing as opposed to just using regular cloth.” 

“Would it be alright to get a sample of it?” 

A burst of a warm chuckle came out of Namor at her request, “Of course.” His fingers trailed to her shoulder, nearing the end of her injury. Just a few inches left. “I am envious of such a greedy mind as yours.” 

She glanced back at him, lifting an eyebrow in question.

His eyes flicked up to meet her gaze for a quick second, bringing his focus back to her shoulder. “What I mean to say is…that after having lived for so long, you tend to become disillusioned by many things.” Underneath his hands, Shuri went stiff. Namor blinked at the sudden tension in Shuri’s body, even with his hand on her skin, she felt inexplicably worlds away. Worried he had said something wrong, he continued healing her in silence and she never asked another question. 

When he was done, he went to the small bathroom that was provided. Dampening a washcloth and bringing it back to Shuri. She hadn’t moved, keeping her eyes looking forward at the blank wall in front of her. It struck him painfully at how tired she looked. She had mentioned before that the healing process would make her exhausted…but he wondered if it was more than just that. 

Namor sat behind her, wiping the blood from her newly healed skin. As if the blade had never touched her. His fingers itched to touch her again, even if to just inspect where the cut had been, but Shuri pulled away from him. 

“Despite being young,” Shuri quietly began, stilling Namor’s breath. “I already feel disillusioned by most things…and most people.” 

The last word dropped between them like a dead weight, making the distance even greater between them as Namor stared silently at her back. 

The memory of the dry heat as they fought on that beach all those years ago placed firmly between them. 

He stood, resigned to the lingering memory of her warmth under his hands, and then locked it away in the far reaches of his mind to never look on again. “You should rest.” His voice soft, barely above a whisper, as he placed the damp bloodied cloth on the desk. 

Shuri mumbled a ‘thank you’ and he nodded without looking at her, not even sure she was looking at him, but he supposed that didn’t matter.  

“Good night.” 

“W-wait.” Shuri called out just as he was about to walk out of her room. He turned to look at her, waiting for her to speak first. Silence continued to hang between the two of them, and just as Namor was determined to just leave, Shuri abruptly stood up from her bed. “I-” 

Alarm lanced through Namor when he saw her suddenly sway, her eyes rolling back as she promptly stumbled forward. He easily caught her and held her close to get a better look at her face. “Shuri?” There was no response to his words, or the slight shake he gave her, so he swooped her up into his arms, and laid her back on her bed. 

Griot seemed to understand the situation and answered Namor unprompted. “Due to the excessive amount of healing done on her shoulder, the process has left the Princess exhausted. She will be fine after a night's rest.” 

“Ah…Thank you.” He responded awkwardly, never having spoken to the AI before. Just to be sure, Namor squeezed the black pearl he was wearing to feel her steady heartbeat in the palm of his hand. With his fears put to rest, he just simply watched her sleep, his fingers twitching. 

I should go.  

Namor stood, with every intention of leaving, but he glanced down to her thin clothing and grimaced. Carefully he pulled the blanket from underneath her and draped it over her thin form. Adjusting the edge of the blanket just a fraction too long, his fingers stilling on the edge of her collar bone.  

Very slowly, he moved his hand to trace his fingers up the curve of her neck, brushing them along the edge of her jaw. Namor’s hand dipped behind just her ear to cup the back of her head, his thumb resting on her cheekbone.

“Ah!-”

A squeak just outside of Shuri’s bedroom had all the blood draining from Namor’s face. He glanced up, finding one of the younger Avengers that he had met recently. She tittered for a moment, looking as if she was the one caught. “Sorry! I-um-my mom made a lot of food for everyone andIwaswonderingifyouguyswantedsome?” 

Confusion flooded Namor’s features, distracting him from his own embarrassment. 

Kamala cleared her throat and tried again. “There’s food if you would like some? I’m so sorry I-” 

“Yes, the food would be greatly appreciated.” 

Her eyes lit up, practically beaming. “Great. I’ll get some for Sh-Princess Shuri too. More members are coming soon so I want to make sure she gets some. My mom’s a really good cook.” The younger girl said brightly, lowering her voice to a whisper when she noticed that Shuri was asleep. Her energy was rather infectious, reminding Namor of some of the younger Talokanil. 

“Thank you, Kamala.” 

Kamala looked flattered that he remembered her name, giving him a giant grin before running off.  

With the girl gone, Namor brought his gaze back to Shuri, his hand still lingering on her neck. Reluctantly he brought his hand away. Annoyed with himself for taking liberties as well as craving more. 

This is why you do not allow yourself even a moment of weakness.

“Apologies, Shuri.” He murmured, taking a step back from her. Hating how his words sounded like a lie, even to him. “I will not slip again.” 

 

---

 

The room was dark and quiet when Shuri woke up, the lights dimmed to only give enough light for her to find her kimoyo beads on her desk. Her whole body felt completely boneless. She was well rested, but it was the kind of rest that left her completely disoriented with the edges of a headache coming on. 

“Griot, how long have I been asleep?” 

“ Approximately eight hours.”  

“Eight?” That meant it was probably around eleven in the morning. She let out a slight groan when she stretched out her arms. It was a simple scratch but that weapon had made it a bigger problem then it should have been. 

To properly fight against the hoard of Kangs she would have to develop some sort of shield to combat the effects of their blades. However, that was the only weapon that they were aware of, leaving an uncomfortable feeling of dread at the thought of what other tricks Kang had up his sleeve.  

She supposed that would have to be a problem for later. At least she can focus on the problem of the stasis blade for the time being. Which was what she was calling it, and now one would tell her differently. 

Her fingers slid along the back of  her shoulder, searching for any imperfection but there was nothing left. The medical bead did exactly what it was intended to do, coupled with the meticulousness of Namor’s hand. She felt her skin warm with the memory of his touch. 

The worry of Kang was momentarily eclipsed by the tangle of complicated emotions that had surfaced when Namor came to mind. 

When she felt his fingers along her back, she had thought it would be similar to how it felt to have Jiya touch her.  

Shuri had expected to feel unsettled, or to be more honest with herself she hoped to feel unsettled…instead she felt a confusing mix of comfort and the tangible feeling of electricity. Shocking her as soon as his skin made contact with hers. She continued to trail her fingers where the wound should have been, attempting to mimic the feel of Namor’s hand. 

The feeling had so startled her that she had to pull away from him as soon as he was done. To remind herself of their tumultuous past. To run and hide. 

A loud unbecoming growl sounded out from her stomach, cutting through both the quiet and her wandering mind. Shuri laughed derisively at herself and took her time getting up to turn up the brightness of the lights and sat down at the desk. The food was cold but still delicious. She was surprised at the speed in which she ate. Drinking the entire bottle of water and, when she discovered coffee in the thermos, she drank three quarters of that as well. 

“Griot?” Shuri took another gulp of her coffee. “Was there anything new to report while I was asleep?” 

“Yes. A new broadcast from Kang.”  

The shock of the news had Shuri choking on her drink, practically wheezing by the time she was ready to talk. Hand patting at her chest. “Why in Bast’s name didn’t you say anything!?” 

“You needed both your rest and sustenance. Also, it was impossible to wake you.”  

Shuri rolled her eyes and took a ginger sip of her coffee again, her throat still burning. “Please bring up an image and play the broadcast for me.” Without a word, a small digital screen popped up above Shuri’s kimoyo beads. The scenery was still the same as the first time he had appeared, if the volume were lowered, Shuri would have thought it was the same exact video footage as the first one.

“I appreciate the…patience. I understand my presence may be a distressing one, but I assure you that my request is simple. America Chavez is all we acquire. Bring her to me within the week and no further aggression will have to take place.” The man paused, allowing a small calm smile to grace his features. Nothing on the surface was wrong with it, but it still sent a small chill through Shuri. “As simple as that.”  

The video ended, pausing on the image of Kang's frozen smile.

 

---

 

Not wanting to waste another second in her room, Shuri downed the rest of her coffee and quickly got dressed. Certain that her blood soaked shirt wouldn’t go over well in the conference room. Especially with Bucky. The clothing was a simple spandex bodysuit and a multi colored short sleeve cardigan. She wasn’t sure why, but she wanted to be ready to fight at a moment's notice, her golden necklace the last thing around her neck before she made her way to the conference room. 

Since she had slept most of the morning away, there were already people in the conference room. People she had met before, including Bucky and Sam, as well as people she hadn’t. Unsurprisingly they were already discussing the new footage of Kang. 

She didn’t want to appear rude, but she figured the pleasantries could be saved until later so she didn't bother introducing herself to any of the others.  

The first person her eyes sought out was Namor, who had looked up as soon as she walked in. Most of the others were caught up in their own conversation, so she felt her face inexplicably heat up at his sudden sole attention. 

Shuri reasoned with herself that since Monica was in the middle of a tense conversation with Carol Danvers, she had no choice but to slip in the chair next to him. 

“I take it that you have already watched the new footage.” Namor spoke as soon as she settled, His eyes drifting to her shoulder. 

“Yes. Did they mention who this America Chavez is?” 

“No one here seems to know, from what I can gather.” He nodded to the table, making it clear that he had been simply observing. “Although I fear that our presence last night may have forced Kang’s hand.” 

Considering how closely the new message was released after they had just killed one of their own, Shuri had to agree. She wondered if there was some sort of roll call system to keep them all in order. They seemed to at least have a hierarchy since it seemed to be the same Kang that had spoken last time in the live feed. A peculiar scar along the side of his face that the wider Kang they had killed did not share. 

“We may have forced it, but it also means that he’s worried we may have figured something out since he moved so quickly to make his demand.” 

“Well, I suppose that clever mind of yours will just have to work twice as fast with the information we have retrieved.” 

The compliment had Shuri bringing her gaze to meet his, but it was the challenge in his eyes that had her grinning. 

“Princess Shuri.” A voice brought Shuri’s attention away from Namor, seeing both Carol and Monica walk up to greet them. “It’s nice to see you again.” 

“Likewise Captain…although it would be nice to meet under less dire circumstances.” 

Carol gave her a bemused grin, crossing her arms as she tilted her head to Monica. “Heard you and Captain Troublemaker over here may have stirred the pot.” 

Captain Troublemaker? 

The nickname was a curious thing, especially with Monica’s slightly embarrassed yet annoyed expression. There was a familiarity there that was palpable. “Namor was there too.” Shuri responded innocently, like a child tattling. She bit back a smile as she felt Namor whip his head towards her. 

The blonde woman gave her a small smirk, glancing at Namor for only a second before giving the trio each a look as she asked. “Did you find anything of interest atleast?” 

“Yeah, did you guys learn what that guy wants with the Celestial?”  

The four of them paused their conversation, and slowly turned their head to where Fury was sitting in the chair right next to Shuri. It wasn’t just the sentence that seemed off, but the relaxed way he sat in the chair. Slouched over the table as he ate a bag of cheetos. 

Shuri couldn’t recall seeing Fury at all when she had walked in. He just…appeared. 

When the silence continued to stretch between them, Fury lifted both brows in question, crunching down loudly on another Cheeto puff. Effectively grabbing the rest of the room’s attention as they noticed the strangeness of Fury as well. 

Even Namor appeared caught off guard, and he had only met him a few days prior.

Monica was the first one to speak. “I’m sorry…a what ?” 

Fury pointed with a Cheeto dusted finger towards the screen displaying the giant statue. “That.” As if it was already information that should be common knowledge. As if Fury eating a bag of Cheetos like some carefree teenager was a normal image, leaning back to bring his legs up into the chair to cross them.  

Before anyone else could speak, or even come up with a question, the bizarre situation only got more bizarre.

…as another Nick Fury walked into the conference room. 

The entire room felt as if it was holding its collective breath, with the only movement being Namor’s cloak brushing against Shuri’s leg as he leaned closer to her. 

The Fury who had just walked in, looked more annoyed than anything, gesturing to the Fury sitting down after giving him a once over. “Do you mind?” 

Everyone watched in amazement as the image of  Fury eating Cheetos melted away to reveal a young red headed woman. She was sporting a short pixie cut and looked to be in her late teens early twenties. Her and Fury stared each other down as she ate another chip. 

“I’m not a skrull.” The young woman quipped, holding the open chip bag towards Fury as a peace offering. 

He looked less than amused. Sparing a single look at the bag. “I can see that.” 

“I’m not your enemy either.” 

“Well,” Fury pulled out the chair closest to her, and sat down. He placed his chin on an upturned hand, continuing to stare at the deceptively young woman in front of him. “I’ll reserve judgment on that if you don't mind.”

 

---

 

The young woman introduced herself as Sprite. 

She then proceeded to explain that the giant statue was called a Celestial, forever frozen in a state of birth. Chilling the entire room when she let them know that if it had been allowed to be born, the entire Earth would have been destroyed. The lives of billions necessary to create this powerful entity, dead in an instant. 

That she was a part of a group of immortals meant to aid its birth. 

“Why stop it?” 

Shuri wasn’t sure who had asked the question, but she was sure it was on everyone’s mind. 

Sprite gave a small shrug, looking down to pluck out another chip from her half eaten bag. “Some of my siblings believed that this world was worth saving.” 

“And the others?” 

“Well, some of them didn’t.” 

“Curious that you didn’t mention what side of the line you were on.” Fury weighed in, quiet up until that point. He was still gauging her, absorbing every word she was saying and placing it on a scale to be judged appropriately. 

The young woman smiled at him. It wasn’t menacing or calculated. She just looked…lonely. “I only cared about one thing at the time, and he’s dead now.” 

“Why come here then?” 

“With my siblings…missing at the moment,” Sprite waved a hand at their questioning look, making it clear she would not elaborate on that information, she continued, “I need to make sure that that man wasn’t somehow reversing their work. Making everything they did amount to nothing. I’m not much of a fighter, but I can help as best as I can.” 

Shuri scooted in closer, taking the opportunity to ask, “So this Celestial being would have siphoned the energy from this planet, from its lifeforms.” 

“Yes.” Sprite held out her hand, creating a small image of Earth. Replicating what it would have looked like if the Celestial were able to be born. “That energy would then be used to create more life…so on and so on. Earth is not the first planet, nor the last…I believe.” 

“Well that image is going to haunt me for the rest of my life.” Antman muttered from the side, followed by a soft ‘ow’ after his daughter shoved his arm to be quiet. 

“Would Kang be…trying to wake it up? Or maybe tap into that energy somehow? That amount of energy needed for that thing to be born would be immense.” Monica asked, thinking more out loud than anything.  

Shuri shook her head slowly, “If one had access to it, yes. But from what Sprite is telling us...that Celestial is dead, not dormant. There would be no energy to tap into” 

“So why set up camp in that specific spot then? Why not just use his teleporters, or whatever he flew in on to go to that time?” Sam Wilson spoke up, but no one had an answer for him.

After a tense silence, half of the group still gripped by the nightmare of what the Celestial was and the other half currently sending their minds into overdrive for an answer, Namor shifted in his seat. Bringing Shuri’s attention back to him as he spoke. “Since we cannot focus on the why he is there, perhaps we should focus on this America Chavez.” 

“Well.” Fury sighed and rubbed his jaw, his voice commanding the room’s attention, with the promise of an answer. “I already made a few calls on that one.”

“With who?” Carol asked, lifting a brow as Fury gestured for Sprite to give him a Cheeto. 

He carefully reached into the bag and pulled a single puff out, answering just before crunching down into it.  “An arrogant ass wizard.”

 

 

Notes:

You technically don't have to watch Eternals since this is the most I will take from that storyline (although I personally recommend it, i really liked it.)

Just know that the MCU Sprite can make illusions

And America Chavez, that will be explained later :) hehe

Hope u guys are enjoying so far! Ty for reading

Chapter 7: Keep Safe

 

 

Dr. Strange came to them the next day with Sorcerer Supreme Wong. Walking directly into the meeting room through a crackling orange portal, a backdrop of a dusty home filled with a collection of curios. 

Whatever the group had been discussing before instantly died away as the attention was brought to the front of the table where the two sorcerers now stood. 

“Whoa-” Kamala blurted out as soon as the portal closed shut with an array of orange sparks harmlessly falling to the ground like disappearing confetti. She instantly covered her mouth and mumbled an apology. No one seemed to mind since she was simply echoing the thoughts of the others who had never witnessed the sorcery before. 

Shuri herself had experienced walking through one during the war against Thanos. It had been a dizzying experience. The rapid change of temperatures and light disorienting. She glanced at Namor to see his eyebrows furrowed at the two newcomers, his body tensed. He read the calm of the room though and kept still. 

Fury didn’t waste time with introductions or even a simple hello. Straight to business. “So I take it you happen to know the person that Kang is referring to.” 

“She’s currently staying with us in Kamar-Taj as our student.” Wong answered, nodding to Strange to continue. The two men didn’t make a move to sit down, choosing to stand stiffly at the front of the table. They looked uncomfortable. 

Shuri had a feeling that it had more to do with them sharing private information than anything. 

Strange’s red cap gently swayed as he began to talk, even though there was no wind and the man was not moving an inch. “America had come to us for help a few years ago, through a portal that she created. Much like Kang…this is not her dimension.” 

Only the creaking of chairs could be heard, as almost everyone at the table perked up at the admission. Fury asked the question that had been sitting on the tip of Shuri’s lips, “She can create portals with what exactly?” 

“Just her, nothing else.”  

There was a beat of silence as the information sunk in. To be able to travel between dimensions at will alone was a formidable power indeed. No wonder the sorcerers chose to keep her hidden deep in their mountains. 

Sam raised a hand to get the attention of the two men. “If Kang has his own means of creating portals…why bother with her?” 

There was a slight tremor in Strange’s right hand, his eyes narrowing a fraction. It was the only glimpse of how unsettled he was. “I’m not sure, but that is my concern as well. The way she can jump through portals is unique and rather particular in its own right.” 

“What do you mean?” 

“They take her where she needs to go…not necessarily where she wants to go.” 

“Seems a bit convoluted to be actually useful.” Sprite piped up in interest, curling her legs up to sit crossed legged in her chair.  

The sorcerer opened his mouth, paused to look at the deceptively young woman in interest before continuing. “More useful than you would think, and we’re training her to control it better.” 

Shuri’s mind had been mulling over the information, rapidly going over every detail. She couldn’t begin to know what Kang’s plan could be, but she could hazard at least one guess. “It’s possible, even with the particulars of her powers, that she is less restricted in her dimension jumping? Kang may have limitations that she doesn’t. I would have to study it more, but I believe the blueprint of the machine that Monica had attained is actually what he, or they , use to jump through to different times and dimensions.” 

Her observation seemed to only increase the look of worry on Dr. Strange's face, and Shuri couldn’t blame him. The information they had was very little, but the pieces they did have did not look promising as a whole. 

“Unfortunately, I believe time is against us to find out their true motives. The girl will be kept safe at Kamar-Taj with the other sorcerers, so I do not advise we move her…however I would suggest we make the first move.”  At this, Strange looked from Shuri to Fury, who gave a curt nod in agreement. 

“Considering what you had just told us, I’m inclined to agree.”   

“May I suggest then,” Monica cut in, bringing up a digital map of Kang's compound, decorated with multiple pods and buildings. The map was largely made up from her own memory of being there. She tapped on the screen to close in on the hand of the Celestial, in its palm a larger domed building. “That we focus on an area of attack here.” 

 

---

 

It was unanimously agreed upon that the operation against Kang would commence within the next four days. Giving everyone just enough time to prepare. Monica Rambeu took lead with Fury, Danvers, and Wilson on strategy, pouring over the map and planning around the group's unique skill sets. 

Shuri largely missed these meetings to work on two projects of her own that she believed would help them during the fight. 

The first thing Shuri did was create thin latched vibranium cuffs, enough for everyone joining the fight. This would protect against Kang’s stasis blades. It was a bandaid fix under such short notice, but it would do the trick. The cuff would create a penetrable barrier around the person wearing it, and once the blade passes through, it would render it like any normal blade. 

She joked with Fury, as she handed a box of the finished product to him to be distributed amongst the team, that it would probably be best for people to actually dodge the blade first. Then she quickly followed it in a more serious tone that she would be taking them all back once they were done. 

In general she liked Fury, but she knew well enough that he would take advantage if she were careless. 

The first project was done within a day and a half, the rest of her time was spent studying the blueprints of Kang’s spherical machine. Digitally she took it apart, looking at each part carefully as it floated around her. It didn’t take long to confirm her theory that this was used as Kang’s main way of travel through different dimensions and time periods. 

It was truly a marvel to look at. A bevy of innovations that even Shuri had to admit were inspiring. There was an impressive power core that essentially created an endless loop of energy to the ship, looking like a miniature version of the ship itself. 

“But I can see that even that has its own limitations.” Shuri murmured, waving her hand around the power core to spin it around slowly before taking it apart digitally.

“Yes, although a constant source of power, there is only enough power to move the one machine.” Griot piped up showing a simulation of an individual sitting into the throne-like seat of the machine. 

“Which is still quite impressive.” 

“Indeed. However it is unclear wheather there is a limit to weight or person when used for travel.”  

Shuri let out a low hum in response, slowly putting Kang’s machine, on a much smaller scale, back together again. And then she took it apart and put it back together again, and again, and again. Making herself comfortable with the style of Kang’s work. Hoping that this small bit of knowledge would be useful for their mission. 

There was a lot to be said about a person in their style of inventions. Shuri could see that Kang was a simple, but audaciously ambitious man to the point of insanity. Which she supposed was to be suspected from a person to have successfully traveled through different times and other worlds. 

…so why does he need America Chavez if he already has that type of freedom?

Hours turned into days until there were literally just hours left. When Shuri went into work mode, she tended to forget to look at the clock, nearly blind to her own bodily needs. Thankfully she had programmed Griot to be a great reminder that there was a world outside. 

“There are eight hours left before your final meeting and nine hours before your operation, I would suggest that you get some rest, Princess.”  

Shuri groaned, rubbing her face with one hand while swiping Kang’s machine back together, and then ultimately swiping it away altogether. Well, I’ve done all that I can…may Bast preserve us. She hated these moments, because it always felt like there was more that she could do.

It made her wonder if that ‘more’ couldn’t be done because of a lack of time…or because of her own inadequacies. That feeling had gotten increasingly worse over the years. A memory of her brother coming to her with his sickness made her breath catch, forcing her to breath out slowly or she would choke.

She closed her eyes to will that feeling of failure away from her mind. 

Time had thankfully made that particular feeling of guilt lessen. A thin layer of gossamer that she was able to break away from, however it would still cling, leaving a lingering heaviness to her skin. A bitterness in her mouth. 

“I need to eat.” She mumbled tiredly, nimbly pushing herself off of the bed and slipping on a pair of sandals. Shuri had just opened the door when Griot alerted her of an incoming call. 

“It is your husband, Princess.”  

Shuri’s hand gripped onto the handle of the door tightly, hard enough for it to creak under her strength. It had been less than two weeks since she had last spoken to him. And it was not long enough. She weighed the benefits of just letting his call go unanswered, but she had a feeling that he would find a way to reach her. 

Better to deal with it now.

“Answer it.” 

She tossed her Kimoyo beads to the bed and placed herself a few feet back as a digital image of Jiya stood before her, dressed formally in his tribe’s colors. Shuri looked through him to the beads on her bed, her eyes catching on the large pearl amongst them, and she moved her hands in front of her. One hand over the other to hold onto a wrist  in an attempt to look casual. 

“Is there something you were needing?” Shuri quirked up a  brow. “I’m quite busy.” 

Jiya’s face was expressionless, not taking the bait of Shuri’s dismissiveness. “So I hear. And I also had to hear from the council that you and your ‘Avengers’ were going to make the first move, instead of hearing it from you directly.”  

She had to hold back an eye roll. “Why would I tell you?” 

His jaw clenched, the only reaction from his otherwise stoney expression. 

Hah. You blinked first. One point to me. Shuri thought in slight amusement, even though speaking with him was something she would never seriously consider as amusing. She was pleased though to see how quickly she annoyed him. It hopefully meant that this conversation wouldn’t last much longer. 

Jiya clicked his tongue, glancing away from her to relax his features again. It took a chilling millisecond before his eyes settled on hers again. Despite the distance between them currently, he still managed to bring a chill in the air. “Are you with child?” 

She gripped her wrist a fraction tighter. 

To lie or not to lie? 

To lie would mean him possibly demanding her to step down from the fight. For the ‘child’s well being’. 

To not lie would mean him possibly demanding her to step down from the fight. For the ‘last of the Golden tribe’s well being’. 

Either one was something she did not have time for so she went with the less annoying option. 

“No. The sperm did not take.” 

Her husband responded…unexpectedly. He smiled. An expression she never wanted to see repeated. It was the look of triumph when the predator had their prey cornered. The glimpse of teeth a threat. 

“Unfortunate that your science did not work.” 

“I still have plenty of your sample left. I will repeat once-” 

“Once you have finished your mission. You will come back home and we will discuss more traditional ways of producing an heir.” At her visible confusion his smile only grew wider. The maw of the beast inching around her exposed neck. “Challenge day has been decided on. A week after you are back in Wakanda, and the terms of our alliance with Talokan will be reevaluated after the mantle and throne has been passed on.”  

Shuri was amazed at how she kept herself standing, she could feel nothing below her neck, all of her blood rushing to her head. Roaring in her ears. 

At her deafening silence Jiya continued, “You will become exactly who you were meant to become, Wife.”

“Perfect.” She grinned with a bravado she did not feel in the slightest. Her smile felt more feral than anything. “Let’s hope you submit to me before I kill you on challenge day then, husband. Griot.” At the sound of the AI’s name, Griot cut the call short, Jiya’s digital form disappearing from view. Shuri walked forward to where he had been ‘standing’ and kicked the frame of the bed with a sharp scream, severely denting the metal frame into a new shape. 

Her breathing was beginning to come in too rapidly and she could feel her vision blur. Shuri could feel the trembling in her hands vibrate through her arms. 

The walls felt too close. 

The air too dense. 

“Shuri.” Namor called to her gently, and her head whipped towards him. Taking her several seconds to fully realize he was real. He was standing at her doorway, hidden behind the still partially opened door. He was dressed casually with a cloak the color of dusk, his hair damp. 

She swallowed, taking in the details of his appearance instead of meeting his gaze. If she looked at him directly, she would certainly break. “I-How-...What did you need?” 

Namor stood still, not walking a step further into the room, simply studying her before answering her. “I had just come back from Talokan. My warriors will be ready to fight if we need them.” 

“I see, thank you. I will trust you to make the decision if-” Tears slowly escaped down her cheeks and she could no longer pretend. “How much did you hear?” 

“…Enough.” 

The low careful husk of his voice was what actually broke her. 

Her legs gave out, gasping for air as she let out a sob. Namor was to her side in an instant, catching her by the elbow, and lifted her back up to standing. Not knowing what else to do, she leaned into him. 

Distantly she thought to push him away. To have him leave her alone so she could handle this panic alone. Instead both of her hands reached up and gripped onto his cloak to bring him in closer. 

And she just let go, her sobs wracking through her body painfully as she clung to him. All of the frustration, rage, panic, and fear. Everything that she had absolutely no control of ripped out of her forcibly. 

Namor simply held her, keeping her from falling. 

When her crying subsided enough for her to finally speak, Shuri whispered hoarsely into Namor’s cloak. “You must find me pathetic.” 

He tucked her in closer to him, her face pressed into his neck now. It was the closest she had ever been to him that didn’t involve them trying to actively kill each other. Namor’s heat was a comfort that she did not expect. His hands felt large and secure on her back. His words a balm on her frayed nerves. 

“I have never once thought that.” 

 

---

 

The next morning, Shuri and Namor sat next to each other at the long table as Fury went over the particulars of their mission. They would be split into three groups that were simply labeled as ground, air support, and infiltration. Led by the Captain’s America, Marvel, and Rambeau. Respectively. 

“Gonna have to split Romeo and Juliet apart.” Fury glanced back at both Namor and Shuri.

Shuri bristled internally when she realized that the man had been talking about them. She didn’t dare move to look at Namor, and glowered at Fury without further comment. The infuriating older man raised his eyebrows in challenge before continuing. 

“After Namor takes down the barriers, he will take to air support with Danvers. Shuri will-” 

“Be with me.” Monica finished, tapping on her tablet to close in on the hand of the statue, peeking past the ocean where the large domed building was. “We, along with Shang-Chi and Bucky, will be infiltrating into this building. There are energy signatures that are much brighter here than the rest of the encampment that I’m willing to bet is important. Hopefully with all the chaos we can slip in unnoticed.” 

“Alright, we can use my ship to get in close while it’s cloaked. If you can take me to the machine that’s piqued your interest, I can handle the rest.” 

“Perfect. I was hoping you would say just that.” 

With the rest of the details ironed out, everyone suited up and left with their respective teams. 

After Shuri had double checked, triple checked her suit and equipment, while mentally dismantling Kang's pod, she finally made her way to the flight deck. Bucky found her along the way.

“Looks like you and me, Udaku.” Bucky nudged his shoulder with hers. The familiarity of his friendship easing the tension in her. “Finally get to see you in action. Nice suit.” 

Shuri had her suit on up to her neck, her cowl left off for the moment. “Yes well, you better keep up and not embarrass me old man.” She grinned as he nudged her a little harder for the insult, but it did not dim the challenge in his eyes. 

“I’ll see what I can manage, back is starting to go out and all.” Bucky joked, tapping his back with his fist that had Shuri chuckling. He then leaned in to whisper conspiratorially, “Gonna have to tell me what Fury meant by that comment in there.” 

“There’s nothing to tell.” Shuri scoffed, slightly irritated to have to be reminded by the comment and the implications of it. She did not want to think about why Fury would say such a thing. 

She wasn’t sure how seriously Namor took to learning about the surface world when it came to pop culture references. 

Shuri could only pray that he had no idea who Shakespere was. 

“Alright then,” Bucky looked ahead of them as they walked outside onto the flight deck, suppressing a sudden smirk. He sped up his walk, glancing back at Shuri. “Maybe you’ll tell me after all this. See you in a bit.”  

Namor was standing just ahead of them. He had left his cloak behind, leaving him in his normal attire of very little. His golden spear in one hand and ready for battle. As Bucky passed him, Namor turned to face Shuri. Making it clear that he had been waiting for her. 

Memories of the night before flooded her, leaving her in a spiral of confusing emotions. After he had comforted her, he had helped her fix her bed, and brought her food.  Leaving her strangely bereft after he left her once she was calm. Although nothing had technically happened…everything had felt severely too intimate.  

How could he hold her so close, so easily, when their past was still firmly lodged between the two of them?  

Shuri looked down as she tried to walk past him, but she felt the back of his hand brush against hers and she froze. 

When she didn’t move, Namor slowly moved his hand to loosely grasp the edge of her hand, gently squeezing a few of her fingers. It sent a rush of warmth up her arm. She still refused to look at him 

“Mante u salvo.”  

The words, although spoken softly and in Maya, Shuri understood them perfectly. Slowly she lifted her eyes to meet his gaze. His eyes flitted across her face, watching her closely to see if she understood. 

Too intimate, it all felt too intimate. 

Shuri pulled her hand away, and he easily let go, but they did not break eye contact when she whispered back to him Xhosa, “Nawe ngokunjalo.” Her heart leapt into her throat at his small nod, acknowledging that he had understood her. 

She sped away from him without another word, bringing her cowl up to cover her face, and rushedd to her ship where the others were waiting for her. 

Never once looking back. 

They didn’t realize that it would be a long time before they saw each other again. 

Notes:

Part of this story takes from 'Dr. Strange and the multiverse of Madness' where America Chavez is introduced.
Pretty much what Strange has explained is the main parts I'm using from that movie, and there is one other part that I'll use but you don't really have to watch it.

Thank you for your patience with this story :) Hope your enjoying so far. Bout to get a bit weird in the oncoming chapters.

--

Mante u salvo (Maya) - Keep Safe

Nawe ngokunjalo(Xhosa) -You as well

Threw both of these translations into google translation, so please take these translations w a grain of salt. But also point and laugh at me if I got it severely wrong.

Chapter 8: Split

 

The sky above the island and stagnant Celestial was relatively clear, with delicate wisps of clouds that drifted lazily past overhead, but they weren’t large enough to shade the sun. There was a gentle cool breeze, leaving the ocean to rhythmically lap against the island. Creating a sound that could easily lull one to sleep.

Everything was calm and quiet on the island. Nothing was out of place. 

Nothing that could be seen. 

Below the surface Namor swam around the perimeter of the barrier, which wrapped around the entirety of the inactive Celestial, placing down thin vibranium rods into the ocean floor. Namora was with him, watching where he placed each one carefully. She would be the one to collect them once the barrier came down. The King did not want any trace of Talokan left, no matter how small. Just in case things went wrong. 

“Once you are done here, go back to where the other warriors are waiting.” Namor securely placed the last rod and turned to address her, repeating the plan his general already knew. “If I have need of you, I will call.” He waited for her to speak, seeing the pensive look in her eyes, her lips pressed into a thin line of displeasure. 

“And what if your injured or-”

Namor swam closer to her, gently taking his golden spear that she had been holding for him. Despite his light movements, he kept his voice firm. There would be no arguing this one point. No discussion. He may be honoring his promise to the alliance with Wakanda, but his allegiance was always to his people. Living or not. “You do not enter this fight unless I call you. If I die then you will go back to Talokan.”  

“Aj K’uk’ulkan-” She began to protest, but instantly quieted when he brought up a hand to grip the back of her neck. He leaned forward, pressing his forehead to hers. A small quiet moment between father and daughter before the inevitable chaos. 

The eye of the storm.  

“I have prepared you all for the eventuality of my death. It may be today or it may be centuries from this moment. Regardless of the outcome, you will keep Talokan safe above all else.” His general still looked at him with a great deal of reluctance as they pulled away, but she gave him a small curt nod followed by a salute. 

Namor studied her quietly, knowing that this was as far as the conversation would go. A dull acceptance that left no one satisfied. Maybe the easiest option was to just let his warriors overrun the encampment by their sheer numbers and strength alone…but it would mean exposing Talokan and he would not risk that. 

Not if he could avoid it. 

He turned back to the barrier, invisible to the eye, and he emits a low musical note in the back of his throat. Namora joins him, a low note of her own but just an octave above his. Their combined hum slowly rises in pitch, the vibranium bars responding by vibrating faster and faster, finding the frequency they had already been attuned to. 

The barrier rippled, a movement of light and shadow as thin as sheer silk until there was an audible shift. A hollow pop. A tear. A rupture. And the barrier became solid before it began to collapse.  

Namor gave Namora one last look, maneuvering his spear to salute her. It communicated to her several things at once in that one gesture before flying through the water to swim into the air high above the compound. 

Just in time to watch the barrier melt away. 

The barrier had been broken in a way that it no longer showed an empty lot of land. Instead it reflected what was outside of it, making a strange mirror like dome. It disintegrated both from the bottom of the ocean floor to the center of the top, slowly revealing an impossibly well built city. 

It brought back Monica’s words as she described what she had seen, “ A city that should have taken years to build, and it was probably built within days.”  

Namor floated in the air as he watched a single figure fly out of the revealed city, and then a panorama of complete chaos unfolded before him. A tangled web of Kang’s going in every direction to find the danger brought to them. 

They did not have to look very hard for the danger came to them. 

Dozens of orange sparking portals opened to let a flow of Avengers come in, both young and old. 

The blonde woman, Captain marvel if he remembered correctly, joined him in the air as dozens of Kangs with flying capabilities came at them with a violent rage. 

Namor batted and speared through the myriad of Kangs that came for him, each the same but different if he bothered to look closer. But he was more interested in the glimpses of powers displayed in the battle. 

Glowing sparks of light that came from the woman flying next to him. Another woman able to shrink and grow in size to dodge and weave through her opponents like a thread through the hoop of a needle. Two beings below were able to change their size as well, although on a much grander scale. A boy swinging around the buildings with ease. And crystalline structures growing out of nowhere as protective shields. 

It would have been an impressive sight to witness, but Namor would only allow himself a millisecond to see it. A blink of time before he would have to swerve out of the way of an oncoming Kang.  

There was even a Kang that he fought that also had wings on his feet, making Namor pause long enough for him to speak. “You look very different from the other Namors’ that I have killed.”  Namor did not wait for him to speak further, nor did he entertain the conversation as he swung his spear into a vicious arc towards his enemy. His curiosity was a distant thing to him as he focused on the mission. 

This fight was not meant to be won, but merely meant to distract. The battle itself a pawn to be moved on the chessboard of their making. 

And Namor prayed to Chaac that it would be enough to keep Shuri hidden long enough to get done with what she needed to be done. 

 

---

 

With the chaos within the city of Kangs, not a single one noticed the uneven shimmer in the sky. A refraction of light that was near invisible. If one noticed it would appear slightly off, but it would be a miracle if anyone took a moment long enough to look. 

Shuri maneuvered her ship to hover near the lone building held in the palm of the Celestial. She found an area that looked to be the side of the building and opened the round portal door on the floor. Bucky, Monica, and Shang-Chi stood around the opening and readied themselves to jump down. 

“I’ll go first and find us an entrance.” Bucky said, giving Shuri a quick wink before jumping through to the ground below. A shaky breath came out of Monica as she watched the drop, shaking out her hands and betraying her anxiety. Shang-Chi reached over and squeezed her arm gently to get her attention. 

“Ready?” He gave Monica a small smile back when she grinned nervously at him.

“Not every day you fight against a bunch of copy and paste dimension jumpers.” 

“A first for me atleast.” He readily agreed. 

A flash of light from below signaled that Bucky was ready for them and both Monica and Shang-Chi jumped through the ground opening next. Using their powers to cushion their fall below. 

The Black Panther was the last to leave, programming her ship to leave the area, to wait on standby at a distance. She quickly finished and went to stand at the round portal, taking a moment to glance out of her ship’s windows. The air above the city was dotted with flying figures, and she thought she could see someone flying in a zig zag motion. 

As if the figure was swimming in the air. Shuri shook her head and stepped off the ship, the air whipping around her head as she plummeted to the ground below. Her suit took the blunt force of her landing on her feet and distributed it throughout her suit with a soft purple flash to be stored and used for later.  

Sneaking through the deceptively large building took a combined effort of all four of them. Monica led them through the building, her eyes glowing blue, and she explained that she was leading them to a room that had the most concentrated area of power stored. Shuri sent a few of her kimoyo bugs to dismantle any cameras or security measures up ahead, pleased to see that Kang’s brand of engineering had been similar to the pod she had studied. 

She then would help Bucky discreetly take out any Kangs standing guard up ahead. Turning it into a dumb game of keeping score.  

“Three for me, Udaku.” He whispered. 

“Two, that last one was mine.”  

And lastly, Shang-Chi took the back of the group. Taking out any extra Kang’s that happened to have the unfortunate luck of walking in their direction. 

Through a particularly long hallway, Monica finally opened a door into a large rounded room. Alternating triangular panels of gunmetal gray and dark tinted stained glass windows gave the room an interesting appearance in terms of lighting. 

There was what looked to be an obvious control panel attached to a bulbous machine that made a noise that sounded suspiciously like a ticking clock. Large tubed wiring from the computer led the group's view to a metal arch against the wall, leaving it open to the outside palm of the celestial and giving them a clear view of the large hollow eyed head of the statue miles off in the ocean. 

Both women instantly walk towards the large machine and control panel. Monica carefully studied the machine with probing blue eyes. “It looks to be a computer, but the energy signals are massive, so I don’t recommend dismantling it just in case it…” She moves her hand around, searching for an appropriate explanation. 

Shang-Chi spoke up from where he was looking at the metal arch, touching it gently as his fingers followed along the shape of the structure, “Blows up in our faces?” 

“Exactly that.” 

“Here.” Shuri took a kimoyo bead from her bracelet and handed it to Monica. “Just like the pod before, take a copy of the mainframe and we’ll decipher it later. It will take too long to do it right now. I’ll take care of the machine.” She took another bead as Monica got to work, and had it melt into thousands of vibranium nanobots to seep within the metal work of the machine. 

She brought up a hologram to direct the small bots to spread to important looking parts of both large and small gears. It relieved her to see that studying the designs of Kang’s pod would come in handy. 

Even if all the Kang’s had a slight difference in appearance. It was clear that their minds were very similar when it came to their innovations. 

“Um…should we be concerned about this?” Everyone looked towards Shang-chi to see him standing in front of another metal arch that looked similar to the one that led outside, only much much smaller. Wiring led from this smaller arch to the larger one. 

But what was concerning were the manacles and headgear attached to it. This was meant to be something to trap a person within it, and it did not look comfortable. Shang-Chi looked at Bucky who stepped up to it and froze, looking suddenly uncomfortable and distant. He turned to direct his next question to Monica. “Would this be ok to destroy?” 

She turned to look between the two men, then examined the contraption. “Please. Go right ahead.” 

Bucky shot Shang-Chi a grateful look before reaching for one of the manacles. He managed one yank, the metal creaking in protest under his hand, but they were interrupted by the sudden shocking sound of the locked door being rammed into. 

“Well, out of time then, I suppose.” Bucky glanced at Shuri as Shang-Chi moved towards the door, moving into a stance to show that he was ready to fight. The rings on his arms glowing orange. “Whatever you have planned, Shuri, you better do it quickly. We need to get out of here.” 

The doors blew open and sparks of orange and the screeching sound of metal echoed throughout the room as a clown car of Kangs flooded through.  

Shuri ignored the fight, trusting her team to watch her back for a few seconds more as she continued to tangle the vibranium nanobots further into the machine. “Griot, how much longer for the download to complete?”

“We are at 80% completion, Black Panther. I would say 2 minutes more until the download is complete.”  

This will have to be good enough.  

She swiped through the hologram display, programming the nanobots to solidify into thin unbreakable connecting rods. It didn’t destroy the machine, but the rods locked into the gears that would prevent the machine from fully working. It was simply a ploy to buy them more time as they figured out what the machine did and how they could safely dismantle it. 

Bast, please let this be enough. 

Monica grunted out in surprise, fighting off a Kang that managed to slip past the two men. Coming directly for her at the control panel. She was managing fine on her own, but it was clear that the Kang was trying to get to the panel as he chose not to use a weapon of any kind or he might damage it. 

Shuri brought up her cowl and hands, her vibranium cannons building over her fists before she let out two blasts, blowing the Kang back into a wall violently and knocking him out. “Make sure they don’t touch that panel until we get what we need.” 

“Right.” Monica gave her a curt nod. 

The Black Panther quickly turned to the ongoing fight at the door, switching her cannons for claws instead. She ran and slid to her knees, swiping at the back leg of a Kang who was giving Bucky some trouble. The sudden attack startled the Kang long enough for Bucky to gain the advantage, bodily tossing him at another charging enemy. 

“You better be careful old man.” Shuri teased, weaving through bladed weapons and energy blasts alike. 

“Yeah well we can’t all be like Shang-Chi over there.” Bucky waved towards him as he was currently taking on several men at once with ease. At one point, a Kang slipped passed him to get to Monica and Shang-Chi used the orange rings like a hooked whip to yank him back. “I think we overstayed our welcome. And its probably past your bedtime.” 

Shuri snorted at the insult and asked Griot for an update.

“95%” 

“Perfect. Just as soon as-” 

Out of the corner of her eye she saw a Kang looking out of place. He only stood out to her because through all of the chaos he was standing stock still, aiming what looked to be a gun directly at an unsuspecting Bucky. 

It unsettled her as she had yet to see any of the Kang’s use anything so small as a handgun. 

“Look out!” She screamed, pushing Bucky out of the way as the man fired. There was a split moment of confusion as Shuri saw the gun emitting a circular blast, and she didn’t have enough momentum to get out of the way as it struck her directly in the head. 

Shuri felt her mind violently blur, shift and tilt sideways in a way that made her feel as if she might throw up. Then all she felt was a biting cold as her world went dark.  

 

---

 

“The Black Panther was hurt?” Namor practically growled the question, looking sharply at Captain America as he relayed the information. The winged man had been splitting his time between helping the team on the ground and the team in the sky, when he received communication from Monica. Namor turned his attention to the building he had known Shuri to have infiltrated earlier. It almost looked like the dead Celestial was lovingly holding the structure in its hand. 

His mind went completely blank when he heard Black Panther, Shuri, could possibly be hurt. The warmth of her hand could still be felt in his as he gripped it into a fist. 

What did that mean? How badly was she injured? 

Namor knew the importance of him following his part of the mission, to trust in Shuri, but he did not know or trust the others who worked with her. And if she was hurt…

Wilson moved into his line of sight to get his attention back. “I don’t exactly know how, but it sounds like she’s out of commission. They need help-” Before he could finish, Namor had already flown off in the direction of Shuri’s team, clearly done with the conversation. He could faintly hear the Captain end on, “-with extraction.”

That was all Namor needed to hear as he sped through the air, the wind whipping around him as he weaved his way through the ongoing battle. 

He made quick work of the distance, taking out lesser Kang’s along the way. One Kang, as large as Attuma, attempted to barricade his way the second he got above the compound. So Namor bounced his spear in one hand before throwing it with all of his weight. The spear hit the larger man so hard that it drove him all the way down to the surface of the Celestial’s palm, as if to catch him, and pinned him to the ground. 

Namor landed on top of him, slamming his foot into the man’s sternum until it cracked and yanked the spear out of him before calmly stepping off of the now corpse. He reached for the black pearl on his neck, and tapped it twice.  

A small, crude, blue layout of the building hovered above the pearl. As Shuri had made her way through the compound her black pearl simultaneously made a basic map of the building. He studied it quickly to see her corresponding pearl, a bright blue dot, on the other side of the building, showing that she was outside. Putting the map away he flew around the building, keeping low to the surface until he saw Monica with Shuri propped up on the outside wall, next to an open arched doorway. 

He could hear a battle continuing just beyond it inside, but that did not matter to him. His eyes focused on Shuri who appeared to be unconscious. Monica was just in the middle of opening her eyes to check her pupils when he skidded to his knees next to her, “What has happened?” The King of Talokan demanded. 

“I’m not sure. Kang shot something at her, but there isn’t any sign of an external wound.” Monica looked at Namor bewildered. “She’s out of it, but that’s about it.” 

Namor reached for the black pearl again to squeeze on it once, feeling her steady heartbeat bloom in his hand. It calmed him somewhat, but her current state was still deeply concerning. 

Shuri’s helm was gone, and he could see her eyes begin to flutter open, looking tiredly at Namor with a deep relief that he couldn’t understand. “K’uk’ulkan.” She reached up and touched his cheek briefly, his mind stuttering at the sudden gentle affection. Before he could react, an orange sparking circle opened next to them to reveal Dr. Strange, nodding to Shuri.

“Captain America said you may need some help, hurry and bring her in.” 

Monica looked between Namor and Strange. “I’ll stay. The copy of information we need is almost done, and I need to secure it. Or this would have all been for nothing.” 

“Alright, I’ll take them and come back for the rest of you. Be sure to be ready.”

She nodded and gave one last concerned look to Shuri, then stood and ran back into the building through the arch. 

Namor maneuvered his spear to scoop Shuri’s body up into his arms and followed the Wizard into Shuri’s temporary room on the Avenger’s compound, hundreds of miles off in just a few steps. It was a disorienting experience for Namor, like missing a step, but his mind was still on the look Shuri had given him earlier. 

There was something…off about her eyes. 

A warm recognition within them that he could not understand. 

…she’s never called me that name before. 

While Namor propped his weapon against the wall, Dr. Strange helped fix her bed, straightening out the sheets so that she could lay down more comfortably. “I need to head back, maybe you should stay with the Black Panther and-” 

Just then Shuri woke up briefly, her eyes fluttering rapidly, looking almost confused. She reached up and wrapped her arms loosely around Namor’s neck, her usual strength gone at the moment. “Please stay.” She whispered and then she kissed Namor softly, her lips grazing against his. 

In complete and utter shock, Namor dropped Shuri to the bed. As if the soft intimate touch had burned him. She was already unconscious again as soon as her head hit the pillow, her body bouncing gently from the fall onto the mattress. 

Both Strange and Namor stared wide eyed at each other. “I’m guessing that’s new?” 

The Talokan King, for the first time in his long life, was at a complete loss of words. His centuries old composure was completely shot. He could only nod. Fingers reaching up to touch his mouth. His mind spiraled at how good it felt to be kissed by her, despite the conflicting nature of their current relationship. 

“Hmm.” Dr. Strange’s voice sounded thoughtful, but he looked worried. He moved Namor out of the way to reach Shuri, cupping both of his hands onto either side of her face, both thumbs pressed on the center of her forehead. His face contorted into one of confusion, head tilted. “I…I don’t think this is our Black Panther.” 

 

Notes:

So just in case this wasn't known, this was based off a drabble I wrote awhile back if this last bit happens to look familiar 😊

Entering into the actual chaotic bits now. Ty for sticking with me so far!

Chapter 9: Semantics

Namor sat on a chair near the bed Shuri was resting on, chin resting on the back of clasped hands. He watched her chest stir with the gentle rise and fall of her breath slowly coming in and out, the sound of it soft and fragile to his ears. There had been several moments of him squeezing the pearl in his hand to make sure her heart was still beating, not trusting himself to touch her. 

Everytime he felt for her heartbeat, the vibrations a hum against his skin, he felt a strange disconnect from the present. 

For some insane reason he thought it would feel different, feel off. Just as her eyes had been off when she had looked at him. He knew that didn’t make any logical sense. The outside of Shuri, still clad in her suit minus the cowl, was still the same…but the inside... 

Shuri standing on the balcony, newly married and alone under the moonlight, drifted through his memories. The hand that had been so near to his then, now felt impossibly too far to reach. 

Namor’s mind slowly mulled over what the wizard had surmised earlier before leaving to go back to the battle of Kangs. The man’s words did not make any logical sense to Namor either, but he could not deny the truth in them. 

 

---

 

“I…I don’t think that this is our Black Panther.” Strange said, slowly pulling his hands away from Shuri’s face. 

Namor stared down at her, soaking in everything he saw. The way her features softened in sleep, although there was a slight crease in her brow. The way her hand curled into a fist despite the wilted state of her body. She looked relatively the same…but… 

The touch of her lips to his still burned. The affection in her eyes when she saw him…

Shuri called him K’uk’ulkan. 

He slowly moved his eyes to glance at the man next to him, who was looking just as equally baffled. “What exactly does that mean?” 

Strange raised his fist to sit just under his mouth in thought. “I’m not sure. Did Dr. Rambeau explain to you what had happened to her?” 

Namor took a moment to go over the brief information that had been given to him, his body feeling numb when he remembered a specific detail, “She had said that Kang had shot her with something.” 

“With Kang’s control over the Multiverse…It’s possible that he has made a tool, maybe a weapon to switch one’s consciousness with another’s from a different universe.” The wizard nervously rubbed his fingers across his forehead, looking deeply troubled by his own hypothesis. Whispering again, “It’s possible.” 

“So where is m-our Black Panther?” He could not fathom that Shuri, the one he had come to know, was gone.The last memory of her, her pulling her hand out of his as she told him to be safe in her mother tongue. Her back getting smaller as she walked away, never turning to look back at him. 

She was gone. 

There was a tremor in his hand that he quickly shook off, gripping it into a tight fist. 

The gods forsaken Wizard shrugged with a slight wave of his hand, the edge of his cape mimicking the movement. “My guess would be wherever this one’s from. I’ll retrieve whatever weapon that had done this to her. We can study it and go from there.” 

 

---

 

There was a slight stir from Shuri, alerting Namor that she would soon wake. He sat up straighter in his chair, anticipation buzzing under his skin. His mind still warring with the fact that the Shuri that was about to wake up was not the Shuri he had met years ago on a river. 

This was not the Shuri he had made his enemy and then built back a fragile trust from literal ash.  

This was not a Shuri who he had…

This was not his Shuri. 

Shuri’s whole body stilled once she turned to lay on her back and Namor knew instantly that she was awake. Her eyes slid open, blinking slowly as she stared up above her. She raised a hand to her face, curiously swiveling it around from back to front as if it was foreign to her. Inch by inch, somewhat disjointedly, her suit receded all the way back into her habit, leaving her in just spandex shorts and a sports bra. 

Namor had stayed still the entire time, not moving an inch, but her eyes slid to the side and immediately rested her gaze on him. His heart thudded slow and heavy when their eyes met. A breath of time stretching an eternity between them.

“Am I dead?” She asked softly, a cautious hope edging sharply around her words. It was her voice, but the tone of it felt…Even the way she looked at him was different. As if she was trying to absorb his very image into her, her pupils dilating, her face turning little by little to fully face him. There was a carefulness to her movements that had never been there before. 

Namor simply shook his head, watching with a critical eye as she sat up. “No. Although I do not believe you are the ‘Shuri’ that belongs here. ” 

She had been glancing around the room with a quick and assessing look, before bringing her eyes back to him. “Who was the one to kill my mother in this world?” The question caught him off guard. Did she not care that she was technically not even in her own body? It was almost as if the very concept was a boring one. 

He held his breath in for a moment, weighing the benefits of telling her the truth, but lying was an option he never really cared for. “I did.” 

“I see.” Shuri studied his face, her eyes calculating as they drifted down to his neck before bringing them back up to his. Weighing and judging in a matter of seconds. Smoothly, she stood up from the cot and made her way to Namor, with all the grace of a panther hunting their prey. He braced himself for her attack but it never came. “It doesn't matter.” 

His eyes widened in confusion. He could not imagine a Shuri that didn’t care about her family, about her mother. Although he never regretted what happened that day, knowing that he had done right by his people, he could never erase the sickening feeling in his chest when he saw Shuri walking into that destroyed throne room.  

Whatever…possibility lay between them forever severed. 

But this Shuri…

“Why?” Namor asked breathlessly. 

A flash of emotions flitted through her eyes, before ultimately going blank. 

“Because, in my world you're already dead.” The words froze him as she got closer, his mind spiraling with curiosity of what her universe must be like. Maybe in her world he did not yield and that was why he was dead, but with the way she was looking at him made him think that a different story had happened between them. Shuri took advantage of his statuesque state, and slid a hand along his jaw. Her familiar floral scent leaving him confused. “For us to be together again, this must be by Bast’s will.” She leaned her face alarmingly close to his, moving her hand to cup the back of his neck. 

He stiffly leaned away from her, simultaneously pulling her hand away from his neck. Her fingers left an electric trail along his skin. “I am not your Namor.” 

Shuri simply smiled, his rejection not phasing her in the least. The confidence that rolled off of her as she climbed into his lap to straddle him had stunned him again, allowing her strength to easily push him all the way back into the chair. She cupped his face again but with both hands this time, tilting his head to look up at her. “But I can be your Shuri.” 

I can be your Shuri. 

The phrase unfurled and stretched within him, finding the desires he kept safely tucked away for no one else to see. It teased and beckoned those feelings to come out to the light. 

Her breath fanned gently against his lips, hers just a whisper away, before he grabbed her by the hips and yanked her back. He stood, placing her firmly on the ground and taking several steps away from her to gain some distance. To gain some control of a situation that he felt he had very little to begin with. 

Time stood still as they gauged the other, waiting to see who would blink first. Shuri did, deliberately slow as she studied him again. “So we are not lovers then?” 

The question felt like a sucker punch to his stomach, knocking the air clean out of him. Her implication of her own relationship with her Namor made clear. The idea of them being lovers in any universe was such a distant notion to Namor that he could only dumbly blink back at her for several seconds before speaking. “No.” 

There was a brief moment of disappointment on her face before she shrugged. She turned to look around the room, moving to a small mirror on the wall with interest. Shuri tilted her face, pressing her fingers just under her left eye, prodding with careful fingers. Her piercing eyes flicked to look at Namor, catching him in the angle of the mirror. 

“Are you married?” 

“No.”  

“Am I?” 

Namor’s shoulders tensed with the memory of his Shuri breaking down in his arms due to said husband. “Yes”

She let out a low hum of disinterest, more amused by the braids of her hair that had come loose from the knot at the back of her neck. Shuri twirled one around her finger, a lighter brown one that looked almost red against her skin, and tugged. Her nonchalance of how she was handling her new situation was beginning to grate at his nerves. 

The general enthusiastic curiosity that he had come accustomed to when it came to Shuri was gone, leaving him unsettled. She asked questions, yes, but she sounded almost bored. As if she had a list of things to ask and she was just going through the motions. None of it born from a true curiosity. 

“Are you not the least bit concerned that you are not within your own realm?”

“Not particularly, no.” She turned to look at him, done with the inspection of her face and walked over to the desk to pick up the kimoyo beads that had been placed there. “I was already working on a way to traverse timelines,” Shuri paused briefly, tilting her head in thought, her thumb rubbing over the large misshapen black pearl amongst the smooth beads, “...and dimensions. Although I am interested as to how I got here. I know it wasn't my doing.” 

She was looking into traversing dimensions? 

A thought struck Namor then, one that made his heart drop. “Is the one you come from dangerous?”

“Are you worried about your Shuri?” She took a step toward him, her eyes trailing down to look at his neck again. There was a teasing emphasis when she said her own name. As if it was some sort of joke. 

He did not appreciate it. 

“Yes.” Namor finally admitted, and her eyes lit up. Like light catching the eyes of a cat in the dark. It was as if that one word revealed too much. She moved closer to him and he didn’t dare move, standing his ground. 

She reached out, touching the pattern along the edge of his neck plate, before sliding her hand up to touch the pearls around his neck. A sudden smile spread across her face, her eyes warm on his. “And yet we are not lovers?”

“We are allies.” He ground out, wrapping his fingers around her small wrist and firmly pulled her hand away from him. His pearls jostled and clinked as her fingers withdrew from the strands. 

Shuri pulled her hand back and then waved it at him dismissively, swatting away his words like a bug. “Semantics.” To Namor’s relief she plopped back down on the bed and leaned back. The physical distance between them a strange relief. It felt like he couldn't breathe around her. “Now, explain to me how I got here.” 

“There was a weapon, a projectile that you were hit with. I believe.”  

“Do you have it?” Her eyebrows shot up, eyes gleaming, making Namor feel wary. It was the first time he had seen her appear genuinely curious. 

He crossed his arms, unsure if telling her would be wise, but what other option would there be? She had mentioned that she was already researching dimension travel and although she was not a Shuri he was familiar with, she was still Shuri. Gifted with a greater intelligence than most beings. And Namor was willing to be that was a trait to be found in any version of Shuri, within any dimension. “No, but it will be retrieved and we will find a way to send you home.” 

“ Perfect , If you let me examine it I can help you get your Shuri back.”

 

---

 

Just as Strange and Namor, carrying an unconscious Shuri, walk through the sparking orange portal…

Monica ran back into the midst of the fight, entering through the open arched hole of the room. A voice called, “Look out!” She blinked, having a millisecond to turn intangible with a yelp when a Kang was thrown in her direction. The body easily slid through her, tumbling across the ground before dropping into the ocean. 

“My bad!” Shang-Chi looked sheepishly at her, then quickly turned to block another attack. Pushing back several Kangs at once.  

She took stock of the room, the area around the doorway mostly destroyed, Shang-Chi and Bucky beginning to look fatigued by the ongoing stream of Kang’s. It would only be a matter of time before they came through the opening in the wall from the outside, completely pincering the trio. Monica shook out her hands and ran back to the panel to check the progress. 

As she passed Bucky, he called out to her without looking away from the fight. “Shuri?” Despite the strain of him fighting, Monica could hear the worry in his tone. His face looked a shade guilty. 

“Stange has her, she’s safe.” She assured him, then turned her focus to the panel. There was a split second of hesitation as she called out to the AI, recalling how Shuri had done it, “Griot? Status?” 

“Download is complete.” The AI responded, the small kimoyo bead materializing just above the panel. The relief that Monica felt was short lived as she reached for the bead, her hand suddenly battered away as she was yanked violently back, knocking the bead to roll onto the floor. 

Monica landed on the ground, keeping her eye on the kimoyo bead the entire time, not allowing even a moment to acknowledge the sudden pain in her side. She lurched forward to grab the ankle of the Kang that had thrown her, now moving towards to grab the bead, and pulled herself to snake her legs around his other leg. Using both momentum and locking all of her limbs tightly, she turned and yanked the Kang to be tossed onto the floor, knocking the air right out of him as he landed soundly on his back. 

She used her intangibility to quickly detangle herself from his body, and reached for the bead. Monica had it in her fingers for only a moment, but the bead slipped away as the kang’s foot shot out. Catching her in the side of the face and knocking her head into the panel, hard . 

The edge of the panel had connected with her temple, not immediately knocking her out, but disorienting her so badly that her body began flickering between solid and intangible. Like a broken TV, flickering images of sitcoms and static. Monica let out a low groan, still reaching for the bead but it felt like she was moving through sludge. Her mind was not remembering why she was struggling through the pain to reach for the object, but she knew it was important. 

Everything varied in sound around her, either too soft or too harsh. Distantly she could hear the loud thump of footsteps, flashes of orange light that moved too fast for her to focus on, and then her name. Echoing and muffled. 

monica

“Monica!” 

MONICA 

Suddenly Shang-Chi was in her vision, lifting her upper half gently in his arms as he touched the side of her face. He was talking. She could hear him talking, but the words were not clear. His concern was clear though, his brows furrowed, his tone soft and urgent. 

Everything else was a fast swirl of slow movements. 

Everything except for a Kang who stood still against the current. 

The tall one who held the gun that had shot Shuri. 

“L-look-...ou..t.” Was all Monica could manage before she finally passed out. 

Strange had come back through the portal a fraction too late, watching as Shang-Chi was shot in the back of his head, his body going limp as it fell to the side of an unconscious Monica. 

Quickly, with a decisive flick of his fingers and arms, he trapped the tall Kang in ropes of sparking orange so tightly that the man had no choice but to fall. His head cracking on the floor from the impact, effectively knocking him out. Strange looked back to the other Kangs, too many to deal with at the moment, so the wizard magics the floor to lift like fabric, forcing them back out into the hallway and sealing the door shut. 

It would only give them seconds so he turned to Bucky, “Time to go.” 

Bucky didn’t question a thing, just took the order in stride and slid onto his knees to pick up Monica. Her body was still flickering in random areas, making her impossible to comfortably grab, so Strange took off his cape with a shrug of his shoulder. 

“I'll take care of Dr. Rambeau.”

The cape swatted Bucky away, then carefully wrapped and lifted Monica up into the air as if it was a stretcher, its magic able to hold her in place.  

“Is he alive?” Strange asked, nodding to Shang-Chi. 

“Yeah, he’s breathing.” Bucky touched Shang-Chi's neck and then checked his head for any injury. There were none, none that were visible. He grabbed the kimoyo bead then hefted the other man over his shoulder and followed the red cape through a newly open portal, beyond it the sick bay of the Avengers compound. Behind the trio was the wrapped up Kang that Strange had captured, floating along with them.  

The wizard picked up the fallen gun, assuming that this was the weapon Namor had told him about, and conjured a drawstring pouch to store it in. With one last look around the partially destroyed room, Strange followed after the group. 

The portal shrunk completely shut as the makeshift wall crumpled down. Leaving the group of Kangs to find the room empty. 

 

---

 

After that, dozens of orange portals popped up along Kang’s revealed city, their aggressors slipping away through them. And within seconds the fight was over. A silence settled over the entire area, thick and buzzing with resentment. 

Kang, the superior of the bunch in his mind, stepped over the broken debris of the room that had been infiltrated. The one room he had hoped to be left untouched, but the ‘lesser’ Kangs had disappointed him . However to his immense relief his invention, the reason why they were in this dimension, was left relatively intact. 

He ran a hand down the one scar that ran down the right side of his face, slicing down through his eye but leaving it unharmed. Kang wondered if he should broadcast again, push this dimensions hand harder, but-

“Did they take anything?” 

The question stilled the room, the other Kangs looked to each other, but only one stepped forward. He was shorter in stature, his face a little rounder and with only one eye at the center of that face. “They took Kang 4913.” 

“And?” 

“His invention.” 

The Superior Kang pinched the bridge of his nose. Out of all the Kang’s that had to be taken it had to be him . He thought with a vehement annoyance. Kang 4913’s invention, his weapon, was of his own personal design. A design he only had made one of. That particular Kang had been boastful and proud of the thing and refused to let any of the others try to copy it. 

“Was anyone shot with it?” 

“Looks to be only two so far.” The smaller Kang pulled out a tablet and handed it over, revealing a photo of both Shuri Udaku and Zheng Shang-Chi. 

Huh… A smile tugged at the corner of Superior Kang’s face. I see that fate continues to smile upon me. “Well, I suppose it could have been worse.” 

“Worse?” The small cyclops asked incredulously, flailing an arm around the room. “They took one of our own along with a weapon that could have a dangerous potential against us, and from our findings they also took information from your invention and-” He stopped abruptly when the taller Kang began to laugh.

“Our brother will know what to do when the time comes. And honestly, the only person who would know what to do with that weapon or the information they took would be her” He tapped on the image of Shuri before tossing the tablet carelessly back to the shorter Kang, “…so it’s fine. Not much we can do about it now. Besides, it will hurt them more than it will hurt us.” 

“...so what do we do next then?” The smaller man asked tentatively, fiddling with the tablet in his hands.

A large smug grin spread over Superior Kang’s face. And this is why all of you are below me. No vision. “Bide our time until the dust settles and see if we can’t use it to our advantage.” Kang turned away to look out of the arched doorway, across the ocean, staring intently at the dead Celestial who looked back with its own hollow eyes. 

“…We bide our time.”

Notes:

Now we enter a 'new' Shuri
(How we feeling about her?)😳🤭

The first part was another drabble just modified a bit for this story.

Also all the Kang lore in this is purely made up (weapons, different Kangs, etc.)

Chapter 10: Reverse

“And you're willing to help us…just like that?” The skepticism in Fury’s tone was practically reverberating throughout the main conference room despite how low he kept his voice. It made the room feel much too large. 

Namor’s own feelings mirrored his, but he kept silent about it. His main focus was solely on watching Shuri’s every move. 

The three of them were currently alone in the room, Fury and Namor choosing to stand while Shuri lounged in the chair that was at the head of the table, absentmindedly messing with maps and charts on a hologram above her kimoyo beads. Despite her bored look, she moved through the holograms with a speed that Namor could barely keep up with. Tapping and swiping with the ease of someone that could probably do this blind. 

It still chilled Namor at how nonchalant she was about the entire situation. 

“Why not?” She finally answered, then paused when she looked at a blinking dot on a map. Her fingers zoomed in on it, tapped the dot, then typed in something underneath it before swapping that away to the next map. “I’d like to go home. And besides…” Shuri glanced away from what she was doing to look at Fury, eyebrow lifted. Her tone teasing, almost taunting. “Do you have anyone else that could figure that gun out?”

Fury kept quiet, crossing his arms tightly as he continued to study her closely. The words hung heavy above them. And Namor had a feeling, from Fury’s silence alone, that Shuri was most likely correct. The little time he allowed himself to be on the surface, he did not think he had met anyone else with Shuri’s level of intelligence.  

The heavy silence that settled between the three was broken when the door opened, Dr Strange walking in to address Fury. If he had noticed the tension, he ignored it. “I’ve confirmed that Shang-Chi is different as well. He is still unconscious, so I left him in the infirmary.” 

Fury let out a soft sigh, looking a fraction more weary. The new Shuri’s words leave an even heavier impression on him now. “And the other one?” 

“Kang is awake and in a holding cell. Bucky is keeping him company.” 

“Alright, I’ll go ask him a few questions. How’s Monica?” 

The wizard’s face softened, the clinical way in which he spoke before sounded a fraction more personable now. “Stable and awake, but she needs to rest.”

“Well Mr. Hyde over here said she would help us by taking a look at that gun.” Fury walked closer to Strange as he made his way to the exit, lowering his voice so that Strange would be the only one to hear. Not realizing that Namor could still hear them perfectly. “Unfortunately I think she may be our best option. A desperate one…but also probably our only one.”

“I’ll keep an eye on her.” Strange murmured in response, taking out the small pouch in which he had kept the weapon. 

Fury nodded his thanks, sparing one last wary look to Namor and Shuri before walking out of the room. He let out a soft chuckle when he saw Carol waiting for him, looking just as she did when he had first met her. With the way that everything was panning out, he was a little jealous of her youth and strength. 

Especially when he felt the weight of everything in his knees. 

For the years that they have known each other she could quickly read the look on his face, but she still asked her question aloud. “So. How are we feeling about all this?” 

“ Very uneasy. Do me a favor and hang out with our new Black panther and I’ll go and talk to this Kang.”

 

---

 

The infirmary was a large rectangular room, one wall lined with metal framed cots fitted with clean white sheets. On the opposite end were organized bins and draws of medical supplies. Plenty to go around, but thankfully there weren’t too many severely injured during the fight. 

Most that were healthy already left, choosing to go home until called again. Those who were wounded stayed behind. 

Three beds were currently occupied. Monica, who was dozing in and out of a light nap, was occupying one. The second was Scott Lang, who had taken a blow to his leg was resting in another cot, his daughter Cassie by his side. And the third was Shang-chi, still fully unconscious and kept in a bed furthest away. 

Clint was making use of the medical supplies, taking his time stitching up Kate Bishop’s back. Who was trying to crack jokes the entire time to work through the pain. 

Lastly Kamala was trying her best to help everyone, running back and forth as she brought painkillers and water to those who needed it. She felt anxious and needed to be helpful in some way. The battle had been overwhelming; the revealed hidden city, the overflow of Kangs. It felt as if it had gone by in mere seconds for her. 

Everything slowed down though once she saw the state of Monica, her body flickering in and out. Dr. Strange had stayed with her until she was stable, but Kamala couldn’t help but to continue to fuss over her. The sight permanently ingrained in her mind now. 

“I think you’re the one who needs a nap.” Monica joked lightly, her voice strained with exhaustion. She reached out to touch Kamala’s hand as the young girl came to check on her for the umpteenth time. “I’ll be ok. Can you check on Shang-Chi for me?” 

“Sure.” Kamala grinned, letting out a shaky breath before walking to the bed that was in the furthest corner of the room. She was a little nervous to get close to him. Before Strange had left the infirmary she had overheard him talking with Monica. 

“This is not the same Shang-Chi that we know. The same thing had happened to the Black Panther.”  

What did he mean that they weren't the same?

The idea sent a chill through Kamala. If this kind of damage had been done by one of the Kang’s, then she was sure it couldn’t be good. She could practically hear her mother reprimanding her for getting too close to him, but it was hard to think he was anyone else besides the friendly young man she had come to know when he looked exactly the same. 

His face was softened by sleep, and Kamala carefully placed her hand on his forehead. It surprised her how hot he felt, as if he had a fever, but he didn’t look to be uncomfortable in any way. When her hand left his face, his brows instantly scrunched up, his eyes moving rapidly under his lids.  Was he having a dream? A nightmare? 

Shang-Chi’s body stiffened and relaxed in time with his eye movement. His bangles suddenly drew Kamala’s attention as the colors flitted between orange and blue. 

“Whoa.” 

Cassie, who had noticed as well, went to stand next to Kamala to watch the man twitching on the bed. “Is he gonna be ok?”

“I dont know…I’ll- I’ll go get him some water for when he wakes up.”  

 

---

 

Fury walked into one of the many small rooms they used as individual holding cells. This room in particular had a cell at the opposite end of the room. A line of bars that boxed one in with only room enough for a chair to sit in. 

Within the cell sat the Kang they had captured. Arms tied behind his back, and ankles tied to the bottom of the chair to keep him still. His legs were so long that his knees brushed against the bars. They would give him something more comfortable once he answered some of his questions.  

Kang gave Fury a slow and pleasant smile. 

Fury grabbed a chair and dragged it to sit right in front of the cell. He kept his eyes on Kang as he directed his question to Bucky. “You two have a nice chat?” 

Bucky, who was leaning comfortably against the wall beside him, threw Fury a grin as he sat down. “He’s not feeling particularly chatty. At least not with me.” 

“Unfortunate. I was hoping to get a few of my questions answered while we had the pleasure of your company.” 

The captured man gave Fury a slow blink, but made no move to talk or answer. 

“Y’know, you look a little different from the Kang that’s been broadcasting his message worldwide. It’s too bad we didn’t get a chance to speak with him. Would have loved to talk to the one who’s in charge.” Despite only having one good eye, Fury could easily detect the barest trace of tension in this Kang’s shoulders. Fury was delighted to see that he had so quickly struck a nerve, but he made sure to keep his face neutral. 

Kang cleared his throat, his words smooth and practiced. Making it clear that this was something that had been recited before. “We are a collective that agree-” 

“But you're still not the one who makes the decisions.”

Another slow blink, “... No .” 

“Too bad.” Fury watched the simmering rage that was just below the surface of Kang’s skin. Antman had mentioned that Kang was an inventor. And in Fury’s experience, inventor’s were particularly testy and arrogant about their work. Letting out a bored sigh, Fury began to stand up. “I was hoping you might tell me about that gun you were firing, but if it was just an invention you were borrow-” 

“I am the only one to have come up with such an invention.” Kang strained against his bindings, practically hissing at Fury from the clear insult. “None of my copies have the imagination.”  

“So what? It razel dazels the mind before switching out with another mind from another dimension?”

“I'm surprised you surmised that much.” 

“Yes well the new versions of them are nice enough but we would like-”

Then Kang did something that startled both Bucky and Fury. Kang started to laugh. A deep bellied, genuine laugh. His earlier ire completely vanished and replaced with an eerie delight. A numbing dread slowly crept up Fury’s legs, leaving only cold in its wake. In his long career of fighting assholes, he never took them laughing as a good sign. 

Kang’s smile was wide and gleaming, showing practically every single one of his teeth. “I admit that it may not be part of our grand design of why we’re here…but that gun does not only switch the minds of those with an alternate version…but the mind is switched with the worst possible version.”  

The words, as if by providence, were punctuated by a booming explosion that tilted the base from the force of it. Bucky’s arm shot out, catching Fury to hold him still until the compound righted itself again. 

Fury quickly calculated that the explosion was in the direction of the conference room. The cold dread was up to his neck now. He wondered how bad the damage was, but they had another problem that was lying in the opposite direction. I’ll have to trust Danvers on this one.  

As Bucky made his way to the door, Fury called out to him to give him direction, “Get to the infirmary! Get them away from Shang-Chi!” 

“Right!” The soldier disappeared and Fury flipped his attention back to Kang. 

“Now tell me how that gun works and we can work something-” Fury abruptly stopped talking as he watched in a horrified stupor as Kang slammed the side of his face into one of the bars. Blood burst from the man’s lip as he violently hit into the metal, but he appeared unbothered from the pain. 

Kang pulled back winking at Fury as he opened his mouth to show a single broken tooth in the middle of his tongue. He then brought the tooth back into his mouth and bit down hard. A sickening crackling crunch sounding out despite the chaos of sound behind Fury. 

The dread had fully submerged him now, realizing too late what Kang had done. 

Starting at his stomach, an orange light began to glow and disintegrate through Kang’s body. A slow trail coiling outwardly to destroy whatever it touched. He gave Fury one last bloody smile and two parting words before he completely disappeared. 

“Good luck.”

 

---

 

Fury nodded his thanks, sparing one last wary look to Namor and Shuri before walking out of the room…

The wizard moved toward Shuri, untying the bag and removing the gun with a flourish of his hand. Not laying a single finger on either. With the gun hovering over his hand he presented it to Shuri. She perked up with a keen interest that set Namor’s nerves on edge. 

“Is that the gun that brought me here?”

“Considering what I witnessed with Shang-Chi, I believe so.” There was a moment of hesitation on Strange’s part before he floated the gun to Shuri. She stood to snatch it from the air, letting out a low whistle as she turned the weapon slowly in her hands. Strange watched her carefully, placing the velvet pouch on the table. “Do you think you would be able to figure it out?”

Shuri pushed herself up onto the table to sit down, placing the gun in her lap so she could scan it with her kimoyo beads. She then brought up a digital image of the gun to take apart, studying each piece carefully. “Of course. It’s vague, but I can recognize the overall design. I’m guessing your Shuri studied this man’s work quite a bit.” 

Namor crossed his arms as he watched Shuri’s hands move. It was one of the few things that he could recognize as being the same. The fluidness in the way that her fingers danced while she worked. She had been quick to figure out the beads, and Namor was unsure if she had something similar in her world or if her mind was just that quick to figure things out. 

“Looks a little like a toy.” Carol called out as she walked into the room, she gave a single nod to Namor and Strange and kept close to the door. If Shuri noticed that she had been essentially boxed in by three powerhouses, she made no outward reaction. 

“There’s no accounting for taste, eh?” Shuri snickered, plucking a single piece from the digital mess that she had created, and zoomed into that with interest. It was hexagonal in shape and looked like any other bolt in a machine, but once she zoomed in there were intricate lines upon it to show that this piece was painstakingly built as well. “This is convenient. I can just change the polarity.”

“Uh…meaning?” 

“I can basically reverse the effects of the shot. Sending me back the same path I took to get here. Unfortunately, with the way that this is designed it uses a lot of power, so it will take a moment to warm up. Not a very efficient weapon. Simple really. Effective though.” 

“How long?” Namor finally spoke, growing impatient with her rambling. It felt like she was stalling. 

Shuri swiped away the digital imagery, to pick up the real thing from her lap, popping out the piece she had been talking about. It looked like a small piece of gold in her hand. This little piece that was just as important as the whole. “About 30 seconds.” She twisted it in her hand, her eyes roaming over it almost lovingly. Shuri then tossed it up lightly, weighing it in her hand before slotting it back into the gun and pressing something on the side. A line of orange yellow light instantly appeared along the handle, blinking in time of seconds passing. “…annnnd done~ Let this warm up and I’ll be on my way.”

She placed the gun down and slid off of the table, nimbly making her way up to Namor. As she moved in close he removed his arms to his sides in an attempt to not touch her when she got clowe, but she took the advantage of him not stepping away, sliding her arms up and around his neck. He stood stiffly as her eyes greedily roamed every bit of his face. The closeness made his heart speed up a fraction faster.  

Out of the corner of Namor’s eye he could see the Wizard turning away as if to go give them some privacy. 

“It was nice seeing you again. More than you would probably understand.” Shuri whispered and leaned in close, her breath fanning against his lips. She was close enough that she bumped her nose against his. “Goodbye kiss?” 

With his jaw clenched tightly, Namor simply stared back at her. The gun made an audible ding to indicate that it had been sufficiently ‘warmed up’. A small part of him was soaking in her affection, as strange as it was, he felt desperate for it. But he made no move to embrace her. “Goodbye.”  

Shuri gave him a small mocking pout, and let go of him. Fingers trailing across his neck where his skin was exposed above his adornments. Her warmth was immediately missed when she fully stepped away, and Namor had to grip both hands into fists to keep his traitorous body from following her. She picked up the gun and pointed the nozzle loosely toward herself, tapping it on her temple. Her large eyes never looked away from Namor. 

“I’d like to say I can wait, but I’m not a very patient woman.” She only allowed a milisecond's worth of confusion to pass from the statement, before her wrist twisted and her hand flopped sideways.

Pulling the trigger with the gun pointed toward Strange. 

Nothing appeared to happen at first, a phantom misstep that startled both Namor and Carol, but Shuri didn’t appear phased as she slammed the gun against the edge of the table. The gun easily broke apart with the force of Shuri’s strength. The shattered pieces scattered to the floor in different directions. 

Namor took a step toward her, his heart breaking at the sight. Shuri! “NO-” 

A blast of power, thick and alive, pushed everyone in the room back into the surrounding walls. The chairs of the conference room tumbling backwards chaotically. The power was oppressive, keeping everyone back like a hand pressing firmly into one’s sternum. Standing at the center of that power was a frozen looking Strange. 

A deep bellow of sound echoed throughout the room. The sound felt more than heard, like a vibration through the air. The temperature dropped several degrees within an instant. Strange did not fall unconscious like the others, instead he took one staggering step forward with his eyes wide open. 

His forehead splitting to reveal a third eye at its center.  

A large smile spread unnaturally across his face.  

Strange viciously slapped both hands onto his forehead, letting out a howling scream that was then followed by a confusing bout of screeching laughter. Power emanated from him in waves. Pulsing shadowed tendrils reached out from his body toward the others in the room, only to be snatched back with sparks of orange.  

It was as if he was growing and shrinking at the same time. 

As if he was desperately trying to hold himself together as hunched in on himself, groaning with gasping laughter.  

His cape was blown back by the waves of dark magic coming from him, but its loyalty kept it coming back, clinging to the wizard's shoulders. Eventually the tendrils latched onto the cape to keep it in place. It pierced through the fabric near his shoulders. The room grew darker, the fluorescent lights flickering. 

“L-Leave-” Strange choked out, tears streaming down his face from his unblinking wide eyes. He barked out another laugh before cutting it off abruptly. “LEAVE!” 

Danvers didn’t listen, she flew up to his side, holding onto his shoulders. Tendrils of inky black shadows, looking suspiciously like tentacles now, latched onto her and wrapped around her wrists. Carol looked put off from the sight but she didn’t pull away from her friend. “Stephen? Snap out of it!” 

“Snap?” The wizard rasped out. He lifted a single hand between him and Danvers, and snapped his fingers. The sound echoed like an explosion, fire bursting upwards from his fingertips. She barely had time to whip her head backwards, her hands still stuck to his shoulders. The fire ripped through the roof top, metal screeching loudly and shaking the entire base.  

With a crazed laugh, Strange flew from the conference room through the new jagged hole he had created. Dragging Danvers along with him.  

Namor stumbled from where he was, the blast of intense heat momentarily stealing his breath away. Thankfully the hole brought the fresh sea air in. The moisture that was now in the air revived him enough to stand fully.  

He looked around the room, chest heaving rapidly to gulp down as much fresh air as he could. And as his body began to feel normal, his heart dropped low and sudden. 

Shuri was gone. 

 

---

 

Bucky stumbled as another explosion ripped through the base, shaking the structure but not quite as bad as the first hit. He braced himself along the wall, not waiting to find his balance as he worked his way toward the infirmary. 

When he finally crashed through the door, Hawkeye was already on his feet. Calm despite the worry in his eyes. “What the hell is going on?” 

Bucky didn’t answer him, despite another explosion going off, rattling the medicine within the cabinets. He scanned the room to find Shang-Chi still unconscious, but his heart went still when he saw Antman’s daughter standing too close to him. “Step away from him now!” 

The girl was unfortunately still green behind the ears, so the order made her simply look at him like a deer caught in headlights. Similar to telling someone afraid of heights not to look down, she turned her back toward Bucky to look back down at Shang-Chi. 

Whose eyes were now open. 

“Hey he-!” She violently stopped short as Shang-Chi’s hand shot out, fingers digging into her neck to cut off her air flow. 

The bangles around his wrist a dull ice blue. 

 

Notes:

💃💃💃💃 see u next chap!

Hope u liked this one 😃 (and don't worry, everything is fiiinnnee)

Ty for my covers Zz!

Chapter 11: Mass Exodus

Despite Bucky’s command, Cassie turned to look down at Shang-Chi, whose eyes were now open. He blankly looked at the young girl above him, his fingers twitched, the bangles around his wrist turning a dull ice blue. 

The girl gave him an automatic nervous smile. “Hey he-!” She was violently stopped short as Shang-Chi’s hand shot out, fingers digging into her neck to cut off her air flow. Only allowing her to let out a gurgled gasp, her eyes watering from the sudden pain. 

“Cassie!!” Scott called out to his daughter, allowing paternal instinct to kick in. His helmet snapped shut on his head and he disappeared from view. Seconds later, Cassie disappeared from view as well. Shang-Chi’s hand clenched into a fist tightly the moment she was gone, showing just how tightly the girl's neck had been held. 

Several beds away looked to be invisibly shoved back, until both Antman and his daughter grew back to normal size on top of them. Cassie gasping for air as her father held her close.

The entire room stood frozen in shock. Muffled explosions creating an unsettling atmosphere as Shang-chi slowly stood up. He looked confused but eerily calm. Flicking his eyes to everyone in the room. As if he was taking stock of the situation. 

“Shang-Chi?” Monica called out gently. She struggled to sit up in her cot, wincing when she moved a little too fast. When his eyes fell on her he stared at her the longest, a flicker of recognition before they went entirely blank again. A spike of fear ran through Monica and her body wanted to instinctually flee, but she could feel something waver inside of her. Her hand phasing through the mattress before she pulled back and made it solid again. 

She was not ready for another fight, but it looked like she might have to be. 

Dr. Strange’s words, “This is not the same Shang-Chi that we know,” sounded louder than ever in her mind. Because he was right. This was not the same friendly, easy going man she had come to know within the past few months.   

Shang-Chi looked down to his arms where the blue lit bangles clinked together. Briefly taking his eyes away from the others. 

Both Bucky and Hawkeye took this as a moment to move. 

“Monica, get away from him.” Bucky spoke firmly just as Clint went to grab his bow from his back.Without looking up Shang-Chi pushed an arm forward, snapping the rings out like a whip and knocked the bow from Clint's hand. 

From there the sick bay went from orderly to chaotic. 

The few that were able to fight came at Shang-Chi while he easily batted them away, keeping them from getting too close to him. Flashes of blue light and medical equipment decorated any empty space between. What made it feel even worse was the ongoing explosions outside, shaking the compound and affecting the footing of anyone fighting. 

Kamala slipped during one particular loud explosion that sounded right above them. Gauze and tongue depressors scattering across the floor. She wasn’t sure what to do, trying her best to bring up shields to block Shang-Chi’s oncoming attacks but confusion kept staying her hand from actually attacking back. 

“What is happening!?” 

A curl of blue metal flings out at her and Bucky bats it away with his vibranium arm. He reached down, yanking Kamala back into standing. Only giving her a second to lean on him as support from the next explosion before pulling away 

“I’ll explain later, subdue him first!” Bucky yelled, diving out of the way when Antman was flung past him. 

Easier said than done.

The man, although cornered, would not let a single one of them get close. Even when Antman attempted to get through by shrinking to near invisible, Shang-Chi seemed to sense him and knocked him cleanly back. What was even more discouraging was the calm determination in his face, not looking the least bit fatigued by the ongoing onslaught of one versing many.   

As the fight raged on, Monica was unable to help them. The second she tried to quickly move back, her body phased through the cot and she slammed to the floor below it. She curled up underneath it, focusing on her breathing as it was all she could do to keep from phasing through the floor into the ocean.  

Arcs of blue danced above her. She blinked her eyes to watch the flow of power, noticing that there was a marked difference in the way that Shang-Chi fought. Instead of flowing in and out of his movements like before, he was more precise. More surgical in his movements.  

Not being able to do anything else but watch the chaos above her, Monica’s mind went back to an old conversation with Shang-Chi. When he had allowed her to take a closer look at the bangles. 

“When these belonged to my father, they were this dull blue color. Reminded me a little of ice.” 

Monica held them close to her face, her blue gaze studying the intricate workings hidden within the metal. Like a tiny machine. “And these kept him immortal?” 

“I guess? At least he was after he found them. It was never really known why, or at least my father never mentioned it to us. It just…was.” He rubbed the back of his neck, an apologetic grimace on his face. “Sorry. My father never really wanted to talk about them.” 

They were a dull metal when looking at it normally, but when she handed them back to Shang-Chi’s hands, the faintest glimmer of warm orange ran through it. It reminded her of sunlight. “Why do you think they changed color when you got them?” 

“I’m not sure. Maybe I was more of my mother’s child than my fathers in the end.” Shang-Chi smiled fondly at the bangle, weighing it carefully in his hand. 

A screaming crack of metal and light burst from the ceiling, bringing Monica violently back to the present. The explosion tore through just past Shang-Chi, and blew a hole right next to him into the hallway. 

It was the only thing that took Shang-Chi’s attention away from the rest of the group. Shocked to see the sudden destruction come out of nowhere. 

Both Hawkeye and Bucky use this opportunity to close in on him. Jumping up and over cots, just before Shang-Chi turned his attention back to them. He managed to brush Clint to the side, but Bucky was able to ram bodily into him, locking his vibranium arm securely under Shang-Chi’s arm and then looping around his neck, twisting him around until Shang-Chi’s back was to Bucky’s front. 

At this range, Shang-Chi opted to just use his free fist and swung up into the direction of Bucky’s face, but Bucky caught onto that as well. For a single moment the chaos of the fight was calm, narrowed down on the two struggling men. Bucky used that moment to urgently plead with the man he had come to consider a comrade. “I know your confused, but we’re on your side, we can help you-  

He was abruptly cut off as Shang-Chi swung his lower half down hard, using the leverage to flip Bucky clean over his head so that he was behind him now.

For a split moment, everything went deathly quiet. Time slowing for a single instance as Shang-Chi snaked his arms and hands around Bucky’s head and twisted it violently. The resounding crack echoing through the room, bringing a numbing horror to everyone who could do nothing but watch. 

Bucky’s lifeless body slammed heavily to the ground with an unceremonious clang of vibranium to steel floor. 

“NO!” Kamala screamed in alarm, not realizing that her body was moving on its own. All she knew was that she wanted to hurt this man who was no longer Shang-Chi, but she was instantly slammed down by Kate Bishop. 

Milliseconds later a blue arc of rings whipped out above her. Her blindness had kept her from noticing that Shang-Chi had even moved. All she could see was Bucky’s neck being snapped over and over. Her eyes burned and watered, and she sobbed out softly. 

Bishop held her close, whispering, “I know, I know-” 

The room stood frozen after that. Unsure what to do next. 

Because capturing Shang-Chi was not a feasible option. 

Everyone stayed down, the ones still living severely injured from just fighting their changed friend. It was clear that he was the better fighter. Hawkeye held out a hand to the others, silently communicating to stand down. 

There were too many children in the room for his liking. He glanced at Bucky laying face down on the floor and his heart clenched. If he could help it he wouldn't let that happen to one of the young girls. 

With the rest of the people currently standing still, Shang-Chi made his way to a cot that still managed to stay still amongst the fighting and kicked it away. Revealing the woman that had been hiding underneath it. Monica looked up at him warily, unsure what she could possibly do in her condition. The tension in the room seemed to double as Shang-Chi moved slow but smooth into a crouch in front of her. 

His face was unbothered, like the fight had not touched him. He did not break a sweat, he did not breathe unevenly as the others did, he looked like he could keep going until every single one of them were dead. 

Shang-Chi lifted a single hand and reached out toward Monica.  

She kept her eyes on his eyes, past his hand, not sure what else to do. Not sure if she could even use her powers at this point.  

A purple crystalline structure suddenly slammed between them, blocking Shang-Chi from getting any closer. Monica glanced back to see Kamala looking at her, tears streaming down her face and hand flat on the floor. From her hand there was a line of that same crystal that grew until it made a wall, splitting the room. 

Shang-Chi could easily break through it if he wanted to, but instead he simply looked amused by it. The hand that had been reaching out turned into a fist, knocking on the structure gently. He let out a soft sigh, glancing at Monica briefly one last time. 

He then stood back up and walked out of the hole that had been made moments before, and disappeared from view completely. 

 

---

 

With a crazed laugh, Strange flew from the conference room through the new jagged hole he had created. Dragging Danvers along with him…

Carol had tried to loosen her fingers from Strange’s shoulders, but the shadowed tentacles had wrapped tightly around her wrists, tying her to the unstable wizard as he spun them out of the compound. They flew through the heated smoke of the fire he had just conjured into the open air above the sea. The sudden change of temperature slapping her in the face with the cold.

She yanked her hands back again but not even her strength could break her from the hold of his dark magic. They twisted tighter, making her wince at the growing pain. The tentacles looked as if they were growing from the shadow’s beneath his now beaten looking cape. 

Shadows…  

That’s it.

As Strange twirled in the air into a demented sort of dance, Carol focused on the power coursing through her veins. Light infused every inch of her body before she released the blast of power. 

That seemed to do the trick for everywhere the light had touched the shadows quickly pulled away, releasing her from Strange’s hold. He hissed and skittered away from her to gain some distance, his shadow tentacles slowly crawling back out from under his cape. 

They floated in the air above the compound, Strange curled in on himself and Carol watching him with a careful eye. She could see the shadows writhing underneath his clothes, sneaking tendrils out to test their surroundings. 

“Carol-” The single name came out broken sounding, twisting away at Carol’s heart but she stayed still. Seeing it for the trap it was as the wind picked up around them, dark storm clouds forming just above the wizard.  

She tightened her fists, waiting for some sort of blow to hit her, but instead of going for her he went after the structure below them. Several bolts of dark magic scattered haphazardly around him before shooting dowards.  

“No!” Danvers flew toward the magic, using her own powers to bat them away the same way she had done with Stephen. It worked for some, dissipating the dark magic or redirecting it harmlessly into the ocean. The others tore through the metal of the compound jaggedly and created holes along the surface.  

The structure shook and groaned from the attacks but thankfully it didn’t appear to be sinking. 

Carol whipped her head toward Strange, the wind causing her short hair to dance wildly around her face. She needed to get him further out above the ocean somehow. She attempted throwing blasts of energy at him, purposefully missing in a way that would push him back and away, but he simply danced around her, rounding back toward the compound. 

“I know what you're doing, Captain .” He hissed out tauntingly, sending out another crackle of dark magic that tore through another part of metal as if it was butter. 

“Alright then.” She huffed out, her entire body beginning to glow with her hair becoming a bright golden beacon. Carol flew right into him, too fast for him to move out of the way this time. With both arms and legs she wrapped herself around him like a vice.  

The wizard screamed incoherently at her, trying to claw away from the light her power was emitting but her hold on him was too strong. With him trying to fight her off of him, he was too distracted to attack the compound directly, but the wind was still whipping around them violently. 

The two bodies zigzagged through the air discordantly, Carol’s light eating away at Strange’s dark. However the dark still managed to attack back, spiking into Carol's body, leaving bloodied cuts all over her before the shadows sizzled away. 

She wasn’t sure how much longer she could hold on. 

“DANVERS LET GO NOW!” Strange suddenly screamed. 

Not sure why Caol did just that. His voice sounded stronger to her. Closer to the Strange she knew.  

Just as her hands released him an array of shadowed tentacles spiked out, similar to a porcupine. She barely had time to bring up an arm as a few of them punctured her skin deeply, pushing her several feet back before melting away. Ok, that was too close. Carol lit up again, but immediately dimmed at seeing Strange curled up on himself, looking at her with pleading eyes through the fingers of his hand clutching at his face. 

“I can’t- I can’t-” He gasped out. Strange struggled to breathe, alternating through pained soft laughter and wheezing. Shakily he raised his one free hand out in the opposite direction of Captain Marvel. It took him a few times, the orange light sparking out before it held firm, finally able to open a portal to somewhere that looked dark. 

A cave? Carol thought briefly, glancing back warily to the wizard who was still staring at her. 

“I’ll try to- It won’t be long-” Strange side stepped into the cave, settling on solid ground just past the orange portal. He flung his free hand toward Carol and she flinched, throwing up a hand to catch the item he threw at her. As the portal began to shrink the wizard was able to tell her one last thing. 

“Tell Chavez, she’s still alive.” 

Carol could only give him a curt nod, wanting desperately to ask him what he meant but it was too late. The portal shrunk until it was just a dot of orange light. And then that disappeared as well. 

Then just like that the winds and ocean calmed almost instantly. 

She looked down at the ring in her hand, the one Strange had used to make the portal. He wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. Carol gripped the piece of jewelry tightly in her hands and flew back to the compound, still somehow in one piece. 

 

---

 

Namor looked around the room, chest heaving rapidly to gulp down as much fresh air as he could. And as his body began to feel normal, his heart dropped low and sudden. Shuri was gone… 

He instantly forgot about the crazed wizard and the blond he had just dragged through the ceiling with him. Namor slammed through the door of the conference room and into the hallway knowing that this was the only way Shuri could have gone. 

The second he stepped foot into the hallway though he was blasted back several feet before landing harshly on his back. He sprang back to his feet to see Shuri standing further down the hallway from him, fully suited and cannons dematerializing from her hands.  

Thousands of questions rushed through Namor as he stared at her. What was this Shuri thinking? Did she know what would happen if she shot that Wizard? Or was it an educated guess? What was her end goal? 

And most importantly- 

How was he going to get his Shuri back? 

Before he could ask her any of this, the compound shuddered violently as another hole tore through the ceiling above them. Some debris cut off the direct path between him and Shuri. She tilted her head and waved at him, waggling her fingers, then nimbly ran down the hallway in the opposite direction. 

Namor could easily follow, the surrounding debris wasn’t heavy enough to stop him, but a sudden thought struck him as he watched Shuri’s retreating back. His memories overlapped her turned back with one of her standing on the balcony. That weapon. He let out a single curse, watching as Shuri disappeared around the corner, before running back into the conference room. 

The structure was groaning and shaking, the winds whistling through the open ceiling, but none of that was important. He quickly scooped the shattered pieces of the gun back into the velvet pouch Strange had been carrying it in. Making sure to find the one hexagonal piece Shuri had been the most interested in. 

There was a large possibility that she could have been lying about the gun having the capability to send her back. That he was wasting his time every second he took to pick up the bits of metal. But this was the only lead he had. 

When he had found all that he could find, he tore out of the room, stumbling into the hallway as the compound continued to sway. It was one thing to fly through a storm, or swim in violently churning waters, but being trapped in a metal box was a nuisance he did not appreciate. He sincerely hoped he wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon. 

As Namor followed the path that Shuri had taken, he turned the corner to find Fury struggling to stand up from where he had apparently fallen. The older man looked up at him, looking completely exhausted. 

“My knees aren’t what they used to be.” He complained, letting out a quiet curse when Namor took his arm and lifted him easily back up. Fury nodded his thanks, but his face looked grim, nodding toward the way Namor had just come. “How bad?” 

The God King did not speak, he only clenched his jaw tightly shut. He did not have time to speak with this man, but he also honestly didn’t know how to even explain what happened.  

Fury sighed, taking Namor’s silence as the answer he needed. He rubbed the arm he had been leaning on. “That bad huh?”

Namor glanced down at the bag in his hand and then shoved it forcefully toward Fury. The older man quickly took it with one raised brow. “Do not let this out of your sight.”

He didn’t wait to explain any further. He didn’t even wait for Fury to say yes. The weapon was only a piece of a whole, and he needed to find Shuri. He flew through a hole in the ceiling, ignoring the way the wind and sea water sprayed chaotically against his skin. It was easier to navigate through and would have been refreshing if he didn’t feel chaotic unbalance within himself.  

He kept his eyes low, eyes flick toward the one place he would assume Shuri would go since they were in the middle of the ocean.  

And there she was, a single dark speck on the flight deck. She was still clad in her suit but minus the cowl now. The storm above affected nothing but her hair, her braids looking as if they were floating around her. She stood strangely still at the edge of the deck, but Namor did not have time to wonder what she was doing. 

With ease Namor sped through the air, skidding on the ground behind her as he landed. He did not care to be quiet. Stealth was for those with time and he felt that there was none left. 

Shuri did not immediately turn around when he landed behind her. She simply continued to look towards the choppy waters of the ocean as it was affected from the winds above. “I missed the sea. The sound, the smell of salt in the cold air, the spray of moisture on your skin if you stand too close.” Her words came out soft, but she knew he could hear her.  

Namor had taken a few steps closer to her, but froze when she turned partially to look back at him, a brittle smile on her face.

“But most of all I missed you.”  

Just above them her ship, the one she had taken to fight against the Kangs, decloaked. He watched as it materialized as if stretching, similar to a creature spreading its wings wide open to appear as a threat. She turned nonchalantly to the ship, taking one foot forward to step directly underneath it but Namor’s hand shot out to grab onto her arm. 

“Where will you go?” The loud whistling winds suddenly come to a stop, making his voice sound suddenly much too loud. Too desperate. She didn’t resist his hold, turning to him easily and taking a step closer. Her hand went up to hold his chin still as she pressed her lips softly to his.  

Namor took a sharp breath in from the touch, his eyes fluttering just a moment before he yanked back away from her. There was a slight pinch of pain as her claws had come out, digging into his flesh as he pulled away. He pressed a hand to his jaw as he stared intently at her. He wanted to touch his lips, but he kept his fingers to the cuts on his chin. 

Shuri. Or. This woman who looked like Shuri, gazed at him lovingly, her hand still raised from when she was touching him. Showing the glistening red of his blood against her claws. A rose with her many sharp thorns. 

“Home. I’m going home.” 

 

Notes:

3 new villains have entered the ring

Everyone is about to have their hands full....especially Wakanda/Namor 👀👀

Don't be mad at me I'm sorry🙇‍♀️

Ty for reading! Seeulaterbye!

Chapter 12: Mind and Body

Both Shuri and Namor stood at a standstill, waiting to see who would make the first move. And it appeared that all Shuri’s, in any universe, shared the same trait. 

Impatience. 

She moved first, calmly turning to walk toward the ship that was hovering just above them and Namor shot out to grab her. Shuri swiveled away from, swiping back with a clawed hand, and forcing him to step back. Her body was a fluid form of movement, quick and sinuous as she went to kick at him. Her long limbs forcing him to take an extra step back. 

When they were a few steps away from the ship, Shuri turned to make a run for it and Namor jumped at her again. Using his wings for an extra boost to tackle her to the ground, grappling her arms and legs, her hands trapped between their bodies. “Shuri- Wai-” 

Between them, Namor could feel the shift of metal from where her hands were. He didn’t have to look down to know that she had vibranium cannons pressed against his chest now.  

Shuri gave him a brief smirk, “I’ll see you there.” The blast from this range knocked the air right out of his lungs, forcing him to let go of her and slide off of the airstrip and into the ocean below.  

The water was an instant balm on his bruised chest, his skin breathing the oxygen from the water greedily before he propelled himself upwards to break the surface. Shuri was staring at him when his head popped out of the water, but she was already crossing her arms in the Wakandan salute and she was lifted up into her ship as if she was flying.  

Namor tensed his body, waiting to see what direction Shuri’s ship would go. Her ship turned to a direction that had him relaxing only a fraction, and sped off. He stayed in the water, watching her ship get smaller as his skin absorbed the much needed water. The additional strength that the ocean lent him was the only thing keeping him calm. 

His mind quickly laid out what was before him. The partially destroyed Avenger’s compound to his left, this other Shuri flying back to Wakanda, and his army lying in wait below the ocean’s depths.  

One thing at a time. 

With Shuri’s ship a black fleck amongst the flat gray clouds, Namor dove further into the ocean to meet with his generals. They were located at a distance between the broken compound and the Island where the army of Kang’s were currently residing. 

Namora, dressed in her lionfish regalia, was the first to notice his approach. She also noticed the somber look on his face. “Aj-K’uk’ulkan. What has happened?” Along with Attuma, they swam closer to meet with their King, signaling to the others to wait at their lower depth. 

Namor was unsure where to begin, knowing that he needed to make quick decisions considering the type of Shuri he was dealing with now. Quick but most certainly careful. He closed his eyes for a moment to gather himself, then told his two generals a shortened version of what had happened. 

How the operation, although successful, was not without its version of casualties. Explaining to them how the Princess of Wakanda had been one of those casualties in her change. He then simply explained what happened on the compound. 

“I need you all to go back to Talokan, double the guards and make sure everyone is on high alert until I come back. I have to go to Wakanda to speak with their King.”

Attuma had simply bowed his head in acceptance, but his smaller general of course had some questions. She was never one to shy away from making her feelings known, and Namor always appreciated it…however the question she posed was a complicated one. “If that is not the Black Panther, why did you let her leave?”

Home. I’m going home.  

The way she had said it, it was with such an earnest fondness. 

“I do not think she means to harm Wakanda.” 

“And if she does?” Namora asked, a dark edge to her tone that implied a second question that didn’t need to be asked out loud for Namor to know what it was. 

Will you kill her?  

There was something he kept buried inside of him that violently protested against the words he spoke calmly to appease Namora. “I will take care of it.” The words were bile from his lips.  

A memory assaulted him of Shuri turning to look at him as they spoke softly about her brother, outside of his hut all those years ago. He didn’t like thinking about that particular memory, because it would always lead to the unforgivable act her mother had done afterward…and then it would lead to the unforgivable act he had done after that, taking away her last living relative. 

Namor blinked, a sudden thought having him raise a hand to his generals to keep them from leaving. “Namora will go back to Talokan. Attuma, I have another task for you to take care of.” 

The larger man nodded without question, “Of course.” 

“Is there something wrong?” 

Namor turned to Namora, not wanting to explain that although he did not think this other Shuri would harm Wakanda…he wasn’t so sure about its people. So he simply said, “A precaution I would like to take.” 

 

---

 

The sea breeze whistled through the torn opening of the Avenger’s compound, making the already cold room even colder. The table was still intact and the chairs reset to give the room some semblance of normalcy. Fury would have brought them to another room, but unfortunately the conference room was the biggest one to accommodate all of the remaining group. 

Including Supreme Sorcerer Wong who had joined them upon hearing what had happened to his friend. 

Fury sat at the head of the table, leaned back into his chair and resting a chin on an upturned hand. He rubbed his good eye, letting out a long exhausted sigh that spoke volumes, highlighted by the sun peaking through the clouds up above him. “So…” He began, his voice low yet commanding the entire attention of the room, “From what I have gathered. We quite literally have an evil ass wizard, an evil ass assassin, and an evil ass genius with access to the world’s most powerful nation. All gone.” Fury moved his hand to look at the defeated looking group in front of him. “Am I missing anything?” 

“...We lost Bucky.” Kamala added quietly, curled into Monica who was holding her close to her side, their chairs pressed together.  

The tired irritation drained instantly from Fury’s demonor, melting into the somber atmosphere of the room. He had heard about the fight, feeling an irrational guilt from having been the one to direct Bucky to the infirmary. 

It chilled him to know that someone like Shang-Chi, a man that he had known for a short while, friendly and cheerful, was a stone cold killer now. He shuddered to think about the other two.  

“We need to find them.” Carol prompted, it was an obvious statement, but it was said more to break the bleak spell that had been cast over the room. To get them to move forward. 

“I will take care of the Black Panther.” 

The room turned toward the direction of the door as Namor walked into the conference room, pushing back his soaked hair from his face. He went straight to Fury, who placed a hand on the side of his jacket where he was currently keeping the broken gun that started this whole mess. 

Namor shook his head, holding up a hand to stop his movement. “I came back to tell you to hold on to it for now. Keep it safe. I may know of someone that could possibly repair it. However I would like to keep it in a place where she can’t get to it.” 

Fury’s eyebrows raised, a small flint of hope igniting in his eye. He didn’t have to ask who the ‘she’ was, so instead he asked, “And where will you go?” 

“As I have said. I will take care of the Black Panther.”   

And with that he was gone, choosing this time to fly through the open ceiling instead of using the door. Namor’s presence and assertiveness seemed to have completely broken the somber mood the room had been in, tentative plans being set into motion. 

“Shang-Chi must have stolen an airship?” Monica piped up. “That would have been the only way for him to have left the compound. I can start there.” 

“And I’ll keep track of Strange, however I will have to stay in Kamar-Taj. With Strange the way he is…it’s probably only a matter of time before he comes to us.” Wong said darkly, turning away to open a portal back home behind him. Before he could step through it, Carol shot out a hand to stop him. “Yes?” 

“Do you need me to come with you?”

Wong gave her an appreciative smile, making his face look remarkably younger. “We have a contingency plan if this were to ever happen. We’ll be alright.”  

She gave him a small nod, closing her eyes briefly to breathe in the icy chill that blew through the portal. Wong sensed that she had something else to say so he waited patiently until she finally spoke, keeping her voice low and unsure. “Strange wanted me to pass on a message. To Chavez specifically.” 

“Oh?” 

“He said to tell her…‘she’s’ alive?” 

It was subtle, a ‘blink and you would miss it’ moment, but Wong went impossibly still. He kept his eyes on Carol as he nodded. Clearly understanding but not elaborating as he simply walked through the portal without even a goodbye. 

 

---

 

Namor reached Wakanda before evening, the setting sun turning the capital into molten gold and crystal. He entered through the river entrance of the palace, a room that was specially designed for him and his delegation on visits. Stepping up the steps from the cool water into a temperature regulated dome shaped room. 

He paused for only a moment to see that General Ayo was waiting for him. It wasn’t uncommon to have one of the Dora Milaje greet him, but he could see the tension in her expressive eyes despite the stillness of her body. 

“I take it she is already here then?” Namor went to the side of the room where there were various cloaks kept hung up for him. After placing his spear to lean onto the wall, he chose a simple dark teal cloak that wrapped all the way around his shoulders and fell to just at his ankles, leaving a slice through both sides so that he could easily move his arms through. 

Ayo waited for him to be done, watching as he kept the cloak together with an obsidian pin. When he turned to look at her she finally spoke. “Yes…however…she-” Her face cracked then and showed Namor a rare flash of open emotion. Confusion. Fear. 

They were emotions that he could understand well given the circumstances. 

“She told you.”

The general’s mask slipped back on firmly and gave him a curt nod. “Almost immediately. She is in the throne room. The King would like for you to confirm it. 

Namor turned away from her to grab his spear, the metal creaking under his grip. His thoughts were a mess of questions and half spun theories. This Shuri was either ten steps ahead of everyone or simply reckless. Or possibly both. 

Which gave a very small window of opportunity for Namor to make any definitive plans. He pulled his spear from the wall, its weight a familiar comfort, then finally made his way toward Ayo. “Would you be able to call Okoye back from her mission?”

The ask had her blink once in surprise, before hardening with suspicion. “I already have. Do you need to speak with her? 

“If that would be alright.” Namor understood where he stood with Wakanda. He would have been a fool to not have otherwise. The past several years have been spent trying to prove to them that the alliance had been worth it, to both them and to his people of Talokan. 

So he knew when to tread carefully, especially with the Dora Milaje. But he hoped since he was asking for Okoye personally, something that he never did, he wouldn’t be met with too much resistance. Not now. 

Ayo studied his face carefully, a question on the edge of her lips, but in the end she just gave him another curt nod and Namor felt eternally grateful. 

The less questions asked the better. 

 

---

 

There was no usual fanfare upon entering the throne room. Only a select few were present due to the nature of the meeting. The Tribal elders, The King with one Dora Milage to his right and Ayo who instantly went to stand to his left, and lastly Shuri.  

She stood ramrod straight with her hands placed in her lap. Her clothes were changed from the spandex she had worn under her suit to a black strapless dress, with a gold border of squares along the top. Her hair was also up in a simple bun and her make up done. 

Namor took in her appearance with the knowledge that she had taken her time to get ready, probably before revealing who she really was. She gave Namor the smallest of smiles when he entered before returning her gaze to the rest of the council. 

Shuri looked calm. As still as a statue as she looked around the room with slow blinking eyes. 

No. Not a statue. More like a predator waiting for its prey to make a mistake. 

“Is it true then?” M’Baku asked, pulling Namor’s attention away from Shuri. The question had every elder looking to Namor with a worried interest. 

“It is.” There was an instant wave of murmurs amongst the others, only silenced by the King of Wakanda as he held up a hand to quiet them. “She was shot by a machine made by the enemy. Two others were affected as well.” 

“And the machine?” 

Namor glanced at Shuri then, wondering how much he should reveal. He was not aware of what the council would do to her if they knew the extent of it. Namor did not think they would harm her, but he would not take any risks. A conversation would be needed to be had with M’Baku in private later. 

When Namor finally answered, Shuri gave him a pleased grin that unsettled him. “It was destroyed.”  

The usual joyful bravado was nowhere to be seen. A grim looking King on his throne on the surface, but Namor was aware of his friendship with Shuri. He could see the hopelessness in his eyes as he learned that the Shuri he knew was gone.  

With just his eyes, Namor tried to convey that there was more he would like to say but couldn't. Feeling a fleeting relief when M’Baku gave the barest hint of a nod. 

“We would like to ask some questions…” The River tribe elder cut in, bringing the attention to himself. He gestured to Shuri who gave him an openly friendly smile. 

“Of course, I’m an open book.”

“What of your Wakanda?”

“Destroyed.”

The lightness in which she said the simple word had everyone pause. As if the meaning of the word had to catch up, just a few steps behind. Namor blinked, carefully studying the way Shuri was sitting, but she didn’t move a single muscle to give anything away. 

He realized that she had mentioned she was trying to find a way to open dimensional portals…and if what she was saying was true then their Shuri... Namor mirrored the way Shuri was sitting across from him. Willing himself to be stone. 

“What- what happened?” M’Kathu asked, finally the first to recover from the entire room’s initial shock. 

Without moving her head, Shuri’s eyes slowly looked to each of the elders in front of her. The friendliness of the smile drained from eyes to leave just her teeth bared. “Greed.”

“Is it possible to get our Shuri back.” M’Baku asked, and Shuri gave him a blank look. “If she took your place as you did hers…do you happen to have any idea of her wellbeing?” 

The room went quiet again, only erupting into a flurry of panicked voices when she responded with that same light tone. “Oh, she’s quite dead I’m sure.”

Namor could only sit in silence as the voices overlapped one another in their need to be heard. Their fear, their uncertainty, their infuriating need to plan for this unforeseen outcome boiling down to an incessant buzzing noise. He understood that in the grand scheme of things the future of Wakanda was to always be made the main focus. 

It was what he did for his own nation. 

Yet all he could do was stare at this Shuri in quiet horror. The soul of him screaming at her for answers. He didn’t believe her. He wouldn’t 

Shuri was not dead. She was not gone.   

It was a truth that he would not let be shaken. 

But he could not stop that miniscule seed of doubt being sown within him as this other Shuri stared at him, waiting to be challenged, her hands still resting calmly in her lap. 

“I suppose this means we should- we should postpone talks of the Challenge day.” 

“In light of what has happened it is imperative we move forward as previously planned.” 

“I hardly think now is the time-” 

“No need to stop your plans on my account.” Despite not even raising her voice to combat against the loud panic of the room, Shuri’s input instantly had their attention. She grinned, spreading her hands to present herself. “I’m still your Shuri in all the ways that matter; her mind, her body.”

“What does that mean?” M’Baku spoke, his voice edged unpleasantly. He had been quiet as the elders had been talking amongst themselves, simply taking everything in. The weight of the situation evident on his tired looking face.

“Oh,” Shuri let out a soft scoff, waving her hand nonchalantly, “this isn’t the time to be coy.” The elders traded weary glances before bringing their focus back to her as she placed a hand on her chest. “The last of the golden tribe, the last of a bloodline that can withstand the poisons of the heart shaped herb? The one who could make more if Wakanda needed it.” 

She lifted a brow, a small smirk playing about her lips when she dropped her hand from her chest to her flat stomach. 

“Or if you prefer me to be more blunt, I can make more heirs. That’s why you married her off, correct?”

No one said a single word to her question, but she hadn’t been waiting for an answer. 

“I am Shuri, and I am staying right here. I-” She stopped abruptly for a curious moment, pinching the bridge of her nose as if she had a slight headache before sitting straight again. Her eyes flashing brightly as she snapped her fingers, “And I would actually love to talk with my husband, Jiya, in regards to my new arrangements.”  

 

---

 

Kang stepped through the small town, dressed in civilian clothing. A simple pair of jeans and a sweater with its hood pulled up to partially cover his face. He wasn’t quite sure where he was at in the world as he simply followed the signal that he kept track of on a small device in his hand that could have been mistaken for a stopwatch. 

It confidently led him through quiet neighborhoods, which led to a semi busy downtown area. A handful of cars, a few buses, and dozens of civilians all trying to rush home for the day. 

It then led him through a park, past a food vendor selling shawarma, which then led him to a row of benches that looked over a small man made lake. 

It finally led him to a single bench where a man was sitting, a half eaten shawarma to his right. So Kang sat to his left. He pushed his hoodie off, showcasing the prominent scar on the right side of his face. 

Shang-Chi let out a low sigh, leaning back into the bench with his arms crossed, the two men continuing to stare out at the lake. “And what do you want?” 

“I’m not one of the Avengers if you're worried about that.” 

“I’m not.” Shang-Chi grabbed the food, rewrapping it before plopping it between them. The outer wrapper was an old piece of newspaper with Kang’s face, scar and all, right on the front of it in black and white. There were bold dramatic black letters underneath his picture asking, ‘Is this the end?’  

The two men finally looked at one another, quietly assessing. 

“Besides, I remember fighting a big group of you.” 

“Remember?” 

Shang-Chi looked back out to the lake, waiting as a young couple walked past them. He watched them with little interest before glancing at Kang again. “Just…glimpses. They aren’t my memories though.” 

“Ah, a bleed in effect I'm sure.” Kang’s eyes dropped to the other man’s wrists, his fingers itching to look at the fabled rings, but they were currently covered by the thick jacket Shang-Chi was wearing. 

“How did you find me?” 

“Variants,” He gestured vaguely to Shang-Chi. “Such as yourself, give off a particular signature. Like a foreign entity in one’s bloodstream. I was able to create a device to easily locate those signatures.” 

“Ah.” 

“And you also landed whatever airship you stole rather poorly just outside of town.” 

At this Shang-Chi smoothly stood up, grabbing his leftover food and tossing it into the trash. “This was just a pit stop before I moved on.” He moved to walk away from Kang, but the next words that came out of Kang’s mouth froze him completely. 

“Both your mother and father are dead in this universe.” 

Slowly, Shang-Chi turned his head to look at the man who was still sitting down. Leaning back casually on the bench with a cheshire cat-like grin. “You’re lying.” 

“It’s true. I read up on where you came from. Mother dead, as she is in most worlds,” At this admission, Shang-Chi flinched but Kang continued. “But your father is still living. You lived in a version where your father trained you into one of the most deadliest assassins known to mankind. However I’m guessing the rings are new to you.” 

There was a long pause, Shang-Chi looking confused but cautious. Yet there was the barest hint of interest in his eyes. “I’ve never seen them before, but I understood how to use them.” 

“Yes. Another bleed in effect, I assume.” Kang let out an irritated sigh, but he kept his tone light when he admitted. “And an old invention by one of my many variants that had been stolen centuries ago.” 

Shang-Chi turned back to look at him fully now, tilting his head as he asked. “You never did answer what you wanted.” 

A group of children screeched with laughter nearby, surprising a flock of birds into a frantic flight that swooped right past and in between the two men. Their eyes never breaking away from the other. When the disturbance of birds finally passed, Kang leaned back spreading both arms along the back of the bench and stretching out his legs to cross them at the ankle.

“Why you of course. I thought we could strike a deal.” 

“And let me guess. You want these back?” He lifted up an arm that was still covered, but the bangles clinked just underneath it. 

There was a flash of greed that crossed Kang’s face momentarily, but it left just as quick and he instead Kang gave a small shrug. He waved his hand toward them magnanimously. “Keep them, as an incentive. I just need you to work for me. To act as muscle, so you’ll probably need those rings anyway.” 

“What do I get in return?” 

“A safe place you could call home. A place you can finally be at peace in.” Kang paused, watching a cautious hopeful look flit through Shang-Chi’s eyes. He knew the hook had been snagged, and all he had to do was reel him in. “I can give you world where your mother is alive and your father is dead.” 

Chapter 13: Promises and Deals

The King ended the small private meeting, his eyes holding Namors for a moment to silently communicate that they would speak soon. Namor made no move to acknowledge it and instead turned his attention to the others. The group left with a vague sense of unease that clung to them tightly, unable to be shaken loose. Each of the Elders took a last look at the woman who was and wasn’t their Princess as they left the room. And she simply gave them a pleasant smile and a wave of fingers back at them, leaving them even more confused. 

M’Baku did not leave his throne, speaking in hushed tones with Ayo as the others left. 

And Namor never took his eyes off of Shuri. 

The stillness of her only disrupted by the barest breath, and an occasional slow blink as she watched the room empty. She waited until M’Kathu was the last to leave, trailing after him since he had promised to bring her husband to her. 

Once she stood, so did Namor, mirroring her movements in hopes to speak with her. He had questions he wanted to ask her privately. To study her face when she gave her answer. 

“Princess.” He breathed out softly, getting her attention just as she walked out the door. She turned back smoothly, a wide grin on her face as if she had expected him to follow her. 

“So formal now.” Shuri teased, biting her lip to keep from laughing in his face.  

On the surface he remained as placid as a lake. Underneath his cloak however, Namor gripped a hand into a tight fist, his nails digging into the flesh of his palm. His eyes flicked to the side, seeing that Jiya was on his way to them, but was stopped by M’Kathu. No doubt to fill him in on what had happened to his wife . “Is Jiya familiar to you?” 

“Not at all.” She tilted her head to the side as she lifted a hand up to pinch the bridge of her nose. “Memories that aren’t mine have been coming and going, but they’re all…jumbled and out of order. Like a dream. Or to be blunt, more like a headache. Annoying but helpful.” 

Namor filed that information away for later. His gut twisting instinctively at its implications. He would need to move fast…and discreetly. But he had to ask her one last thing. A question that was corroading its way through him. “Why say that…this world’s Shuri is dead?” 

The air stilled between them, a small palpable tension rising as Shuri studied him carefully. A risk he realized that was unfortunately necessary. As he tried to gain insights from her, she was doing the exact same thing to him. She took a lazy glance back to see that Jiya and M’Kathu were still speaking, then turned back to Namor to take a step closer to him. 

She leaned in, moving her hand to cup it partially around her mouth as if to impart some great big secret. Her nose inches from his. His nails dug deeper until there was a sharp pain. Shuri’s whisper soft words sent an icy chill up Namor’s spine, “Because I was on my way to my execution.” 

It didn’t matter that he knew how to fly. The ground felt like it had been taken from him and he was now falling. Her earlier words when she had first woke clicking into place. 

“Am I dead?”  

Namor had thought it was because she was disoriented but…

The pain in his hand burned ever brighter than before, grounding him. 

No. She is not. 

Memories of the Shuri he knew came in flashes, each one making it harder for him to breathe; the first time he saw her by the river, her delighted curiosity when she saw Talokan’s Satsun, her rage when she revealed her face as the Black Panther, her indifference toward him at council meetings, how lonely she looked on that balcony, her vulnerability when she broke down in his arms- 

Her last words before the battle. She understood him and he understood her. 

She is not. She can not.  

As he stood there frozen, his eyes blankly looking at the woman in front of him. She continued to watch him intently. Leaning back to better look at his face as his jaw clenched tight and his guarded gaze showed a ripple of emotions that he failed to hold back.   

Shuri curled her fingers into a fist, bringing it to her mouth to hide her small smile. 

“Princess?” The deep resonance of Jiya’s tone broke through the tension like a bucket of ice water. 

“Husband.” Shuri said delightedly, startling both men with her display of enthusiasm. Namor mentally shook away the panic to watch the bizarre scene unfold in front of him. She slipped her arm through Jiya’s arm, pressing her side close to his. Acting every bit the devoted lover. “Come. I imagine we have much to discuss.” 

Namor was stuck between feeling nauseous and wanting to break the arm that Shuri was holding onto. Forced to watch how this Shuri freely accepted this man’s touch when before he had seen her flinch from it. The disgust and fear evident on her face. 

He felt just as useless then as he felt now. 

“O-oh?” Jiya was caught off guard just as the rest of the council was, his usual stern demeanor at a complete loss to this much friendlier version of his wife. And he didn’t fight it, allowing himself to be led away down the hall by a smiling Shuri. 

Leaving behind a glowering Namor. 

A very loud part of him was ready to follow them, to throw this man into a watery grave and not caring of the consequences. Namor clenched his jaw tightly, his palm mostly destroyed now. The thread of his control feeling thinner than ever. 

He needed to rest his weary mind to gain some control of it back. He needed to get Shuri back before something irreversible happened. He needed to kill that man before he put his hands on this Shuri. 

Thankfully Ayo had been waiting for him to be alone, making his choice for him.  

“This way.” She murmured low, hidden just to the side. Namor wondered how long she had been standing there. She tilted her head back toward the throne room and with one last glance to the retreating couple, he did not let her repeat herself. 

 

---

 

Namor was unsurprised to find Okoye already there, both her and the King talking quietly amongst themselves. They both turned toward him and Ayo as they got closer, both looking tired yet hopeful. 

“Please tell me you have something good to tell me.” M’Baku spoke first, taking a step toward Namor. The meeting was strange in its informality, all standing close in a corner of the throne room, but due to the circumstances it didn’t really matter.  

“That machine was destroyed, but I have made sure to retrieve the pieces and keep it safe.” 

The King’s shoulders dropped, letting out a long annoyed sigh before asking, “And what use is a broken machine to us?”

“I believe I know someone that may be able to fix it.” Namor looked to Okoye, who stiffened at his sudden attention. “A young American scientist.” 

She let out a soft gasp, understanding exactly who he meant. “Riri Williams?” 

“That little girl.” M’Baku huffed out, crossing his arms. “Do you really think she would be able to fix it?” 

To be perfectly honest, Namor didn’t know if she was the best one for the job, but the most capable one for the task had already purposefully broken the damn thing so here he was. Desperate yet hopeful.

“She made a vibranium detector from scrap metal and inadvertently found my domain that had been hidden for centuries. The scientist has been known to do the impossible. I am sure she is capable.” He glanced to Okoye again. She was the only one he would trust with this part. “If you could retrieve her?” 

“Of course.” 

Her lack of hesitation was a relief. However, Namor knew that this next request might take a little more convincing. He understood how ridiculous he must sound to echo a request that had brought such unrest between the two nations. “And bring her back to Talokan.” It didn’t surprise him to see the instant protest resting at just the tip of her tongue, squaring up her shoulder with a ready argument, but he cut her off before she could, “It would be dangerous to bring her back here .” 

Okoye faltered then, her posture still stiff but she took a moment to take in the unflinching gaze of the Feathered Serpent God. Reading the open weariness that was there. “You think this other Shuri is dangerous?” 

Both Ayo and M’Baku visibly perk up, waiting for Namor’s answer. He had already decided that he would tell everything to them. Yet there was still an uneasiness within him. “Yes. She was the one to destroy the machine in the first place.” The trio looked stunned, as Namor went into more detail of what happened on the Avenger’s compound. Leaving out the parts where she crawled into his lap and ending with, “I did not say it plainly before. I apologize, however…” 

“You did not know how our council would respond.” 

“Yes.” 

M’Baku gave a curt nod in understanding. His eyes looked to the ground as he mulled over the information that had been given. He rubbed a hand over his eyes and past his mouth to tug at his beard. When he finally brought his attention back to Namor, he looked uncomfortable. “So even if Ms. Williams was to fix this device…what if it's true?” 

“True?” Namor echoed back, going numb with the implication of the question. He knew what the King of Wakanda was about to say and he didn’t want to hear it. 

“If our Shuri is dea-”

“She is not.” He snapped with a harsh growl. The sound of his voice was a violent contrast from their earlier hushed tones. Namor quickly took a step back as if he had been physically struck, despite the others standing frozen from his sudden outburst. He took a breath in and tried his best to compose himself, not having meant to let his emotions get the better of him. 

Namor reasoned with himself that he needed rest. The back of the husband and wife walking away from him, coming to the forefront of his mind like a stain. He took another deep breath. In and out. 

The room was thick with the silence that followed. Namor with his eyes cast down while the trio glanced between each other with a curious look. 

Okoye was the first to speak. Her clear tone breaking the tension. “Alright. I will bring her to Talokan then.”  

“And no harm will come to her during her stay.” Namor assured, knowing he would have to go back to Talokan after this to prepare for the scientist's return. “However, since you and Shuri are so close, I would advise that you be careful around her. If you could manage to do this without you doing it yourself then choose that route.” 

At this Okoye looked momentarily unsettled. She had not seen this new Shuri yet, but Namor was sure that once she did she would understand his reason for caution. This Shuri was waiting for them to make a mistake, to let down their guard. He had no doubt that she would take advantage of someone she once considered a sister. 

Okoye rubbed her arm in her uncertainty but gave Namor a small nod. With that cleared the smaller private meeting was over, the King and his general leaving the room first.  

Just as Okoye was about to follow after them, Namor stopped her the second they were alone.  

“There is one other thing I would like to discuss with you.”  

 

---

 

Girlish giggles echoed throughout the room as a still stunned Jiya lay beneath his wife. Showering him with an affection that he never thought possible from her. He wasn’t even sure how it even got to them being on the bed, her lips and hands wandering the expanse of his clothed body. 

Yet she always managed to push his hands away when he tried to join in their play. Giving him a teasing smile that was beginning to make him go heady. 

She firmly sat in his laps, straddling him as her teeth bit at his earlobe. “Will you help me?” Shuri rasped, a hand straying beneath his shirt to scratch light marks into his skin. 

“Help you?” He asked dazedly, moving his hands down her hips to her covered thighs, hoping to wrench up the dress she was wearing, but she stopped him again. Wiggling her hips enticingly against him and earning a startled gasp. 

“My Wakanda has left me weary, I just want to feel protected.” Shuri pushed herself up, pulling his hands away to hold them above his head. She then leaned down to whisper against his lips before biting the bottom one hard. “I crave it. Convince the Elders to continue with Challenge day.” 

That cleared the fog in his mind, and he stilled to look at her. Straining his wrists against her suddenly tight hold. “You want to continue with Challenge day?”

Shuri hummed, bringing her lips down to his throat, giving him small bites and licks that left him breathless. “What’s important is the throne and mantle. For someone more suitable to attain both.” She moved her face to lock her gaze back to his, giving him a pointed look. “Correct?” 

Jiya swallowed, her small writhing body against his feeling impossibly good. Her fingernails dragged down his arms, releasing him to explore his body again. He struggled to get his next question out, his mind finding it hard to care next to her attentions. “And…you do not want it?”

They were in their marital room, the one they were to share on their wedding night. It was strange to Jiya how much different this Shuri was compared to the one that he married. Her body and words a liquid honey that he wanted to bathe in. 

His wife sat up straight in his lap, trailing her hand from between her breasts to her stomach with a slow deliberate motion. Her eyes half closed and wickedly dark. “The golden tribe can still be continued through me.” Her hand trailed lower between the junction of her legs, to where he was hard just beneath her, palming him through his pants with a rough hand. “Through us. What more could I want?” Shuri continued to move her hand along his length, bending her head submissively to press her teeth to his throat. “Say yes. Tell me you’ll help me. Protect me.”

There was a warning in the back of his mind, resting just beyond his reach as Shuri continued to show him the possibility that rested between them. Her soft words resonated within him. Pushing him further than all common sense. 

Because she was telling him everything that he wanted to hear from her. 

This Shuri could give him exactly what he wanted. All he had to do was-

“Yes. I’ll help you…” Jiya shuddered from her touch. Unable to hold back any longer he surged upward, pulling her tightly against him to kiss her fully on the mouth. 

Shuri allowed it for exactly one second before he was wrenched away. A single hand pressing into the middle of his chest to force him back down on the bed. His strength nothing compared to that of the Black Panther. Her eyes lit up as she smirked down at him beneath her. “Good.” 

And then she slipped off of him, her hands trailing to touch him intimately a moment more before completely taking all of her affection away. Her touch and words lingered and snagged, causing Jiya to look at his wife in awe. 

“Then make sure to win, husband. I only bed Kings .” 

 

---

 

It took time, the device showing a flickering dot, as if the person he was following was dipping in and out of existence, but thankfully the target barely moved. The majority of the journey had to be done with a pod. The road was a steep and treacherous one that no normal man could make it by foot. Kang’s pod visibly materialized just outside of a cave, and he crossed from the comfort of his portable throne to the cold frozen floor.  

For this journey he made sure to dress appropriately, his cloak lined in fur. He peered into the cave, curious by its particular darkness. It wasn’t just that it was pitch black, but it appeared the light itself could not pierce it. Kang reached a hand forward, watching as it disappeared from the wrist as if it had submerged into murky water. 

“Knock knock.” Kang murmured softly, amused as the darkness rippled and parted for him. It looked like simply being polite still apparently counted for something. He took a step into the cave, still dark, but when he held a light up from his wrist he was able to look around. It was smallish in size, just a shallow crevice to safely hide from the outside elements. 

Meaning it did not take long to find what he was looking for.  

Strange sat  directly in the middle of the small cave, floating several inches above the ground with his legs crossed and his elbows resting on his knees, hands upturned. His face twitched unnaturally, looking more like a nightmare as afterimages of different faces flickered across his features. At one moment his brows are furrowed and strained. 

In another instance he looked to be on the verge of laughing.

“I must give you my compliments for holding on for so long. I did not think it possible.” Kang crouched down to one knee, studying the Doctor’s face with rapt attention. “The creator of the weapon who changed you would have been disappointed.”

A low moan sounded within the walls of the cave. Strange gritted his teeth, opening his eyes slowly to glare at the man sitting just below him. 

“How long has it been since you slept?”

Strange flinched, closing his eyes again as a line appeared on his forehead. Opening to reveal a third eye. It stared at him as a raspy voice spoke from the darkness itself. “And who would you be?”

Kang looked delighted, knowing full well that this was the Strange he needed to be talking to. “A potential for the impossible. Or, maybe to put it more simply…a business man.” 

“So you want to make a deal with me then?”

“Of course.”

The darkness pulsated as Strange’s third eye closed for a moment. His body twitching and his features twisting, before they settled and his third eye opened again. Beads of sweat dripped from his neck into the collar of his cape from the effort. “And what exactly is your deal?”

“Help me break into Kamar Taj.”

“NO!” Strange’s eyes snapped open to look straight at Kang. 

It was a mistake. 

Again the darkness pulsated along the walls, but then it rushed into Strange, shoving under his clothes and cape. Contorting his body until everything snapped into place. With the darkness back to where it belonged, the cave looked brighter now, the natural light from the outside pouring in. It was bright enough now for Kang to turn off the light he had brought with him.  

Strange let out a long relaxed sigh, standing up onto his feet as if he was made of liquid. All of his eyes trained placidly on Kang now. “There we are.”

“So he’s gone then?” Kang asked, not scared and still rather curious with how differently this man’s mind worked. He stood along with Strange as he stood. 

“Not quite. Holed himself into a room within his own mind, one of his making. Locked tight. No way in,” Strange looked briefly annoyed by this, then let it go with a slight shrug, “but no way out. So where were we? Ah- Yes. Kamar Taj. I was going there either way, but what was it that you needed?” He asked in such a nonchalant way that it sounded as if he were simply going to pick up a few things from the store.  

“A girl.”  

“Hmm…” His hum came out more like a hiss, “And what could you possibly give me for that?” 

“The Darkhold.” 

Any trace of boredom or amusement that had been on the Doctor’s face, bled away so quickly that it chilled Kang, making him aware how precarious of a position he was in. “That was destroyed .” He rasped, his patience nearly gone. “I’ve already sifted through enough of this one’s memories to know that much.”

“You’re able to do that so soon? Fascinating.”

Strange’s lips curled into a sneer, a hand lifting ominously toward the man in his way. “Thank you, but if that was all then-”

Kang held up hand calmly. “Not quite.” The phrase thrown back at Strange paused him enough to look somewhat amused again, waiting for Kang to continue. “I can bring it back. Pluck it from a time before it was destroyed.” 

“Ah. Well.” Strange’s eyes widened, a grin splitting his face. “ Now you have my attention.”

Notes:

The Darkhold was a forbidden(evil) magical tomb that was destroyed in the MCU. Don't really need to know anything more about it other than that.

Also...sorry for Juri moment o_O

Chapter 14: Challenge Day

The brightness of the day, clear blue skies and warm sun overhead, fueled the excitement that electrified the very air. It brought a rush to one's senses that would have been fascinating to Namor, watching as this nation was alive within this tradition that had been passed down for generations. 

But he could not shake the tension that was coiling just under his skin. 

He could taste the warning in the spray of waterfall that splashed onto the rocks nearest to him. It was a curious thing to see the force of the waterfall redirected to create this unique space for warriors to fight. His eyes took in the sight of the hundreds of Wakandans that stood along the rockface, chanting and swaying to the beating drums. Faces painted and bodies dressed in colors to represent the different tribes. 

Although the atmosphere sang of joy, Namor could read uncertainty in the tribal elders with the truth they had decided to keep hidden from their people. He could read the open worry behind M’Baku’s eyes. The King raised his rounded staff, his weapon of choice, high above him. At least from a distance the crowd could only see the proud stern looking M’Baku. 

Namor stood stiffly in the water nearest the edge and away from the center, Namora and a few of his warriors there to represent Talokan. 

Guests to witness Wakanda’s Challenge day. 

 

---

 

Several days prior

“You’re joking.” M'Baku had asked with a neutral tone, careful not to look toward Shuri who sat primly to his right. Stripes of gold paint just under her eyes and lips. She looked the picture of innocence as she glanced between the King and M'Kathu, her husband standing just behind his Elder. 

“We are not. We have decided, along with the princess, that we should proceed with what we had originally planned.” The rest of the council shifted in their seats looking simultaneously uneasy yet resolute in the decision. 

M'Baku scoffed softly, “The princess? She is-” 

“-Still the Princess of Wakanda is she not? What has happened to her has only proven to me…” M'Kathu gestured to the others, purposefully excluding Namor, “to us that we need to move forward.” 

With the slight drop in M'Baku's shoulders, Namor knew that there wouldn't be much that the King of Wakanda could do to stop this. Namor wondered if he could put pressure on the council if he were to imply their alliance being in danger if leadership were to change, but he knew, by the way Jiya was staring at him, so openly with his contempt, that it would not stop what was happening. 

So instead he turned his gaze to this other Shuri, and watched her innocence transform into something more wicked with the slight curve of her lips. 

 

---

 

“It's been a long time, Namora. I've missed you.” Shuri appeared in front of Namor and his entourage, bringing him back to the present. “Well technically a long time for me anyway.”

It had taken both Namor and his general several seconds to realize that she had been speaking Maya. Not because of it sounding foreign on her tongue, but because of how naturally she spoke it. Namor was unsure if it was taken from this universes Shuri's knowledge or because this new Shuri knew it fluently before now. 

He was under the impression that it was the latter. 

Namora gave Namor a wary look, communicating her unease with this whole situation with one glance, before simply nodding her head at the Shuri before her. 

“Hmm…and where is Attuma?” She turned to ask Namor. 

His stomach swooped uncomfortably but he gave no outward appearance of unease as he smoothly responded with, “I must leave either him or Namora behind in Talokan to lead in my stead.”

“Of course.” Shuri looked about to continue their conversation, but she turned her head to the side just as a Shaman called for a challenger for the throne. Challenge day officially beginning now. “Ah. Excuse me.” She tossed a grin toward Namor as she walked away, “and wish me luck.” 

“Luck-?” He echoed, asking a question he already knew the answer to. 

“The Golden tribe shall challenge you today!” Shuri called out, deepening her tone to allow her voice to carry further, silencing even the sounds of nature around them. All heads whipped toward her, stunned at both her interruption and challenge. Her husband looked frozen in mid step as he was ready to accept the King’s challenge, his wooden rhino mask clutched in his hand. 

The other elders gave M’Kathu a worried look as he stepped forward, looking betrayed and angry. “You? You-” He paused, biting back his true response to settle on the obvious, “You still have the heart shaped herb running through your veins.” 

“That shouldn’t be a problem. I had asked the shaman of our sacred garden to prepare the necessary elixir to strip me of Bast’s blessing.” Shuri swept her hand toward the older woman who had been the one to call for a challenger for the throne. A  woman that Namor recognized. 

 

---

 

A few years ago, Shuri had been the first one to approach him, to speak with him civilly when she had barely spoken to him since she had him yielding to her years prior. She had waited for him at the palace’s river entrance, shocking him to stop walking completely when he had seen her just past the doorway.  

He murmured lowly to Namora in their language to go on without him. She looked hesitant to leave them alone since the last time had almost taken her King permanently away from her, but she could not  disobey a direct order and reluctantly left. Saluting Namor first and then throwing a small nod towards Shuri as she passed her to leave through the river that flowed through the room.  

Shuri didn’t speak at first, tearing her gaze away from Namor’s to look down at her hands, nervously fidgeting with one of her golden rings. The silence that settled between them was unbearably thick.   

Namor moved further into the room and placed his spear near the rack of dry cloaks that he kept there at the palace. He took a deep breath through his nose, smelling the clean scent of the river water just a few feet from him. “Was there something you would like to discuss with me, Panther?” 

“Does this room suit your needs?” Her eyes flitted around the room, never once landing on him. 

It bothered him. It had always bothered him that she hadn't looked him in the eyes in years. 

…But he knew why. He understood why…so he would never push. 

Namor watched her profile out of the side of his eye, the room feeling small now as he stood only a few feet from her. The closest he had been to her in a long time. “Yes. The design is remarkable. Yours I presume?”  

“Yes.” 

The silence rushed back in, filling in the space between them. Keeping them stuck in the spots they now stood. Keeping them miles away from one another when they were only at arm's length. 

It was unbearable to be so near to her and to know that things could never be easy between them as it once was. 

He knew. He understood. 

Yet with Shuri everything felt…

He turned to leave, managing one foot down the steps and into the water, his cloak still on in his haste. “I will-” 

“I have something to show you.” She took a step forward as if to follow him, and they stood there frozen again, uncertainty staining both of their movements. Shuri swallowed, Namor eying her throat, only moving his eyes up when he realized she was finally staring at him. Determination burning brightly through her eyes. “If you could follow me?” 

“Of course.” 

Namor blinked at how quickly he had answered her. Not realizing what he had said until seconds after speaking. 

She led and he followed after her, as if she had tied a string around his finger and he was too fearful to let her go too far from him lest the string break and this tentative show of peace between them be lost to him forever. 

Shuri led him out of the palace and into a wooded area that was secluded. The quiet feeling almost sacred. He kept his questions to himself as she walked, his eyes trailing to her shoulders. She wore a purple caplet on top of her form fitting dress, her shoulders peeking out through the small open slits on either side of the fabric.  

It always amazed him to notice how petite she was despite the strength she carried on her small shoulders. A strength that had nothing to do with her powers as the Black Panther. 

She stopped when they reached a clearing, moving to the side to show him the patch of the vibrant flowers that grew there. They were a peculiar color of violet that almost had a blue hue to it the longer one looked at it. And it glowed…almost like- 

“The heart shaped herb. Bast’s blessing to Wakanda.” Shuri’s voice was hushed, her tone somehow not disturbing the quiet around them. 

“Princess?” They both turned to find an older woman in purple and black robes, glancing uneasily toward Namor. 

“Ah. Visola, just give us a moment.” The woman nodded, saluting Shuri with her arms crossed and Shuri returned the gesture, then turned to walk back down the path she had just came down on, a basket held between her hip and arm. Shuri gestured back toward the garden. “Visola used to be a scientist that worked with me in my lab, and is now a shaman in charge of taking care of the garden.” 

“Why are you showing me this?” 

“My cousin had burned down all of our heart shaped herb’s long ago. And I had tried recreating the herb from my brother’s DNA, but I had failed.” She turned her head to look at Namor, and he felt too stunned to move or even breathe. The moment feeling entirely like the time they had spoken just outside of his hut. “I was only able to successfully recreate it because of your gift.” 

Gift? 

Ah.

“My mother’s bracelet.” Namor supplied numbly. “You destroyed it?” 

Shuri widened her eyes briefly at the accusation, “ No- No. I just took a small piece of one of the strands.” 

“...so you kept it?” 

She looked away from him then to look back at the flowers. “The strands held the necessary chemical make up for me to successfully recreate the herb. Which in turn allowed me to become-” 

“The Black Panther.” He could have laughed at how entangled their lives had become. “Why tell me all this?” 

“I don’t know…I just…” 

“You just?” Namor encouraged gently, wanting to know what she was thinking. 

Shuri shook her head, and he could feel her pulling away from him, putting back that familiar wall placed between them. “We should leave. We disrupted Visola’s work long enough.” 

 

---

 

Visola looked uncomfortable from the shift in mood, a wooden bowl in her hand holding a dark purple liquid. Everything was at a standstill as Shuri, M’Kathu, and M’Baku stared at one another to see who would move first. The two men could do nothing to openly protest as they had thought it wise to keep the change within Shuri a secret from Wakanda’s people to not cause any unnecessary panic. 

Shuri gave a small smirk to their inaction and finally moved, taking the bowl from Visola and drank the dark liquid until the very last drop. She tensed briefly, black veins barely visible under her dark skin decorated her bare arms and along her jaw line right above the high stack of her necklaces before disappearing.  

“They can strip away their powers so easily?” Namora’s whispered words were unable to hide the alarm within them. 

Namor couldn’t answer, stunned as he watched Shuri move to the middle of the shallow pool to stand across from M’baku with a spear in one hand, her other hand sliding on a wooden panther mask. She readied herself, lowering her stance and raising her spear toward M’Baku. 

The way she held the spear reminded Namor of how they had first met, and suddenly her clothes looked too thin, her form too slight compared to the much larger M’Baku. Not that Namor had ever thought of her as weak, but knowing that this body was taken over made everything feel more precarious.

What if they brought Shuri back to a broken body?

“I will not be easy on you, girl.” M’Baku's voice rough with reluctance as he slipped his own wooden mask on. The likeness of an enraged ape detailing the surface. 

Soft laughter echoed underneath Shuri's mask. “I'm counting on it.”

Namor glanced up as the crowd began chanting again, infusing the air with its earlier electricity, unaware of the turmoil below. The Dora Milaje lifted their spears and surrounded the two fighters to create a barrier, shrinking the already small arena into something even smaller.

The King of Wakanda attacked first, keeping to his word as he slammed his rounded staff down with a power that could crush bone if it connected, but Shuri wisely kept her distance. Her speed keeping her just out of M’Baku’s long reach.   

She weaved her way through the attacks, water spiking gracefully around the two warriors as they danced around the other. M’Baku swung down as Shuri moved like liquid to avoid. Then she bowed her head low to the water as he arched his staff horizontally, whistling over her head. 

Their quick fluid movements had the crowd calling out to them, encouraging them, but Namor kept his lips pressed into a grim line. His eyes taking in every detail of their movements. 

M’Baku’s strong and devastating style was one very familiar to Namor, but Shuri’s movement was what gave him pause. The way Shuri had fought before was precise and agile, which this Shuri was too, but there was something more sinuous to her movements. Almost as if- 

A large resounding crack broke Namor out of his thoughts, his body seizing painfully as he watched M’Baku’s attack finally connect. The sound coming from his staff glancing violently off of Shuri’s mask. She took a few quick steps back, shaking her head to let loose some shards of broken wood to fall off, but the mask held firm. 

When she looked up there was a large jagged break on the left side of her mask, making her left eye more visible.  

M’Baku froze for a moment, not having expected to have connected a hit. He recovered his stance though when he saw Shuri drop back into hers, moving in to attack her again. Hoping to  end the fight soon, and felt a sense of relief when he got another hit in. This time breaking her guard as she lifted up her spear to block him. 

The hit snapped the wooden part of the spear in two and the crowd called out again, split amongst who they were cheering for. 

Despite the King currently having the upperhand, Namor noticed something unsettling after the spear broke. Shuri’s graceful movements through the water had not faltered once. Not even when she was hit. He also noticed she had not even bothered to attack M’Baku as she basically danced around him. 

She’s playing with him. Namor realized with a chilling clarity, watching as she spun the broken pieces of spear in either hand, possessing two weapons instead of one now. 

Shuri only attacked once M’Baku’s back was to the edge of the waterfall. She was fast, slipping in and out of M’Baku’s reach with ease, and bashing or cutting sensitive areas of his wrists and ankles. The cuts were shallow but they were precise, no one realizing what she was doing until it was too late. 

M’Baku dropped his weapon from his nerveless fingers, too shocked to really process what was happening to him. He tried to grip onto it before it fell but the burning cuts in his arms prevented him from doing so. And then he realized he could no longer stand after Shuri had swiped the blade of her spear across the back of his knees and ankles. 

He stumbled back several steps before forcing himself to fall to his knees when he noticed how close to the edge he was. The force of the fall knocked his mask off of his face, plopping into the water next to him to then follow the current of the water to fall to the rapid river below. 

The crowd went deathly quiet then, everyone holding their breath from the turn of events. At one point their King had had a clear victory, to suddenly now be on his knees in front of the princess. A hair’s breadth from falling off Warrior falls.  

The King watched as Shuri stooped low, trading her weapons to scoop up the staff he had dropped only seconds before. She slowly moved through the water closer to him, and lifted the rounded side of the staff to press into his chest with enough pressure that he had to clench his stomach tightly to keep from falling. His arms and legs practically useless now. 

He watched the stranger before him that was once a close friend, a friend that he considered to be a younger sister to him who now looked at him with contempt through the large crack of her wooden mask. 

“Do you yield, King ?” She spat the last word at him as if it displeased her to address him as such. 

From a distance, Namor could read the heartbroken look on M’Baku’s face. Watched as his lips parted to answer her-

Then watched in horror, along with the rest of the crowd, as Shuri pressed the staff forward and pushed the King of Wakanda off of the cliff.  

There was no sound after that. Not a scream from the fallen King as he fell to his death, nor from the crowd that had been cheering for them only seconds ago.  

Jiya was the first to move, pushing past the stunned Dora Milaje that had surrounded M’Baku and Shuri during their fight, to get to the edge of the cliff to look down. Seeing nothing but the spray of water and the distance below. He slowly looked to Shuri who was already staring at him, the giggling woman he had promised to protect gone now as her visible eye looked at him wide and feral. 

“Next?” 

Before Jiya could respond to her a loud, echoing clap sounded out across Warrior falls. It pulled everyone’s attention to a single spot just beyond the waterfalls, but nothing was there. Nothing visible until a single large pod decloaked to reveal itself floating just in front of the edge M’Baku had fallen off of. 

The pod opened to show Kang lounging in a chair within the craft, his hands still coming together in a slow clap, offering a warm smile toward Shuri. He stood up smoothly from his seat and casually walked from pod to cliff. 

 The Dora Milaje instantly took one step toward him, spears ready to fight the intruder. 

“I’ve simply come to talk, your highness.” Kang didn’t even bother to look at the warriors who looked seconds away from killing him, and kept his gaze on Shuri. 

She tilted her head at him, looking him over before holding up a hand to the Dora to put their weapons down to which they reluctantly complied. Even Namor had to hold out his hand to the tense Talokanil that stood near him. Shuri took her mask off and tossed it into the water behind her to properly look Kang in the face. “And what would you like to talk about?”

“A deal, protection of a sort.”

“Do you threaten Wakanda?” Shuri’s tone was edged with enough warning that the Dora Milaje tensed again into a fighting stance. This time Kang glanced at the other woman, then toward the many Wakandans that decorated the cliff side. 

“Not so directly, but I do offer you protection for your throne. A-” He squinted his eyes and twirled his hand around as he tried to think of another word. “-a precaution really.” Shuri lifted a single brow at him but remained silent, allowing for him to continue. “You have been having memories come and go, but not all of them I imagine- and to be frank you probably won't get all of them.”

“And I’m guessing there’s a particular memory you would like to discuss with me?” 

Kang leaned in close to her, keeping his hands strictly behind his back but everyone tensed at his proximity. Namor’s spear creaked under his hold as he watched them, his wings twitching agitatedly. Their conversation had been kept low and would have been impossible to hear from this distance, but his ears could pick up their voices as if they were next to him. So he could hear Kang's whispered words which felt like lead in his stomach. 

“Your late brother’s heir, your nephew’s exact location.” 

Shuri allowed only a slow blink to pass, moving only her eyes to look at him as he took a step back. “And what do you want for such information?” 

“A favor. I’m sure this dimension’s Shuri has done something to my machine, but we haven’t been able to figure out what exactly yet-” Kang paused, and for a moment Namor could see the old Shuri standing before him. Her delighted eyes looked at Kang with a teasing challenge that said ‘You wouldn’t’.  

A flash of irritation flitted across Kang’s features and Namor could tell how greatly Shuri bothered him. 

Kang pushed his irritation to the side and replaced it with a more business-like smile. Cold and empty. “I simply would like for your help to undo what she has done if that's to be the case.” 

He doesn’t want her going near the machine again. Namor realized in surprise. Because why wouldn’t he just ask her to look at the machine now? They were two technological geniuses standing across from one another. Two egos pushing against the other in a way that unsettled instead of complimented.  

Simply put, Kang did not like her. 

And Shuri appeared to thrive on it, the smallest smile curving her lips when his irritation had slipped through.  

“Well?” He persisted when she did not give him an immediate response. 

“Well…” Shuri sighed, crossing her arms and flicking her eyes from her husband, who still stood at the edge of the cliff, then back to Kang. “I am tired of all this fighting for the throne. ” 

“I see.” Holding her steady gaze, Kang lifted a gloved hand that was fitted with a purple gauntlet toward Jiya. It glowed purple briefly and shot out a small blast that forced Jiya several feet back, his surprised shout the last thing to be heard before he disappeared down the falls below to join Wakanda’s now late King. 

 

Chapter 15: Ghosts and Memories

---

 

Blue and purple lights swirled above her, streaking the near night sky with a soft glow. The ancestral plane stretched far, bordered by dark mountains. It was spotted here and there with trees that were spotted here and there with glowing eyes. Shuri sat up, dusting off the layer of frost that was on top of her, almost blending with her white dress. Around her was a small scattering of snow, but no further. 

Movement brought Shuri’s attention to the figure of Ramonda, all dressed in whites that glimmered brightly like the stars above them. Her face a mask of disbelief. There was a long stretch of silence between them, two strangers yet not. 

“Ah.” Shuri let out a long sigh before standing up to face Wakanda’s former Queen. Looking down at her left hand and prodding around the wrist boredly. “I thought maybe I would see my mother. Should have known better.” 

“No matter what universe, you are my daughter.” Ramonda said firmly, knowing this to be true, but she still felt uneasy. She had been watching this…version of her daughter. A version that was all cunning and no compassion. A version of her daughter that wore her rage on her skin. It frightened Ramonda. 

Silence stretched between them again, Shuri intently studying Ramonda before speaking. Her eyes widening a fraction as if she realized something.   

“What is it, mother? Have you been unhappy with my methods? Have an unwanted opinion to share with me?” She stepped around Ramonda with a slow gait. Predatory. Her eyes glinted with an emotion that made her look unhinged. Each question making Shuri’s shoulders rise with each breath she took.  “Do you not trust me like you did not trust your daughter?” 

“I trust-” 

“But you didn’t. Not really. Not when it mattered. You don’t listen to anyone but your own counsel.” Shuri stopped her slow trek around Ramonda, staring her dead in the eye.“You’ve never listened to me, trusted me to make my own decisions. To make my own plans.” 

Ramonda knew she wasn’t really talking to her personally, reading the deep seeded hurt, but this Shuri’s words still had an uncomfortable bite to them that snagged. She opted for gentleness in an attempt to keep her calm, yet she couldn’t help but stand a little straighter. To simultaneously stand her ground and lean away from Shuri. “What is it exactly that you’re planning? What do you want?” 

Shuri blinked and looked away from her then, breaking the intensity of her gaze. “A throne. Everyone else wanted it. So why not?” She shrugged. 

Confusion furrowed Ramonda’s brow. “...but why?” Her daughter had shown little interest in such a thing, making it hard for Ramonda to believe that any version of her would.

“To be in a position that no one would be able to touch me. To better protect myself.” She moved closer to Ramonda, slipping her arms around her mother’s neck to pull her in for a hug, but it gave neither of them comfort. “I will show this world the power of Wakanda. And I will show Wakanda the power of me.” 

“Shuri-” 

“I’ve missed you, mother. I really have, but I have to go. Don’t worry though. I'll send someone to keep you company since you won’t get to have your own daughter here with you.”

Alarm lanced through Ramonda at the implication of this Shuri’s words. She did something that she thought she would never do, and wrenched herself away from her daughter’s embrace. Despite already being dead, an icy curl of dread crawled up Ramonda’s spine as she looked at this stranger in front of her. 

A pleasant smile, barbed and calm, graced Shuri’s features. A smile that didn’t reach the stone of her eyes. 

“I wasn’t sure who he was and I honestly thought it was an old memory of a childhood friend. It was strange to remember this smiling little boy, but thankfully Kang shed some light on who he was.” Shuri's smile slowly got wider. “Funny. My brother didn’t leave anything interesting behind. He just up and died, leaving only a paranoid mother and a broken sister behind.”  

Ramonda surged forward, grabbing onto Shuri’s arms. Unable to hear the lack of compassion in her voice any longer. “Don’t do this. Please think about this, daughter-”

“But I have thought about it, mother . For a long time now, I have thought about this. If I were to start over again, to undo the mistakes I’ve made. I thought of all the things I would do.” She grinned large and wide and Ramonda felt her heart break. 

Ramonda could see that her daughter, who wasn’t her daughter, was shattered and pieced back together in such a way that the broken edges where shifted outward to cut. 

 

---

 

It was a week when the new Queen of Wakanda met with the council. And unbearable tension grew as they waited for her word and were ignored when they attempted any type of meeting with her privately  

For a week she had kept to herself. 

And for a week Namor had tried to plan and prepare behind her back, to do what he could and to steel himself against a danger he knew to be coming. He could feel it like a storm rolling in from the distance, how the moisture in the air became thick and electric. As he sat in his appointed chair, Namora at his side, he sent out a silent prayer. 

Chaac, allow the seeds I have planted to bear fruit.  

Namor let out a slow breath before taking a deep breath in.  

…Bast, please keep Shuri safe. 

The doors opened and the new Queen slid through with an easy confidence that stunned the council mute. Her makeup had accents of gold, matching the jewelry in her hair and on her wrist. The Panther habit resting comfortably around her throat. She wore a stiff long sleeved black dress that hugged her slight form.

Shuri sat down on the throne, her Dora standing just behind her. 

What furthered the stunned silence was the fact that Okoye stood next to Shuri, reinstated as Dora Milaje. Namor could read in the faces of the Wakandan elders that this was an unexpected development. When Shuri was not looking, as she sat down on her throne, Okoye spared one glance toward Namor. Her eyes were expressive in that one second before shuttering shut. A brief message to Namor. 

She was scared…and distraught. 

The first to break the tension was, of course, the border tribe. But considering what had happened during Challenge day it could have only been M’Kathu to speak first.

“We have not seen you in an entire week.”

“I was quite busy.” Shuri smiled up at Okoye briefly, whose jaw clenched tightly in response. “I apologize for the delay, no disrespect was meant.”

“The mantle-” 

“Has already been taken care of. I have already taken the herb. No need for anyone to be there.” 

Namor’s brow creased at the information. From both his mother’s stories about Chaac’s gift and Shuri’s explanation of the heart shaped herb, the herb itself momentarily killed its drinker. Then the God’s, Chaac and Bast respectively, would bring you back stronger. Changed. 

She would risk that? 

Alone?

M’Kathu’s voice barreled through Namor’s thoughts. “And you expect us to call you queen after that- after-”

“You can call me ‘King’ if you like.” She perked up, looking delighted by her own offer. 

The elder of the border tribe looked deeply offended by this and Shuri just rolled her eyes. Letting out a soft sigh as if she was dealing with a child and not a man several decades older than her. 

“You needed my position against the King- I apologize, former king , in order to have your challenge day…A bit late to change your mind now,” Shuri waved a hand around her self in an arc as she leaned on one armrest of the throne, “just because you are unhappy with the results.” 

M’Kathu, or rather, the entire council looked uncomfortable at this. He cleared his throat and attempted another direction in the conversation. “…your husband-”

“Was unfortunately murdered by Kang.” She shrugged a single shoulder, sounding completely unmoved by the fact that she was now a widow. No one else but Namor himself knew what had really happened. “I am thankful that we had come to an agreement to keep him from hurting the rest of Wakanda, but he is a problem I will find a solution to. Do not worry, I will protect Wakanda.” 

A side door opened to where General Ayo walked into the room, she saluted the new Queen, her expression carefully neutral. Shuri sat up, her eyes alight with interest. She lifted a hand to signal for Ayo to proceed. 

“And to prove to you that I mean to keep my promises…”

Behind the general were two palace guards, and between them there was a woman with her arms tied behind her back and a bag on her head. They brought her to the center of the room and were dismissed by the Queen as she began to pace around the masked woman who stood very still. 

“This mask has been designed so she won’t hear us while it's on. I brought myself up to speed on what is happening within Wakanda since I have arrived here, and took the liberty of helping with one of Okoye’s ongoing missions.”  

Namor flicked his eyes to Okoye, but she gave nothing away. 

“In my universe this woman was an issue as well. More than an issue. Her weapon of choice is poison in your cup instead of a knife at your throat. It’s better to cut the head off of the snake now rather than later. Trust me.” She stopped walking around the woman, grabbed the hood and whipped it off of her with a flick of her wrist, dropping it to the ground carelessly. “Miss Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. You are here to answer for the crime of conspiring to undermine this country for your own selfish gain.”  

The middle aged woman squinted from the sudden light and sound, but the moment she adjusted to her surroundings her sharp eyes took in everything with a quickness that Namor noticed. Just in the way that she calmly adjusted, Namor could see the potential problem of this woman.

A potential that was going to be coming up short this time. 

“If you think you can just take an American Government official on false claims without any consequences. Then you are more naive than I thought Princess Shuri.” 

“ Queen Shuri.” 

“Whoa, Queen huh? Good for you.”

“Yes. It is. And while you live you will show me respect.” 

Valentina blinked, and then promptly scoffed. “You can't be serious. A little advice. Making empty threats is never the way to go.” 

The room went tense, having the prior  knowledge of what this version of Shuri was capable of. The elders had been mostly quiet up to this point, but the elder from the river tribe stood to finally ask, “What proof do you have in regards to your claims?” 

Shuri called upon various screens to pop up, showing documents, video footage, voice recordings, and photos. A muscle in Valentina’s jaw ticked as she took in the evidence against her. “Once you have a moment please look through these files that will of course be sent your way. I have already confirmed with Okoye of their validity. I just thought to streamline the process.” 

She swiped the videos and brought up one last image. A live video feed of a large residence, a yellow blinking light at the center. The Queen smiled pleasantly as she presented it to the other woman.

“Do you know what this is?” 

“My house.” A sarcastic bite to her tone that only made the tension thicker. Valentina still completely unaware of the murky waters she was wading through. 

“Your tracking device. The one that you thought was well hidden in the incision just behind your ear.” 

All earlier bravado and nonchalance drained from Valentina’s face, her skin grown pale. 

“Don’t worry. We’ll put you back where we found you.” 

Valentina blinked, tilting her head as she better looked at Shuri. Confusion slowly creeped into her eyes. “You’re not a murderer.”  

A flash of M’Baku falling off the cliff had Namor pressing his lips into a firm line. 

“Murder isn’t really that big of a deal. Everyone always leaves it to being an issue of one's morality when that’s not the issue at all. In reality it’s whether someone has the conviction to do what needs to be done.” 

“The physical act of killing isn’t that hard either. The throat is so very vulnerable and quite messy. You will feel it and you will know you are dying, because it will not be quick enough …but quick enough that it will be hard to reverse it once it's done.” 

Then without any warning Shuri whipped her arm out and slashed it across Valentina’s throat. A spray of blood flung to the floor from the violent movement. 

Unable to lift her hands, Valentina inexplicably looked down. As if she could see the jagged slash marks on her neck if she only moved her eyes down. All Namor could see was the deep color of red, flow down her neck and seep into her shirt. There was an awkward slow fall to the ground as Valentina died, kneeled before the new Queen to a country she had once sought to destroy. 

Shuri crouched down along with her to watch the exact moment she died, staring at her with little to no interest. The bloodied panther claw retreating back into the dress. “Hmm…quite messy.” 

After several seconds, Shuri stood to bring her attention back to the council. Giving them each a slow, measured look, “I will protect Wakanda from all of our enemies, either they be outside or within . I can promise you that as a Queen who has learned both from her mistakes and from the betrayal of others.” She took her time to look at each Elder before finally looking at Namor. It made him realize that she had not stared at him once until right then, “I plan on protecting what is mine.”  

Shuri allowed for a single beat of silence to hang in the air. Making her words tangible. 

“I believe that will conclude our meeting.”  

The stunned group within the room exchanged looks but no one spoke a word. Namor could see the words, pressed against their lips in want of release, but not a single one dared to speak. Instead they stood and began to shuffle toward the open doors of the throne room. 

“Aj K’uk’ulkan.” The Queen called out softly, but the entire council paused, watching the two with interest but Shuri ignored them. Her gaze solely on Namor. “There is something I would like to discuss with you. If you would be so kind.”

Namor looked at Namora and nodded his head for her to leave. She looked unwilling to leave him alone, but she of course listened to her King. Giving him one stiff nod before walking out of the room. 

The rest of the elders followed suit, albeit slow and unsure. The meeting left them completely rattled. Their new Queen wearing the face of someone that they had known since birth, and was now a complete stranger to them. 

A stranger that left them feeling completely adrift in their own country. 

The last to be standing in the throne room were the Dora, Namor noting that both Okoye and Ayo kept their faces blank. Never once glancing his way. Shuri spared them one glance, then brought her attention back to Namor. “You may leave us.”

“My queen…what about-” General Ayo eyed the body left on the floor.  

Shuri shrugged, “Leave it.” 

Once the doors shut, Shuri quickly stepped toward Namor, reaching a hand out to touch him. His hand caught hers to stop her, but- 

“Ch’ah.” 

The name had his mind come to a crashing halt, loosening his grip on her hand. He had not heard that name in centuries. She took advantage of this and pushed forward to cup his cheek. Her thumb grazed his lower lip. “Finally.” The whispered word heavy from her lips, snapping him out of his shock. 

“Queen-” 

“Shuri.” She corrected, lowering her hand to play with the jewelry at his neck. Her fingers twisting between the strings of pearls. “Why bother with formalities? Especially when I am now a powerful young widow who will be needing a powerful new husband soon.” 

Namor ripped her hand away from him, gripping her wrist tightly before flicking it away. His blood rushing through his veins, hating how affected he was by her. “Do not make jests.” He attempted to walk away from her, but he only got as far as standing just at her shoulder. Her words freezing everything within him so sharply that it felt as if he had been stabbed. 

“I know you love her.” 

Without moving her body, keeping her shoulder pressed to his, she moved only her head to look at him. “ She didn’t understand the way you would look at her. The way you would talk to her. The way you showed your respect. How rare it is for you to bestow a gift. But I know better.” At this Shuri lifted her wrist to cradle the black pearl on her kimoyo beads. Her fingers squeezing it, bringing her heart beat to life against his skin where he wore his own black pearl, calm and steady. 

A contrast to his own erratic heart beat.  

To hear the words so plainly said, when he would not even admit the truth to himself, made him feel as if the ground had been taken from him. Namor had to stay still to regain some composure, but he could feel the place where he had locked away those personal feelings and desires begin to crack. 

“And she doesn’t love you. She never will.” 

There was no expression on Namor’s face. The only movement was a slow blink as he kept eye contact. 

Ah…I have already understood that.  

Namor allowed another blink, ignoring the crushing pain in his chest. Reminding himself again that this was a truth that he had always known. It was a truth that he had accepted years ago when he had done the unforgivable in Shuri’s eyes. 

That acceptance never made it any easier to breathe though. 

Shuri, this woman wearing her features in a much sharper way, leaned her head on his shoulder. Her fingers trailing up the back of his arm. “But I love you.” At her words, Namor could not help but tense, Shuri’s fingers drumming along his arm to show that she noticed. “I wasn’t lying when I said I can be your Shuri. I’m real. I’m still alive.” She moved her cheek to rub against his bicep, her eyes peering at him from above his shoulder. Allowing him to admire the golden makeup she had lined her eyes, the dried blood speckled just underneath. “I love you, Ch’ah. Always.”

Namor had to tear his eyes away from hers, looking instead to the corpse left in the middle of the throne room. 

 

---

 

“Shuri.”  A deep voice resonated throughout her, filling Shuri with a sense of calm that she had come to crave.  

She burrowed deeper under the blankets, not wanting to leave the cocoon of warmth that they had made overnight. The voice chuckled and she felt the press of a hand rubbing down her back, dragging the blanket down to reveal Namor above her.  

“Your mother wishes to meet with us. We should get ready to leave soon.” 

Shuri groaned and stretched her arms out to wrap around Namor’s neck, bringing him down on top of her. They had moved his red hammock out of the way to place a bed roll on the floor. Laying on the floors of his hut would have been cold if not for the added body heat of Namor. She nuzzled her face into his neck, breathing in the scent of fresh air and the sea. “My mother wants to start a war.” Her grumble was muffled by his skin.  

“And that is why we must speak with her.” His hand found the curve of her neck and leaned back far enough to look down at her.  

The prospect of talking with her mother did not sit well with her. It all just felt like a waste of time. “She isn’t hearing what I have to say. She refuses to listen.” 

“Then we keep trying.” 

“My mother sees me as a child. She does not trust me.”

Namor let out a soft huff of laughter, his fingers gently kneading into the back of her neck. “It is I who she does not trust. And that is why we must keep trying.” 

“Can we stay just a little longer, Ch’ah.” It made her happy that he would trust her with something as precious as his real name. Although it was also a mistake on his part since she knew it was a weakness of his to hear her say it. His body relaxed against hers fully, just as expected. 

Namor gave her a soft smile, one she knew he rarely shared with anybody else, “As you like, atan.” And then he kissed her, making her feel whole and alive. 

 

---

 

“ Namor !”

Shuri woke with a sudden gasp, reality a harsh sharp slap to the face. 

A dream? She thought blindly, her mind reeling from Namor’s intimacy and her open acceptance of it. It felt so real. Not quite like a dream…more like a memory… 

Then like a snap Shuri realized how cold everything felt, freezing. A shiver ripped through her and she curled in on herself as she tried to catch up with the waking world. The ground was hard and rough, the fur lined cloak that she wore feeling too thin to her as ice filled her lungs with each breath.   Did whatever Kang shot at her paralyze her nerves? Was that why everything felt so cold?

Was Bucky alright?

She blinked, a dread pooling in her lower belly as she blinked again. 

Everything felt off. Wrong…  

What’s wrong with my left eye?

“So the princess has finally decided to wake.”  A voice boomed above her, jolting her to sit up. The hood on her face fell away, sending another wave of cold down her spine, but all of her attention was on the man in front of her. 

Her king. 

Although he didn’t quite look like her king. M’Baku looked…older. His face looked tired and grim, his hair touched by more grey than she remembered. And the way he looked at her brought a different type of chill to her body. A dark blankness that she had never seen before. 

“W-what's going on? What happened to the others? Are we in Jabariland?” Her confusion at how off kilter she felt only made her speak faster. Ask more questions. She went to stand. To move closer to M’Baku. He stood quickly, not to help her but to take a large step back from her. The hard lines of his face looked fiercer. 

Shuri would have asked him what was wrong with him if another pressing question did not suddenly assault her. Her body tugged awkwardly when she moved, and she looked down to see her arms bound close to her body, her wrists bound together, her hands…

…her hands…

She was missing a hand. 

Her eyes widened at the sight. 

Everything felt too cold. 

“M’Baku, what is this?”

Through her increasing panic, she hadn't noticed M’Baku’s impatience. His utter lack of regard for her well being. He reached behind him, grabbing a hollowed out gourd used for water, then threw it toward her. It barely missed her, crashing onto the floor and splashing water all over her as it broke apart. 

“QUIET!”

Shuri went silent from the pure shock of his violence toward her. The air left her lungs as she looked at the stranger before her. 

“What games are you playing at, girl?” He sucked at his teeth, flinging a hand to gesture behind her. “You must have hit your head hard when you passed out. We are not in Jabariland.” As the last words left his mouth, a gust of cold wind hit Shuri from behind, a loud flap of thick fabric making her turn toward the cold air.  

They had been in a tent, a detail that had not become clear until that moment. It was hastily put together, hinting that this had been a temporary stop. The doorway of the tent, untied from the constant buffeting of wind, opened and flowed with the air as if in water. Allowing Shuri to peer beyond it. 

The first thing she saw was snow. The second thing was the surrounding cliffside, they were high up from what Shuri could guess from her shortness of breath \. And just beyond that she saw the heart of Wakanda. 

Her home. 

Destroyed. 

A twinge of pain flashed across her head, a dull headache of memories overlap the image in front of her. 

The Golden Palace, gleaming and warm. 

The Golden Palace, burning and broken. Shuri could still feel the heat of the fire on her skin. She could remember all of the safety protocols that Griot had in place. To which she had undid all of them . The sound of her name being called, but her head, numbed with rage, was unable to hear who it was.   

Then she was brought back to the present. A present she wasn’t sure was even hers. 

The Golden Palace, frozen and charred. 

 

Notes:

616 Shuri next chapter!

Chapter 16: Universe 797

 

Universe 797

Present

 

Wakanda was… gone. A metal skeleton replacing what it once was.  

Shuri felt a wave of conflicting emotions wash over her; pain, grief, shock. But there were lingering memories that seeped in, ones that she could tell were not hers but they were there; rage, apathy…elation? 

…most of all she felt a deep weary exhaustion. She was unsure if that was her or the memories. 

Nothing was making sense.  

She let out a slow breath, recollecting what she could. Shuri had been fighting a hoard of Kang’s, downloading intel in the hopes of somehow stopping him. There were so many of him. It felt impossible. 

And there was one with a gun. A gun that had shot her when she pushed Bucky out of the way. She had felt the impact but there was nothing sharp or painful about it…and then she woke up to this nightmare. To a Wakanda that was not her own. 

Something clicked in her mind as she tried to make sense of everything, bringing a clarity that gave her little comfort. 

This was not her Wakanda. This was not her body. 

She looked down at the hand that was missing, noticing that the scarred skin was healed around the wrist. 

This wound was old . 

Shuri slowly took in her surroundings, the cold a constant reminder of how thin her clothes were, it had her clench everything in her body to try not to shiver. She felt weak, weary, and apparently could only see out of one eye. 

She found a metal chest just across from her, made with a polished vibranium that had a reflective surface. A hunched over stranger staring back at her hunched over form. 

…no. This was not her body.  

The older woman that stared back at her was scarred and nearly hairless. Her hair shorn close to her scalp and her left eye…a milky unseeing white. A giant scar slashed right down the side of her face.  

Her mind pinched with pain, as a memory of blood splashing on the rocks below her tried to manifest, but she kept it at bay. She didn’t want to see. She didn’t want to know. 

The headache seemed to only get worse with her resistance to it.  

“M’Baku-” She looked at him, her heart dropping at how distant he looked. As if she were a fly on his boot. Her hand trembled and she quickly curled it around her handless wrist. “I’m not-” 

“The Black Panther anymore? Yes, I know. We stripped that from you the moment you went unconscious.”

Her eyes widened at the admission, the violation to have something so integral taken from her without her consent, but she shook her head. That wasn’t what was important right now. “No. I mean I’m not who you think I am. I-” 

How was she supposed to explain this to a man who clearly did not care. Who clearly hated her. 

“I’m not your Shuri!” She tried to infuse her voice with her earnestness, but it didn’t matter. 

M’Baku scoffed. 

“Something we can finally agree on. You haven’t been our Shuri in a long time.” He cleared the short distance between them and yanked her up by the bindings around her waist as if she weighed nothing, leaving her to awkwardly hobble by his side. “Come.”

“Where are we going?” She instinctively struggled against him, sensing the danger that was waiting just outside for her. Her body was distinctly and confusingly aware that M'Baku was her enemy. 

“Your execution.”

 

---

 

Universe 616

A few years ago… 

 

Why had I even brought him here?

They walked down the wooded path, away from the heart shaped herb garden. She hadn’t meant to show it to him, but it was the first thing she had grasped onto. For whatever reason, she had been seized by a sudden desperate need to speak with him. 

After years of ignoring him, of stilted conversations, she just needed to speak with him. To hear him speak. Anything. Just a conversation that had nothing to do with work. 

And then suddenly she was telling him all about the herb. 

She would have been embarrassed with herself if she wasn’t in the middle of berating herself for wanting to be alone with him. 

The surrounding quiet, with just the tree’s as a witness to their walk, made everything feel…ethereal. Shuri blamed it on the way the sun caught the leaves, speckling the ground before them with specks of gold dancing in shadow. 

Shuri had been surprised by Namor’s reaction when she mentioned his mother’s bracelet. When he thought that she had destroyed it he had looked resigned to it. As if he had expected her to have destroyed something so precious to him.

Bast knew how much she badly wanted to do just that…but she just…couldn't. 

If ever asked, Shuri would say it was because it was a good resource if they ever lost the herb again. It would be the practical reason for keeping it. For keeping the bracelet that belonged to her mother’s murderer. She would never admit to anything else. Never. Even if she would always think about the way he looked at her when he had first offered her the heirloom.

She shook her head and latched onto another stray thought. 

Did he want it back? 

Shuri glanced up at Namor, tracing the outline of his profile with her eyes. The backdrop of green rustling of leaves highlighting his sharp features. 

She flinched her eyes away to look at her sandaled feet. An irritation began to rise in her. Shuri could feel that she was almost at her limit. 

“I can give you back the bracelet.” Her words were tossed carelessly between them, disturbing the other worldly setting in a way that Shuri didn’t like. It sounded harsh and grating. Sacrilegious even. 

Namor didn’t answer right away, walking several steps until he finally slowed to a stop. Their eyes met, and Shuri felt her heart stop at how direct his gaze was. It had been so long since they had been this close. Her imagination ran away from her, watching in her mind's eye as she reached out to touch his neck. The warmth of his skin so, so achingly close. 

Her entire body flinched at the thought, her hands still clasped tightly in front of her. Heat and irritation rose even higher within her and she began walking forward again, past him and no longer caring what his answer would be. She was angry and the worst part was that it wasn’t even with him. 

Shuri was angry with herself. Furious that she bothered to talk with him. That she wanted to talk with him. Why couldn’t she just ignore him and be done with it? Hadn’t she been through enough?

…Would she ever be able to speak with him again without getting upset?

Namor hadn’t followed her. He never answered her question. That was fine. One day he would ask for it back and she would give it back then. 

 

---

 

Universe 797

… Present.  

Her execution?

Shuri struggled against M’Baku as he dragged her toward the side of the cliff overlooking the ruins of Wakanda. A large flat stone pedestal with several Jabariland warriors crowded around them. Memories began assaulting her, her memories. The way her brother would laugh, the way her mother warmly reprimanded her, the way her father would lift her toward the sky as if she could reach it, the way her nephew proudly introduced his Wakandan name. 

Then lastly…the way Namor looked at her when she offered to give his mother’s bracelet back.  It was a memory that lingered with her the closer she was dragged to the stone platform, shoved down to her knees when she was in front of it. 

“I’m not from this universe, please listen to me, M’Baku-” 

“Do not address me as if we were friends, girl.”

“Listen to me! I am from a different universe- I-” When Shuri tried to move from her position a Jabari warrior moved forward and shoved her back into place with his foot. She would have protested more, but the blank looks they gave her had her bite her tongue.  

“This is a new low for you. You are normally so honest…even if your ‘honesty’ generally held a different meaning.” He took his staff in hand, passed to him from one of the soldiers. The rounded wood at the top looked menacing, the weapon stark against the backdrop of ice. “Now look forward. Let the Wakanda you betrayed be the last thing you witness.”  

The wind whipped around Shuri’s face, her cloak dancing away from her body and doing nothing to keep her warm. Her eyes stung with tears, confused and desperate, but what else could she do but look toward Wakanda.  

“Mante u salvo.”  

Keep safe. 

Namor’s final words drowned out the howling winds, offering a rain drop of comfort, and she clung to it like a lifeline.

She numbly thought about never being able to return his mother’s bracelet.  

Shuri’s eyes slowly lifted toward Wakanda and then she closed them, letting out a silent prayer. 

But it was a different God that answered.

There was a faint buzzing noise that sounded to her left, revealing a strange orange light growing into a 2 dimensional rectangle and creating a doorway for two people to walk through.  

There was a blonde woman that Shuri didn’t recognize, but the other dark haired man was someone Shuri knew of. The whole world had known who he was after what he had done to New York. 

She heard the sounds of warriors shouting behind her, but once the woman lifted up a small rectangular remote control the sounds had abruptly stopped. Shuri looked back to see that everyone had been frozen still. 

As if someone had pressed the pause button on a video. 

“You have ten minutes.” The woman nodded to the tall man, moving past Shuri to get to a frozen M’Baku. She tapped a single finger to his forehead and a wisp of green magic uncurled and absorbed into M’Baku’s skin, turning his eyes a lime green that now matched the strange woman's eyes.

“What’s happening?” Shuri rushed out in a single breath. It felt like she had no air in her lungs to give, stunned from all of the events unfolding. 

The dark haired man helped her stand, dressed strangely in a casual business style with a black tie and tan sports coat. Strange for him anyway. He was cutting away her bound arms when he finally spoke, “Do you know who I am?” 

“Loki?” Shuri mumbled, her confusion mounting. She was so far out of her depth that all she could do was stand there as he freed her. 

“Correct. Although that doesn’t really matter right now. This is about Kang.”

“Kang?”

“Yes, I'm sure you have already surmised that this isn't your home.” He gestured around him needlessly. 

“...no…what is this?” 

Loki brought up his hands to press them together in thought, taking a single long second, and then spread his hands apart to gesture to her. “An opportunity. You are in the unique position of remaining…hidden. This is your opportunity to defeat Kang.”  

Everything he was saying was too much to fully comprehend. The lack of context was almost infuriating to Shuri, but a single word struck out to her. “...what does hidden mean?”

A muscle in Loki’s jaw ticked at her question, a look of irritation flashing briefly in his eyes. He breathed deeply through his nose before he reached for her hand, her good one, and brought her palm to face upward. He pulled a black sharpie marker from his coat pocket, biting the cap off and spitting it to the ground. “Hidden being that you will have the time you need to figure out what you need to do. Although I recommend that you do not take too long.” 

The ink from the pen tickled slightly when he pressed it to her hand, but it didn't distract her from the fact that he didn’t really answer her question. She had a million of them, but even she knew that it would be a waste of time. 

So she asked the one he was avoiding. 

“What does hidden mean?” 

Loki finished the simple drawing, closing her hand into a fist. It took him several seconds too long for him to look at her, clearly weighing the words he was about to say. What words he wouldn’t say. 

“Kang has a way of reading the different timelines, multiverses. One Kang in particular made it as easy to read as looking at a length of thread. He would know which ones that weaved through time and space indefinitely and others that were simply snipped out of existence.” 

A trickle of unease dripped down Shuri’s spine. 

“He would traverse the ones that would offer him the most potential. The others-” 

“He would ignore.” Shuri finished for him, her eyes seeing past him to the frozen wastelands beyond her. “Your saying…” She trailed off, unable to speak the words. 

“What I’m saying is that this earth is dying and Kang will never find you here.” He let go of her hand, and Shuri could only let it numbly fall to her side, too absorbed in trying to process everything he was telling her. Everything that he was continuing to tell her. “But it’s not the end for you, you will be safe, but this is your only chance to learn of a way to defeat Kang.”  

My only chance?

The words echoed within her mind until it clicked into a place of understanding. “How many times have you done this?” She asked, watching his lips form into a thin line. “Can’t you tell me how to defeat him, since you're here that means you're hidden too.” 

There was a beat of uncomfortable silence, the winds whipping between them.

“I can’t.” 

“Why?”

Loki glanced behind Shuri briefly, looking toward his partner before bringing his eyes back to Shuri. A look of pity plain on his face. “Because you will try to save this earth. And because you will succeed in doing so.” 

“And Kang will find you.” The blonde woman spoke from behind them, walking to stand next to Loki. M’Baku trailed a few steps away, looking desperately confused. His steps as discordant as his thoughts. 

“This is all that we can do for you, Shuri.” Loki flicked his eyes between M’Baku and her. “For what it's worth. I am sorry.” He turned away from her then, the orange rectangular doorway opening before him and he walked through without another word. His companion stayed behind for a few seconds longer, giving Shuri an earnest look. 

“Good luck.” 

And then both her and the door disappeared the second she walked through it. 

The warriors who had been frozen came back into motion. Their first initial offensive stance instantly melted into one of confusion as they looked around them to find the two strange intruders had disappeared. However when all eyes finally landed on an unbound Shuri they went back on the offensive. 

Shuri’s shoulders tensed, ready for their attack, but M’Baku interrupted them with his deep, imposing voice. 

“Leave us.” 

“But-” 

M’Baku turned a glare on the man who had spoken out of turn, and the warriors quickly saluted him and did as they were ordered. Their questions resting in their lingering backward glances. 

Shuri wanted to fall to her knees in relief, but she was kept on edge when M’Baku brought his attention back to her. He took slow steps toward her and moved past to sit on the stone pedestal that had almost been her final resting place. She swallowed thickly at the thought. 

“So,” M’Baku began, his voice weary as he looked at Wakanda, “You are really not our Shuri.” 

“No. What had that woman shown you?”

“…everything.” His voice was so quiet that Shuri could barely make out the word, his tone completely lost to her.  

The winds swept up along the cliffside, bringing another rush of frozen wind. Shuri shivered violently from the chill and quickly lifted both hands to pull on her hood. Her stomach twisting when she realized she could only use the one good hand to do it. “Will you help me?

M’Baku looked unbothered by the drop of temperature. “What can I do?”

Shuri tugged on the hood tighter to her face, mulling over the question until she remembered Loki’s words. This is all that we can do for you. She moved her hand from the hood of her cloak to her face, opening it to see a single circle drawn on the meat of her palm. Her fingers traced along the drawing and her mind instinctively knew what to do. “I need access to my lab.” 

He let out a soft grunt, then shook his head. “We will need to speak with Okoye first. Come.” 

The camp was stripped down, compacted into only one box before being packed away on a nearby cloaked ship. Shuri could see the extreme look of distrust on the faces around her, but they kept quiet, showing their full trust in their leader M’Baku. Their silence did not make it any easier for Shuri though. It pained her to feel such suspicion from her own people. 

What had happened here? 

What had she done?

The questions looped quietly within her again and again. Getting louder as the ship raised and Shuri could see how far the frozen wastelands appeared to stretch. A place so vibrant and warm…gone. 

Shuri felt a slight pain at the base of her skull, a headache spreading to every corner of her mind. Instead of fighting it, she welcomed it, allowing a memory that was not hers to bleed into her. Her mind desperate for answers. 

 

---

 

Universe 797

Past

Shuri waited patiently near the fire, her confidence wavering a little the longer time passed, but her patience was rewarded when she watched Namor slip out of the river. He brushed his hair back with a motion she had watched a thousand times before. 

The alliance between Talokan and Wakanda had endured throughout the years since her brother T’Challa and Namor had fought, Namor yielding to her brother in the end. It had been a beneficial relationship between the two countries, although her mother was never a fan of it. Constantly voicing her opinion to her son before…before… 

The fire crackled with a loud pop, wood shifting to fall closer to the earth as it burned. Shuri watched Namor through the fire, admiring how the dancing light reflected in his eyes. She had always admired him. The way he held himself, the way he spoke, the way he cared for his own nation.  

But most importantly she admired the way he would listen to her, encouraging her to speak first when someone would try to speak over her.   

Throughout the years they had always danced around each other in social settings, her brother firmly between them and keeping them at a respectful distance.  

There was no one standing between them now. 

Shuri tightened her hold around her legs, her fingers digging into her arms like a vice. She could feel the tears she was so tired of shedding desperately wanting to pour out, but she would no longer allow it. She was done crying.   

Namor watched her carefully, keeping the fire between them. “Are you well, Princess?”

“Well?” She snorted, rolling her eyes at his question. Anger simmering low below the surface. “I would be well if my brother was still alive. So no. I am not well .”

“Wakanda lost a good man, Talokan a friend.” Was his simple soft response, unoffended by Shuri’s disdain of his earlier question. He did not move any closer to her and that only irritated her further. 

“Why are you standing over there?” 

“Why did you summon me?”

Shuri worried her bottom lip with her teeth, hiding her face behind her raised knees. “Will you not sit with me?...or now that the alliance is done you do not wish to speak with me.”

Namor narrowed his eyes at her. “The alliance between Wakanda and Talokan is not done. As long as your people want it, as long as you want it, I will respect the wishes of your brother.”

“Then will you not sit?”

The echoed question was quieter this time, more vulnerable than Shuri would have liked, but Namor finally moved toward her. He rounded the fire and sat down on the blanket she had set down on the ground for them. It had been the first time she had seen him since her brother’s funeral, which was several weeks ago. She knew he would come if she called, and she was thankful for not being wrong. 

“Why am I here, Shuri?” His voice was a low husk, pulling Shuri in from just the tone alone. She had always wondered if he was similar to his sirens, but had never gotten the chance to ask. 

Shuri moved to stand on her knees, slowly bringing herself closer to him. He tensed briefly, but since he made no move to leave she pressed on. She placed her hands on his shoulders, real and solid beneath her fingers, and she slid into his lap. 

“Are we not friends?” 

“Careful, Shuri.” His voice sounded strained.

“Are we not friends?” Shuri asked again, cupping his face in her hands. She was so close to him that she could hear him swallow thickly. 

Very slowly, and very carefully, Namor slid his hands along her legs to rest on her hips. “ Friends is not quite the word I would like to use for us.”  

“I know.” She whispered, her thumb sliding just across his bottom lip. And she did know. She had always known. Seen it written from the longing that poured from him when he listened to her speak. She could see it so clearly because she knew it reflected the longing she had felt for him. 

They had never chased after the other, keeping the pretense of indifference for the sake of her own family…but in the end it didn’t matter. Her brother was gone and she could not save him. 

So why not have someone she had always wanted.  

“I know.” She said again, infusing the two words with as much feeling as she could. And he understood, his fingers gripping her hips tighter to pull her in closer. “Take care of me, make me forget everything else.”  

Namor swallowed again before answering her with a searing kiss, pulling her down by a hand on the back of her neck and pressing her flush against him. The years of longing being communicated in that one kiss. And it melted away all of the stress in her body for a blindingly bright moment. He rolled them over to lay her down on her back and him on top, pressing kisses along her throat and cheeks. 

“If you only want tonight then I will give that to you…however…”

Shuri clutched him closer to her, wrapping her legs around his waist. “I want more than tonight.” He touched his forehead to hers, breathing her in deeply, and kissed her again. Making her forget about everything else and narrowing her world to just them.  

Notes:

A little Loki variants visit!

--

Valentines day gift incoming :)

Chapter 17: An unsettled mind

 

---

 

-797-

Past  

 

“Where are we going?” Shuri whispered, holding onto her husband’s hand as he led her through a complicated maze of tunnels and caves. The slick rock walls were embedded with glowing blue stones that washed everything with a dream like light. It almost didn’t feel real. 

“A surprise for my new bride.” Namor pulled her in close, an amused smile on his lips. “Why are we whispering?” 

Shuri snorted and shoved her shoulder into him, refusing to answer. She didn’t want to explain to him how everything felt like they were in a realm belonging to an ancient god. Which she supposed, in a way, they were. Her eyes trailed up to study Namor’s face.  

Realistically they were not walking for very long, but Shuri had never explored these particular caves before so minutes almost felt like hours. There was a humid warmth that wasn’t unpleasant, making her feel relaxed and safe. If they had actually walked for hours, Shuri did not think she would actually mind it. As long as she could hold onto this feeling, this moment. 

Namor finally turned off to the right of them, leading her into a cave that had been purposefully modified over time. Stone benches were carved into the walls, along with imagery of different Mayan gods. Underfoot there was a mosaic of tiles, varied in size and color, and looking as if they had sprung from the earth itself with how old they looked. It formed into the spiraling serpent body of Kukulkan. And at the caves center, a hot spring filled with steaming water that had the faint glow of blue, matching the surrounding lights. 

“Whoa.” 

“We will not be bothered here.” Namor let go of her hand to slide off his cloak, folding it to lay on one of the stone benches. He watched as Shuri stepped close to the pool’s edge, bending to place her hand in the warm water. “Talokan has numerous medicinal baths. The healing properties come from the minerals and salts of the sea bed under Talokan, enriched by Chaac’s gift.”

“You use these to heal wounds?” She could feel the stiffness in her fingers relax almost instantly once they were submerged. Soothing tendrils of fragrant steam slowly made their way up her arm.  

“Yes, although not this particular one. We have a more structured setting for the baths when we need to use them for more serious injuries.” 

Shuri stood quickly, her curiosity peaking into excitement, “Can I see-” But her words were suddenly stopped by her husband’s mouth on hers.  

“Another time, atan. I promise.” The husk in his tone redirected his wife’s excitement into another direction. 

They slowly undressed, hands trailing and lingering on newly exposed skin. The freedom of being alone allowed them to take their time with one another. To savor the moment.  Their clothes were abandoned at the edge of the pool as they submerged into the water, Namor keeping her close. Shuri was unsure if it was the way her husband was looking at her or the healing properties of the water making her skin tingle. Her mind going hazy as he licked a hot line up her neck. 

Shuri pulled his face to hers, and whispered, “ Umyeni ,” against his mouth, reveling in the way his mouth curved into a delighted smile. He pressed her into the edge of the pool, kissing her with a slow passion that had her breathing hard through her nose. His hands slid down her thighs to lift her up higher, to angle her just right as he-

 

---

 

-797-

Present

 

Shuri awoke with a start, flinching with the sudden pinch in her neck from having fallen asleep sitting up against the ship's metal wall. But her embarrassment was stronger than the discomfort. She glanced around her, worried as if the others could see what was going on inside her mind. How she could help but compare the glaringly differences between this version of Shuri’s honeymoon to her own honeymoon with Jiya. The way Namor’s hands left a trail of fire wherever he touched.  Her skin still felt alight from the memory of Namor’s attentions. To have his entire attention solely on her, as if she were the only woman in existence…it was exhilarating.

It made her think of a time when he had looked at her like that. How he generally looked at her. An uncomfortable flip in her stomach made her quickly shove the thoughts back into a hidden corner of her mind, unwilling to examine them. 

Not now.

Not ever. 

“Bad dream?” 

Shuri glanced up to see M’Baku standing before her, looking uncomfortable with being there but she appreciated him trying to speak with her. The other’s on the ship kept their distance, suspicious glares thrown her way every once in a while. She originally had given into her memories to escape their accusing eyes, closing her own to better sift through her mind but she had ended up falling asleep in the process. Her body was more exhausted than she had realized. 

“Just…remembering something.” It was the only thing she could say, unsure how he would feel about her consciously trying to gain insight of their Shuri. A Shuri who had apparently made an enemy of the entirety of Wakanda. 

Besides, she found it easier to lean into the memories then to fight them. The headache lessened when she accepted them…however there were some memories that would not let her get near. The nausea-inducing headache would threaten to appear if she attempted to pry so her mind would shy away, drawing near to the warm hearth that was the memories of this other Namor. 

Where was he?   

The question was bit back as M’Baku chose to sit down next to her on the bench she occupied. They did not speak and simply looked out the window ahead of them, displaying a snowstorm just on the other side of the glass. A haze of numbing white. 

“Tell me,” M’Baku finally spoke, glancing at Shuri with a curious look. It was a little more inviting then how he had first looked at her, but not by much. “What of your Wakanda?” 

“Warm and thriving. You are King, actually.” This earned her a glitter of amusement in M’Baku’s eyes, giving her a glimpse of the man that he always was. “And we’re friends.”

At this, the amusement swiftly shuttered shut. 

Not wanting to waste the opportunity of speaking with him, semi privately, Shuri quickly asked her own questions before he completely shut her out. “What happened here?”

M’Baku tensed briefly, his brows pinched together. She didn't think he was going to answer her, but then let out a long tired sigh, answering her with the same breath. “You did. You happened.” He looked at her, gauging what could and should be said, and he decided to be plain. “After your mother died, you killed the entire council. Executed them. Then lowered Wakanda’s defenses and emergency protocols. Letting it all just…burn.”

Memories of flame and smoke hit Shuri so hard that she couldn’t breathe. Wakanda was on fire. Her exposed skin had burned from the heat of the sizzling air alone. She could not move her mouth to speak, staring wide eyed at M’Baku. 

So he continued. 

“You ‘locked up’ everything tightly afterward, and no one could undo what you had done. The vultures waiting and wanting our vibranium came in after that, taking whatever was left over. So we took who we could save into Jabariland, the mountains our only protector now, but the Border tribe stayed behind. They rule over what’s left of Wakanda, protecting what they can, but the larger store of vibranium had been locked down by you as well. A small consolation.” He took a long pause then, rubbing a hand over his face tiredly. As if remembering just a fraction of what had happened had exhausted him. Shuri could sympathize, feeling nearly breathless herself. M’baku continued, his tone shifting, “Okoye has taken over Jabariland, my own home, the demon.” This last part was said with very little bite, more affectionate then upset. 

At the mention of Okoye, a flash of pain slashed through Shuri’s left eye. She flinched as an unwelcome memory tore through her, a splash of blood hitting the rocks below her after the left side of her face was torn through. Okoye was standing just before her with her bloodied spear in her hand, a look of betrayal and rage painting her features as she stared at Shuri. 

That look hurt more than the memory of the assault. 

“Okoye’s work?” M’Baku’s voice brought her back to the present. She gave him a slow nod when she noticed he was looking at the ruin of her left eye, and then his eyes flicked down to her left wrist. “That as well?” 

Shuri’s throat went tight when she looked at her wrist. A headache throbbed painfully in the front of her mind, forcing a memory forward that nearly had her passing out. 

No. It was not Okoye. 

She remembered how hard it was to slice through her own wrist as she was not right handed, making the task near impossible. The blade of Namor’s spear was not meant to slice through limbs…but Shuri had managed it. Sobbing throughout the entire process, but not because it had hurt. 

“...It was me.”

“Huh…” He grunted softly, leaning back to cross his arms across his broad chest. “Thought it would have been Okoye.” M’Baku did not ask why she had done it and she was grateful for it, because her mind would not allow her to know why she had done such a thing. 

As the silence hung between them, Shuri finally asked the question that had been resting just on the edge of her lips, unable to stop herself even though she felt her insides seem to instinctively twist against it.

“Where is Namor?”

“You’re husband?” The word made Shuri’s skin tighten with a flush. He had called her atan in her memory. Namor had called her his wife, she had known that much, but it was still a shock to hear. She nodded for M’Baku to continue. A look of uncertainty flitted across his features again, “I don’t really know the details, but he's dead.”

He’s dead. 

Namor is dead.   

Shuri blinked back the surprising feeling of tears. She felt her body react first, a recoil within her so strong that she wanted to vomit. Her body remembering the heat of the surrounding fire and the warm rush of Namor’s blood on her hands when he had died. 

The blindingly sharp headache reached a painful pitch that kept her from seeing anything. 

 

---

 

By the time they reached Jabariland, it was darker. Shuri suspected that the sun may be setting soon, but it was hard to tell from the thick rolling clouds above. The storm had at least calmed as they landed.  

“Here,” M’Baku stepped in front of Shuri before she could step out of the ship, haphazardly tying another cloak on top of hers. “You’re going to need it I’m afraid.”

Shuri could only lift her eyebrows in question, another voice ringing out and cutting its way between them.  

“WHAT is the meaning of this M’Baku!?” Okoye bellowed out, striding her way over to them, her eyes burning on Shuri.  It made her flinch back from it, unable to recognize the open hatred on her friend’s face. Her Okoye was not standing in front of her now. 

“Did you not receive my message?” 

“Of course I did, did you not receive mine ?”

“I ignored it.” He responded back mildly, scratching at his nose with a bored expression. It made Okoye instantly click her tongue in annoyance. 

“How dare you bring her here, unbound, alive .” Okoye hissed. Her head was wrapped with a thick blue scarf, draped in a cloak designed for fighting, and in her hand she held her familiar spear in a death grip. Her body tensed for a fight despite everyone standing still. Although if Shuri was being honest, it did look like the other warriors were ready to jump as well. The only one keeping them at bay was M’Baku’s calm demeanor. 

“I explained everything in my message.”  

“You did not.” 

“Well allow me to explain it to you now, woman. Trust me, Okoye.” 

Okoye finally tore her eyes away from Shuri, several long seconds passing as Okoye and M’Baku exchanged a private conversation with just their eyes. She broke away her gaze first, and waved her hand at Shuri in agitation. “Put her in a cell for the night. We can kill her after you explain it to me.” 

The order was eagerly obeyed, two warriors jumped at the chance to drag Shuri away from an angry Okoye and an unsurprised M’Baku. He didn’t even look at her as she passed him.   

She was dropped into a cell carved into the side of the mountain. Her ‘door’ a small hole dug into the ground that had her sliding into a small stone room that faced a set of wooden bars. They could have easily been broken…only there was no ground past the bars. Just a straight drop from the side of the mountain.  

The wind curled its way into her room with a howl and she was extremely grateful for the second cloak M’Baku had given her, while simultaneously cursing him for knowing exactly what was going to happen to her. She bundled herself onto the hard surface of a stone bed that was in the furthest corner away from the bars. She tucked her legs tightly against her stomach underneath the cloaks, and watched helplessly at the rapidly darkening sky, her world shrinking to a frosty and inky grey now. 

Left alone with only her thoughts, Shuri buried her face into her knees and began categorizing them. Sifting them between her own and this other version of her. It was a relief to know that she could easily differentiate the two, like oil and water. A small part of her had been worried that she would forget who she was in this new body but it appeared that that wasn’t the case. 

No…her real concern was her own feelings. It was already disturbing to hear what happened to this version of Wakanda, to know what would happen to this world in general. Of course she would be upset about that. Yet it was her feelings and reaction to Namor’s death that had left her completely unsettled. 

It was almost drowned out by the other Shuri’s feelings. An unbearable dense weight of grief and guilt that was near overwhelming…but her own feelings were still there, surprising and unmistakable. A cutting sadness that would have had her sobbing if she focused on it. 

…and she did focus on it. 

Because what else could she do in this unrecognizable frozen wasteland that was not her home, amongst people she had known to be as close as siblings looking at her as if she didn't belong. She furrowed deep under the cloaks, her body shaking from both the chill and her throaty sobs that were drowned out by the winds. 

Later that night, in her frozen bit of cell, she dreamt of Namor again. 

And of her mother. 

 

---

 

-797-

Past 

 

Her and Namor were to meet with her mother at the Golden Palace. It had been months since Shuri had seen her last, or even spoken to her.  When she had announced her engagement with Namor…there had been a terrible fight that left the two women bitter and upset. The words ‘fool’ and ‘child ’ were sharp little barbs that had clung painfully to Shuri’s skin, and she was never able to shake them completely away. Shuri had her shoulders set in a stiff line as she was led to the throne room, going over the numerous ways this conversation could go. Rarely any of them ending well.

The tension only eased when Namor brushed his fingers along her back, allowing her shoulders to fall a fraction and her clutched hands to loosen. 

“You have said you have been wanting to speak with your mother.” 

“I know…” She stuck out her bottom lip in a cute pout, which rewarded her a laugh from Namor. It eased Shuri further, giving her a sense of comfort. “I didn’t mean any time soon though.”   

“Better to have this conversation now.” 

The door opened suddenly, pausing their conversation to reveal Ramonda, but she froze the second she laid her eyes on Namor. Her eyes narrowed and she openly glared at him. The comfortable feeling was harshly shoved to the side for the crushing tension to take over.  

Not wanting for the silence to drag on for too long, Shuri took a step forward. “Mother-” 

“I will speak with my daughter. Alone. You are not welcome here.”

Shuri stiffened, her stomach twisting at the already downward slope of this conversation. She turned to look at Namor, who held her mother’s stare steadily, the muscle twitching in his jaw the only visible emotion on his face. They stared at each other for another agonizing moment before Namor finally broke the stare off with a slight tilt of his head. He rested a gentle hand on Shuri’s shoulder briefly in goodbye then strode toward the door that led to a lower balcony garden. 

Shuri threw a glare toward her mother and followed after Namor, stopping him just as he was about to leave. “You should not have to go. Stay.” 

He let out a small sigh, shaking his head. “Your mother is grieving, my love.” 

“...T’Challa has been dead for over a year now.” 

“And now she feels that she’s lost you too.” He leaned down, cupping her cheek as he pressed a soft kiss to her forehead. “‘I can extend my patience a day or two.” 

Shuri bit back a grin, holding in a laugh. With her mother still behind her, she didn’t want to let her guard down completely. “Just two?” 

“And not a day longer.” Namor said with a brief smirk lighting up his handsome features, and then turned to leave the mother and daughter alone. Leaving a thick silence to hang tensely between them again

Ramonda moved around her daughter, she had waited to look at her again when she sat down on the throne. Only when their gaze met did Shuri speak. 

“That will be the last time you disrespect Wakanda's closest ally, my husband , mother.” 

“Husband?” Her mother scoffed derisively. 

The sound scratched unpleasantly across Shuri's neck, but she did not raise to the bait. She knew how much her mother disliked Namor. How much she disliked Shuri making her own decisions despite being a grown woman. She did not come here to fight, so she instead pressed her lips into a grim line.  

Ramonda clasped her hands together tightly, the only sign that she was displeased with her daughter's lack of response. So she continued. “I will make this perfectly clear to you, child, I will not recognize a marriage that you had away from your family, your home. And more importantly, I will not recognize a marriage with that man.” 

“Mother-” Shuri said sharply, her anger rising steadily, but her mother wasn’t finished. 

“That man betrayed your brother, he-” She paused, taking in a quick breath and closed her eyes to compose herself. Ramonda’s unsettled face and words threw a bucket of ice over Shuri’s nerves. “He killed your brother Shuri, poisoned him.” 

“Mother…What proof do you have to make such a claim?” 

“You’re brother should have never trusted such a monster-!” 

“ MOTHER .” Shuri’s raised voice finally brought Ramonda’s rambling to a sudden stop. She slowly walked up to Ramonda, kneeling in front of her to hold onto her mother’s hands. She was unsure how to take her mother’s words, but she knew she needed the facts, especially with how close it looked to her mother breaking. So she repeated her question, “What proof do you have, mother?”

“I have had been given intel that T’Challa had been poisoned, that he-”

“Intel? From who? Mother, brother was sick-”

“It doesn't matter from who, our family is not safe, and you, you foolish girl decided to sleep with our enemy.”

Shuri’s eyes widened at the sight of her mother spiralling in front of her. She knew she was upset with her brother’s passing and about her marriage, but this? This was madness. “K'uk'ulkan is our ally, mother, brother’s friend. I’m more concerned with who you’re speaking with. Did they specifically name Namor?” 

“He murdered your brother and then snapped you up the second you were alone. That man is a predator, child.” 

“We have had our alliance with Talokan for years and I was the one to seek him, mother, me . I am no longer a child and K'uk'ulkan would not betray us. Please trust in T’Challa’s judgment. In my judgment.”

Her mother grasped her hands tighter, pulling Shuri closer to her. “Of course it is him, It makes the most sense Shuri, think about it-” 

“ Facts make the most sense. Proof . All you have given me is paranoid theories and that you received unverified intel from… who are you speaking to?” 

Ramonda sat back, distancing herself from her daughter by ripping her hands away from her. “You don’t believe me either.” 

It wasn’t a question. 

“Who else have you spoken to about this?” 

If Shuri had thought it was tense before, the pressure was even worse now. Ramonda shoved past Shuri to get up and away from the throne, forcing Shuri to her feet as well. She strode to the door, turning to give her daughter one last withering look. A look that chilled Shuri, her skin prickling painfully from the foreboding shiver that swept up her spine. There was no talking to Ramonda. 

“I had spoken with the other elders, and they mirror your disbelief. But I will convince them in time.” She turned her head away from Shuri, ending their conversation with a warning. “Enjoy your little marriage , daughter, because I will bring war to Talokan and you will come back home with me where you belong.”  

The door’s slammed shut after her mother’s exit. Its sound echoed around the throne room as Shuri stood at its center alone. 

 

---

 

-797-

Present 

Shuri woke up when she felt the slap of a rope hitting her foot, a gust of cold air sneaking under her carefully wrapped body when she moved to look up. Above her the round ceiling door was opened to reveal M’Baku looking down at her.  

“Grab on.” He instructed, and Shuri quickly scrabbled for the rope, wedging her foot in the looped end of it. M’Baku easily pulled her up, grabbing onto the back of her cloak to yank her out entirely. Her legs had been so tightly locked into place the entire night before that it took her several moments to properly stand straight. Although she still had to use a nearby boulder to lean on. 

The sky was a pattern of dark and light clouds swirling together, the sun beyond it making it glow dully. There wasn’t a bit of blue sky in sight but Shuri was thankful to see it nonetheless. The memories she experienced made her feel severely nauseated. Witnessing the deteriorated relationship between mother and daughter left a bitter taste of bile in her mouth. 

In front of her stood both M’Baku and Okoye. And they were curiously alone. There were no other guards around them. 

“I think it would be better to just kill her now.” Okoye began bluntly, making no move to act on her words, but Shuri knew better than to chance anything. Her eyes flicked to M’Baku for an answer. 

He gave her a vague shrug that instantly frustrated Shuri. 

“I tried to convince her, but there is only so much I can do.” M’Baku slowly made his way to her, and Shuri instantly pressed against the boulder she was using as support. Her heart dropping when she saw him reach for something underneath his thick cloak, but it wasn’t a weapon. The simple sight of an offered blanket from his outstretched hand nearly brought Shuri to tears. 

It had felt like years to have this bit of kindness offered, even if logic would tell her it had only been a day. 

He spread the blanket across her shoulders, giving her a layer of heat that did not fully warm her but it gave her comfort. M’Baku took several steps away from her to take his place back next to Okoye, “You have to understand Shuri, we gain nothing from helping you.” 

Shuri looked between them, then down at her hand, clutching the blanket close to her. They came with no guards. They gave her a blanket. If they were going to kill her they would have done it by now. She clung to that small bit of hope as she mulled over the very little power she had here…power. Shuri brought her eyes back up to face them. “The barriers, the safety protocols…the vibranium. I can undo the locks that…I-” Shuri shook her head. “ That she put into place. I can do this for you if you help me gain access to my lab in return.” 

“Do you need access to your lab to bring back the barriers?” Okoye asked. 

“No. That will be in the palace.”

“You can have the lab after you help us.” 

Shuri would have preferred them going to the lab first, but she knew she had no ground to argue on so she nodded her head curtly in agreement. 

“Then we have a deal.”

Notes:

A little more NotShuri lore!

We're a little more than halfway through the story, hope your enjoying so far :)

Thank you for reading!

---

Atan (Maya) - Wife

Umyeni (Xhosa)- Husband

Chapter 18: Spheres and Hexagons

 

616

A day before Okoye is reinstated as Dora Milaje 

 

“Is this where you wanted to take me?” Okoye asked. She found it difficult to keep her voice even, her heart pounding in her throat. Choking her. Shuri, or better put, this other version of her, had asked her to come along on a trip. ‘A mission of great importance’, she had said. 

And Okoye could not disobey the new queen, no matter what the circumstances were now. 

Her blood pressure spiked with each sense of warning that presented itself to her. Decades of training telling her that something was very wrong.  

Shuri wanted them to travel together, alone. She flew them herself, taking them quite far from Wakanda. She refused to tell Okoye where they were going, leaving them in a long painful silence for most of the trip. The tension mounting with each passing mile. 

Okoye’s heart dropped when she saw where they were, cloaked and hovering above a small home close to the sea. 

In Haiti. 

Why would she bring me here?

She could not bring herself to ask the question, because she was terrified of what the answer she might get. So she remained passive, neutral. Okoye had not wanted to believe it when Namor had warned them of this new Shuri, but ever since warrior falls she knew, with a heartbreaking realization, that she could not trust this person wearing her friends face.  

Shuri leaned back against her chair, her head lolling back to rest her cheek against the edge of it. “Do you know who lives here?”

Okoye weighed the merits of lying to her. She knew who lived here. Of course she knew . Shuri had never spoken to her about it, but Nakia had told her the day she returned to Wakanda. She had simply shown the picture of her son and it was all the explanation Okoye would ever need. 

Even though she knew Shuri knew the truth as well, she had kept quiet. 

“No.” She said carefully, “Who lives here?” 

Her Queen watched her with the eyes of a predator, looking for any kind of weakness in the face of the warrior across from her. “A problem for the future of Wakanda if not taken care of now.”  

A trickle of dread dripped down the back of Okoye’s spine. 

She understood why her new Queen wanted her here.  

“Should we…” Okoye had to pause, had to swallow, had to compose herself to remain calm, “Would you like me to scan the premises?”  

“No need. Just destroy the house.” 

“What?”  

Shuri leaned closer to Okoye, her eyes gleaming dangerously. “Destroy the house. Unless there is something you would like to tell me?”  

“I just need more information-” 

“Your Queen has given you an order. Or would you like to join the former king?” 

Numbly, Okoye reached forward, bringing up a digital console to bring up the weapon controls. She couldn’t feel her fingers as she went through the motions, but she could feel the heavy gaze of Shuri watching her every move. 

It will be alright. It will be alright. 

Bast, please let it be alright.  

With one last painful clench of her heart Okoye pressed the button, and watched as the small home was completely, and utterly destroyed. 

“Congratulations.” Queen Shuri had said with a small disappointed sigh, making it clear that she had wanted Okoye to fail. “As your reward I will reinstate you as Dora Milaje, and you will be right by my side.” 

 

---

 

616

Present - Queen Shuri

 

Queen Shuri lounged on her throne, her eyes narrowed and staring blankly in front of her as she thrummed her fingers on her thigh. Presently she was in the throne room alone, her guards just outside of the door where she had left them. 

She needed to think. 

The memory of watching Okoye squirm, forced to kill her friend and her son, had been a fond one. That was until she had checked the wreckage of the house, alone, to see that there were no bodies to be found. 

None. Her fingers itched and she moved them faster in her annoyance. It meant that a viable contender for the throne was still out there somewhere. Shuri knew she should have scanned the home first to confirm, but she had been too caught up in Okoye’s reaction to care.  

Shuri let out a breath before clicking her tongue. She pushed herself off of her throne and moved to look out the windows to the gleaming intact city below. 

There was still time, her brother’s son was still a child. She would just need to recalibrate her plan. A problem for another time. 

Because she had that now, time. 

Shuri pushed through a glass door and onto a small balcony. The sun warmed her skin deliciously, easing the tension of her earlier thoughts. Evaporating like a morning mist. She took a deep breath of the warm, crisp air and closed her eyes to bask in it like a contented cat.

Time, she had time. The opportunity would reveal itself. Bast willing. She had other things to worry about, Kang for example, so she could save the nephew for another day. 

“Sister, your rage, this fire, will consume more than you are willing to give.” T’Challa looked at her gravely, his usual soft look that was reserved only for her was completely gone. The backdrop of the Ancestral plain making his white clothing gleam. 

Her brother's words echoed close to her ear, words that he had given her when she had first taken the herb to enact her revenge. T’Challa had been right then. Nightmarishly right. Shuri dug her fingers into her left hand, the pain sharpening her focus…but now, she had the freedom to try again. 

“Don’t worry brother. This time I'll control the fire, no mistakes.”

 

---

 

“Explain to me again why you can’t do this yourself?” Shang Chi had his eyes closed, arms crossed as he sat with his back ramrod straight, but Kang knew that the question had been directed at him. 

They were all currently in an airship, flying toward their destination with a steady quiet that felt like they were at a stand still. Personally Kang did not like this mode of transportation since he had a ship designed to ‘jump’ where it needed to go, but it was unfortunately easier this way considering where they were going and who they were taking. 

Kang glanced behind them, to the back of the ship, to study the meditating Dr. Strange. He was in a similar position to how Kang had first found him. Floating several feet off the ground with traces of dark shadows stretching and coiling around him.   

“Magic. It can be… tricky .” Kang finally responded, looking back at Shang Chi who had opened his eyes. “It does not play nicely with technology. It taints it, and takes over like a virus. Your bangles are a perfect example.” 

At this Shang Chi glanced down at his wrists, the bangles responding with a faint ice blue light. Knowing that the light would be stronger once he was in battle. “How so?” 

“Like I have said before, those once belonged to a variant of myself before your father took them and he managed to keep them from me, but your mother,” Kang sucked at his teeth, “The moment she touched them she changed them. Her magic claimed them as her family's legacy.” 

The bangles clicked together as Shang Chi brushed his fingers along them down one arm. “So you're saying I would have to have children to give these away?” Shang Chi eyes flicked up from the bangles to the man sitting across from him, his eyes sharpening dangerously. “Or you could always kill me for them I suppose.” 

A tension rolled in between the two men, like a thick fog, slow and present. Kang was the first to break through it with a sharp laugh. He shook his head, his face looking the picture of amusement, but there was a faint trace of rage twitching at the corner of his smile. “If I killed you, or stole them back, they would be useless to me. A dead invention.” 

“So you’ve tried before.”  

It wasn’t a question. 

And Kang didn’t give it an answer. 

“You could always gift them to me, passing your legacy as it were. They would keep intact that way.”  

A faint smirk graced Shang Chi’s features. It was neither friendly nor amused. “I believe I’ll hold on to them.” 

“So, you are saying that you are unable to get near Kamar Taj with your little dimension jumpers?” The light shifted in the room as Strange spoke in his dry whisper, like dead leaves dragging across concrete. Both men turned toward the wizard, his mouth and eyes shut, but not all of his eyes. A single one on his forehead was wide open as he watched them. 

“No.” Kang responded, hating that he had to admit such a failure. Everytime they tried to get close, it would jumble the coordinates and land them in a different location. Magic had been an infuriating problem for quite some time, but he felt that he finally had a foot headed in the right direction. “That is where you two will come in. Infiltrate Kamar Taj, get the girl, and I will give you everything I’ve promised.”  

“What is the girl to you?” 

“A key to a door.” 

 

---

 

The clouds rolled in, thick and ominous as it swirled soft greys with near black. It darkened Kamar Taj, an oppressive wind howling as it swept through the large temple. Many of the warriors stepped out to witness the unnatural way the weather moved, each of them sensing the danger in the air.  

Wong was among them, his fingers flexing into fists as he remembered the last time something like this had happened. 

Only now he knew it was his closest friend coming for them.  

“Are you sure about this?” America whispered, her eyes wide with fear. Her voice trembled the more she spoke. “I should just go, lure them away from here. Last time-” 

“Last time we were unprepared.” Wong turned to her, his face somehow soft yet firm. A part of him was frightened as well, it wasn’t that he did not trust in his own abilities, but because he knew exactly what Strange was capable of. He placed his hand on the younger girl’s shoulder. “Focus, our job is to keep our focus on Strange. Remember?” 

“A-alright.” She took in a deep breath, slowly exhaling as she straightened her shoulders. “Alright.”  

Thunder boomed so loudly that it caused the sorcerers below to visibly flinch, some even covering their ears. It was so loud that it rattled the wooden structures of the temple.  

“STAND FIRM!”  

Sorcerers bring up their hands, motioning them with sparking orange magic. They brought out shields and various weapons, The Sorcerer Supreme’s steady voice and their years of training giving them the confidence to bend into a fighting stance to protect their home

They had gone through large scale attacks before and Kamar Taj stood. They had lost numerous sorcerers, friends, and Kamar Taj still stood. 

Dr. Strange’s transformation had been already discussed so they knew they had a hard battle in front of them, but Kamar Taj would still stand.  

Wong felt a surge of pride when another loud round of thunder tore through the sky and his sorcerers didn’t flinch. 

However he wasn’t able to relish in the feeling for too long. 

The wind suddenly came to a stop as a dark bolt of lightning struck in the middle of the court yard, crushing the stone where it struck. When the blinding light passed it revealed two men standing back to back, facing the numerous warriors that surrounded them. 

A manic looking Dr. Strange and Steel eyed Shang Chi. 

“So nice to be home.” Strange rasped. 

And then all hell broke loose.  

The dark sorcerer slammed his fingers into the broken ground underneath him, releasing a wave of dark tentacles that popped out of the ground. Sparks of orange and shadow filled the courtyard. The light was an effective tool against the dark, but the dark took advantage of that light, writhing within the shadows it created. 

As Strange handled what was in front of him, the assassin took care of what was behind him. 

Shang chi painted the battlefield with arcs of blue. He swiped through the crowd with ease, using the bangles as two whips, giving reach to his dangerous hands. 

The Sorcerers had been trained in battle, but not in the way that Shang chi was. His movements were surgical and unwavering. Even if a warrior managed to block an attack, he simply redirected as if he had known that they would move that way. 

They were only two, but it was clear that they were built to take on many. 

As the chaos ensued, Kamar Taj’s warriors littered the broken ground at an alarming rate, Strange’s gaze caught Wong’s. 

An unnaturally crooked grin breaking across his face. “Wong! My dearest dearest friend.” The good Doctor zoomed in with a speed that stunned Wong, allowing him to get in close to latch onto his shoulders. He hovered a foot off the ground, and brought his face just centimeters from Wongs. “How lovely it is to see you alive .” 

A wall of orange light breaks the two men apart, burning Strange’s hands off of Wong with a hiss. 

Wong holds up his hands to show round orange glyphs before they melt into two small swords. His face unblinking and grim.  

“I can’t wait to kill you again.” Strange cackles and the two come together in a clash of dark and light magic. Sparking in sprays that singe the other. While Wong is fluid with measured movements, Strange is as chaotic as a nightmare. 

The Sorcerer Supreme manages to hold his own, but he could feel the limits to his power. He would let out controlled bursts to preserve the flow, but it was hard to keep up with the full force of dark magic. 

And the dark magic was a deep well that only stopped once the host was consumed. 

A group of warriors attempted to get the drop on Strange as he was distracted by Wong, but without even a glance back his cape billowed back to release a wave of darkness that has them choking for air. 

Wong watched in horror as he watched them slowly die, giving him a moment to see that Shang Chi had the upper hand. 

Unable to stop himself he threw a nervous glance at the opened main gates of the temple to see a frightened America Chavez clutching to one of the doors. 

This did not go unnoticed by Strange. 

“Ah, America Chavez. Would you kindly come this way?” He lifted a hand toward her, a gesture that looked almost mocking in how gentlemanly it was. She flinched and Wong instantly swiped down one of his blades, forcing Strange to step back with a scowl. 

“You stay away from her-!”

Strange flung open his cape, spreading like a pair of bat wings. From the darkness came tendrils of magic, stabbing with discordant strikes. 

Wong switched his blades to small shields to block them. He weaved and blocked through the onslaught, but was forced to bring the small shield together to form a larger one when Strange had all the magic strike at once. 

The force of the hit flung Wong onto his back. 

Within seconds Strange placed his foot on Wong’s sternum, crushing it with more than just his weight. “ Your Strange is still in here, hiding away from me in his own little locked room of his making. Maybe he can come out just in time as I decapitate you.” At this Strange lifted up a hand, his fingers stretching and converging to transform them into a large gleaming blade. “Now, wouldn’t that be nice?”  

“STRANGE!!” America screamed, flinging a small bit of broken concrete. Comically smacking into the side of the doctor's face. 

He let out a long measured sigh as he flicked up all three of his eyes to look at the young woman still standing at the temple's doorway. Strange directed his words to Wong as he stepped off of him, “I'm afraid our fun will have to wait.”

America stood frozen for just a second before turning on her heel and fleeing deep into the temple, Strange floating just behind her. 

“I’m getting too old for this.” Wong wheezed out as he rolled onto his hands and knees, letting out a rough cough as he rubbed his chest. He wanted nothing more than to catch up on the latest season of Bridgerton, and got up to chase after the two who had disappeared within the building. 

From a distance, Shang Chi watched as Wong left, his eyes taking in the strong structured wooden doors before turning his focus back to the fight. There were still many warriors ready to challenge him. He let out a brief sigh, but looked wholly unbothered. 

This was light work.  

A warm memory of his mother and younger sister, reaching toward him to follow, had his body moving. Inching his way toward the doorway. He needed to make sure that they secured that girl for Kang. 

He flexed his fingers, pulling the rings in from their whip-like shape, then released them to float around him in their own individual orbit. Shang Chi began to fight hand to hand, the blue rings moving simultaneously to fight their own battle. The strings of their magical connection to him being manipulated to clear his way to the main temple. It was a dance as fluid as water. 

A colder memory came to mind, his father calmly commanding him. The smoke of his voice leaving a stain on Shang Chi’s skin. 

‘Again.’ 

Five years old, his knuckles bloody. Slamming into a stone slab until it broke. Certain that two of his fingers were already broken. 

‘Again.’ 

Ten years old, surveying the fallen men in the training grounds around him. Another group just beyond them. The rain ice cold as it pelted down. 

‘Again.’

Fifteen years old, the too easy give of blade to skin as he killed his first mark. A man who had done nothing wrong, but his father wanted to know if he could do it. 

Yes, this was light work. He had no problem fighting more than one person at a time. 

And that was before he had the rings. 

 

---

 

A scream echoed down the hallways, bouncing from wall to wall before it came to an abrupt stop as Chavez slammed back down to the ground, sliding several feet before she finally stopped. She choked on her tongue as she attempted to breathe, all of the air knocked out of her lungs. But even with the lack of air, she still managed to shuffle backward, dragging herself away from the dark sorcerer approaching her. 

“Come back Ms. Chavez. I won’t hurt you.” He spread his arms wide as if to embrace her, a chuckle wheezing out of him. “I’m simply escorting you to a gentleman that will most likely hurt you.” 

Tendrils of smoky shadows cover his hand right, sharpening into a blade. America shuffled backwards on the ground faster, but before Strange could do anything a golden orange blade sliced through the smoke blade, forcing it to dissipate. 

Wong quickly dove forward and rolled out of the way from a retaliatory attack from Strange. He stopped in a crouch just in front of Chavez. “Go on.” Not looking back as she took the opportunity to gain some distance from her pursuer. 

“Get out of the way, my friend. I want to savor your death, don’t force my fun now. Business before pleasure I always say.” 

“No you don’t!” 

“True.” 

A slew of tentacles came from the ground, stabbing into Wong’s ankles and up toward his face, but he managed to pull up a shield to block them. Strange flickered from his spot, a few feet away from Wong, to suddenly being right next to him, his warm breath just on his cheek.  

Wong can only blink before he is blasted into a wall next to them, and he slides down in a slump.  

“I’ll be back for you later.” Strange promised and continued to walk deeper into the temple. Chavez led him into a wing that felt similar to a maze. Several short hallways cut into sharp angles until one was completely lost. “Come little mouse, I love the chase but I have much to do and can't stay to play with you.”  

America burst out the maze into a much larger room. She glanced back to find Strange much closer than she expected, her heart jumping straight to her throat. She ran blindly to her right and straight into a dead end. Her fingers itched with the need to punch right through it.  

Stand firm. 

She let out a shuddery breath, her mounting panic shoved down hard enough to allow her to face Strange. His body only took up a third of the entryway, but it felt as if his presence filled the entire temple. It pressed into her, suffocating every inch it touched. 

“I realize you could have just escaped, used your little power to leave all your friends behind.” He took a step forward. It echoed like a gun firing in the dead of night. Chavez flinched and pressed her back to the wall. “That cute little hero complex is going to be your downfall.”  

Then he took another step, the echo not as pronounced as a metallic click was heard along side it. 

Metal and magic screeched as it tangled around Strange. It coiled around him, locking him into place as crystalline structure began to form around him and it formed a sphere. Strange struggled and raged against the bindings, but it only made the magic work harder, faster. 

“WHAT IS THIS!?” 

“A contingency plan.” Wong spoke, leaning on the corner of the small hall. He looked exhausted, and triumphant. “A plan specifically designed by you, for you .”  

“I have sifted through this Strange’s mind, learned everything that I needed to know about this life. I would have known about-” Strange felt a rush of boiling heat surge through him when the realization hit him. That pissant goody two shoe version of him had hid in a small room of his mind, locking the door tight. Keeping this one secret from him. He attempted to struggle against the bindings again, the fractured glass closing up over his head. The fight in him began to drain as the sudden need to sleep fogged his mind.  “No…” He croaked out.

“After Strange had traversed through the multiverse, he feared that someone like you would come.” Wong watched with a bit of sorrow as Strange lost consciousness and slipped into a dreamless state as the glass covered his head. “Rest, my friend.” 

The prison was a structure of broken glass, metal, and magic. It took up the space of the small dead end hall, hovering a few feet above the ground. 

Wong could feel his leg about to give out, so he leaned on the corner with a hiss. With the immediate danger gone, his body took the opportunity to relax without his permission. He watched as the young face of Chavez peeked from around the sphere, her eyes worriedly taking in his appearance. “Are you alright?” He asked.

“Am I alright?!” She gestured to his legs wildly, “I’m not the one who was used as a pincushion.”   

A soft chuckle escaped him, and he tilted his head to motion her forward. “Come on. We need to get out of here.” 

“Right.” Chavez mumbled, attempting to squeeze through the space between the wall and the sphere.  “I didn’t realize how much space this thing would take up.”

Wong reached out to help her, and she gladly took his hand, but then she froze. Her eyes looked terrified just beyond him as Shang Chi calmly walked into view behind Wong. 

“LOOK OUT!” 

He was yanked away from America’s hand, it pulled her hard enough to firmly wedge her between the wall and the glass prison. She struggled and screamed, still reaching for Wong as Shang Chi threw him across the room. 

His body had gone beyond its limits when he had fought off Strange. A feather beating against a rock when he attempted to defend himself against the other man.  

Shang Chi released one arm of rings whipping around Wong’s neck and slamming him back to the ground when he tried to get up. He wrenched the rings tightly around Wong’s neck, constricting the air flow until Wong felt his vision go black around the edges.

“Stop! Please!” The trapped girl continued to yell. She managed to shimmy herself toward the floor, where there was a larger opening from the sphere curving away from the wall, but she was still stuck.

“Of course.” Shang Chi said mildly, tightening his hold even tighter. “If you come with me, willingly.” 

“Yes.” 

The air came back with a rush into Wong’s lungs, his body shuddering with the desperate need to live. “N-no. NO.” His head snapped back with the violent force of Shang Chi’s kick. There was enough force to have Wong’s thrown all the way back, his head cracking on the wood floor. It’s a struggle for Wong to keep his focus on Chavez.  

The images come in flashes as his consciousness flows in and out. 

America Chavez staring at him. 

Shang Chi yanking her out from behind the sphere by her arm. 

The two standing just a few feet from him as Shang Chi gestured to the space next to them. 

“Go on. Take us where we need to go.” 

America swallowed, keeping her eyes on Wong for a moment longer before turning to Shang Chi. She focused on the flow of power in her right hand, focused on what Shang Chi needed , and then turned and slammed her fist into the air. The crash of glass echoed as a portal the shape of a star tore through the fabric of space. 

Beyond it stood a singular man with his arms placed behind his back as if he had been patiently waiting for them. His eyes lit delightedly at the sight of Chavez whose shoulders stiffened with pure fear. 

Kang . 

“Ch-Chavez.” Wong choked on the whisper his voice came out in, and he slammed a hand on the ground to try again. “CHAVEZ!” She had only just walked through the portal when she looked back at him. The portal began shrinking and Wong managed to yell one last thing, his voice cracking. “She’s still alive!” 

Her eyes go wide before the portal winks away with a faint blue light. 

“She’s still alive,” He whispered, and then promptly passed out. 

 

---

 

Namor focused on the scrape of quill to parchment. His hand articulating the plan in his mind, the things he had accomplished so far, the things he would still need to do. When he was done he memorized the words, feeling equal parts relieved and agitated. 

Then he held the parchment over a lit candle and watched it burn to ash. 

He was sure that to most this would seem like a waste of time, but it eased him in a way that he couldn't properly explain. For him, he relished in being the historian for his people. To write of their growth and legacy. 

The process of putting ink to paper had become a comfort for him. 

But he knew that he needed to keep his plans to himself. The path to get Shuri back was a long and daunting one.  

“Aj K’uk’ulkan, they have arrived.” Namora softly interrupted him . 

He waited until the final sliver of paper curled into ash, the ember of fire fizzling out into smoke. Namor turned his eyes to Namora as he stood, “ Thank you, Namora. Were they followed? ” 

“Not from what we can tell.” 

“Bring them in.”

The general, dressed down to a simple orange dress the color of sunset, stepped out for only a moment before bringing in Talokan’s new guests.  

The first woman was much taller than the second, her face open and friendly as she looked around the room in fascination. Namor knew her to be one of Wakanda’s warriors, but she was dressed in civilian clothes to blend in for her mission. She placed a hand on Namora’s shoulder, a familiarity there that Namor had been aware of so it did not surprise him.  

Aneka was Namora's first friend in Wakanda. A strange pair, but Namora was always accepting of the other woman's affection. 

“Your journey?” Namor asked, bringing Aneka’s attention back to him.  

“Safe and long. We would have been here within hours instead of days if we used a Wakandan ship.” 

“A necessary evil.” His gaze flicked to the smaller woman who stood just behind Aneka. Her eyes looked at him with a level of distrust that did not surprise him. Riri Williams . It had been years since he had last seen her, but her young face had barely changed. “Aneka has spoken to you as to why you are here?”

“Yes, but I want you to explain it to me.” Riri’s voice wavered only slightly, but her eyes never strayed from his. However, she stayed glued to Aneka’s side. 

“The Black Panther is gone, replaced by another version of her. One that is dangerous.” 

“It’s because of that Kang guy that’s all over the news isn't it?” 

“Yes.”  

At this, a bit of worry edged its way into her eyes. It made her look younger. “And you think our Shuri is still alive.”

“Yes.” He said without hesitation, ignoring the way his general stared at him. “And I would like for you to help…to help Wakanda to bring her back.”  

Riri looked at Aneka with an expression of uncertainty, and she responded with an encouraging nod. “What he says is true. We know it’s a lot to ask of you, but we need your help.” She reached up and placed a gentle hand on the girl's shoulder. 

The touch appeared to melt the girl's anxiety away, nodding more firmly as she looked at Namor. “I wouldn’t have come if I wasn’t going to do it. I need a place to work, and anything that you might have that caused this.” Her bravado only faltered a moment as she quickly gestured to Aneka, “And she stays with me.”

Namor nodded, easily accepting her demands if it meant one step toward Shuri. he gestured toward a table to show Kang’s destroyed weapon laid out on a small cloth. “This was the weapon that had been used on the Black Panther. She had destroyed it, however she had pointed out how integral this piece was.” 

From the center of the chaotic mess of broken machinery he picked up the gold hexagonal shape and held it out to Riri. She tentatively grabbed it from him, carefully twisting it with her fingers as she studied it. Riri then looked at the mess and cracked a small smirk that spoke volumes about her confidence in her abilities. 

“I’ve worked with less.”

A dangerous hope bloomed within Namor, unfurling and stretching. He tried to ignore it, to not let that hope blind him. But it was difficult. “Namora will take you to the room we have prepared for you. If there is anything more that you require, let her know.” 

As the women filed out of his hut, Namora glanced back at him, leaving him with one last task to attend to. 

“He is awake, and would like to speak with you.”

 

Notes:

2 chapter updates in one month!? WHO AM I!?

Chapter 19: Survival

 

Namor slowly moved his hand to loosely grasp the edge of her hand, gently squeezing a few of her fingers. They twitched but she did not immediately wrench her hand away from him. 

“Mante u salvo.” 

The words, although spoken softly in Maya, were still noticeably heard by Shuri. Namor could tell she knew what they meant when she finally lifted her gaze to him. The understanding in her eyes melted the world around them away.  

It lasted for only a second. 

A single second that Namor would tuck away in the vault of his memories, before the connection was broken when she pulled her hand away from his light hold. 

Namor thought that might be it, and he would have been fine with that, but she surprised him when she whispered in her own language, “Nawe ngokunjalo,” before she walked away.

Never looking back. 

 

---

 

As Namor walked through the caves where the medicinal baths were located, his fingers stretched at the memory of her hand in his. His skin still recalling the soft warmth of her hand.  

Hope. 

Hope was a curiously bright and ugly thing. 

It unfurled in one’s chest like a creature from the deep, and stretched to every part of one’s being. Impossible to ignore and nearly suffocating. But there it was, unmistakable and tangible within Namor.  

He was one step closer, just one step, to the possibility of getting Shuri back. She was alive, he could feel it. Namor reached up to touch the black pearl that rested amongst the other ones, imperfect and beautiful. 

She’s alive. Shuri is alive. 

When he reached the medicinal baths, he heard the soft murmurs of a song along with the smell of herbs and salt. Steam came out in soft plumes from an open doorway.  There was a relief when he walked into the room, the moisture from the air soothing him as if he was lying in the baths themselves.  His exposed skin soaking it all in. 

Before him was one of his healers, her blue skin visible in the open air. She was the one humming, an old song that helped the blood flow to circulate to places it needed healing the most. It was slightly muffled from the breather she wore but it didn't matter. 

Yolotli turned to see her King behind her, and she bowed her head deeply, “Aj K’uk’ulkan.”

Namor bowed his head in return, “ How is the patient?”

“Bored and chatty.” She chuckled, looking fondly at the man laying in the bath behind her. The bath itself was a long concave stone table that created a shallow tub, filled with steaming vibranium enriched water from a nearby hot spring. Salt and herbs were mixed into the water to help the healing process. “His progress is good, he was a sturdy man to begin with so that helps, but his back is still mending.”  

“I know you two are talking about me.” The man grumbled, his tone exhausted but there was a familiar hint of amusement that edged his words. 

Namor put a hand on Yolotli’s shoulder to show his thanks, and she placed her tools down to give the two King’s their privacy. “It’s good to see you awake, King M’Baku.” 

“It’s good to be alive.” M’Baku looked around the room with just his eyes before settling on Namor. “When I said I wanted to see Talokan…I didn’t mean in such a way.”

“How are you feeling?”

“I don't know…I can't feel anything from the neck below.” 

The Wakandan King looked mostly unbothered but Namor could see the faint trace of panic in his eyes. He took a small stool and sat near him. “The damages that you had taken from the fall had been severe. Most of the damage mainly along your spine. You have been given medicine to keep your body still while it recovers, and you will recover , my friend.”  

M’Baku released a shaky breath he had been holding in. “...how?”

“I had Attuma and two of my warriors waiting in the rivers below. I apologise for them not catching you before you hit the water, but we could not risk exposure.” 

“I get that, but how did you know…that something like that would happen.” 

“I did not. I simply do not trust…” 

“You don’t trust Shuri . ” 

“She is not Shuri.” 

“No…she's not.” M’Baku let out another sigh, unable to move anything but his mouth and eyes to emote. The sombre look slowly morphing into something softer. “Well, I thank you, my friend. You’ve given me another day with my family, for that I’m grateful. I’m also grateful I've left them in Jabariland.”

“Wise on your part.”

A small silence filled the space between the two Kings, but Namor could see the question waiting on M'Baku’s lips. It came tentatively. M’Baku’s worry about the answer made clear. 

“Riri Williams?” 

“The young scientist is here. She will help Wakanda to bring back the Black Panther.”  

M’Baku’s eyes fluttered shut briefly in relief, “Do you think that we will be able to bring her back.”  

“Yes.” Namor responded instantly, and then M’Baku gave him the strangest look. Studying Namor’s face in such a way that he suddenly felt exposed. He stood up swiftly, the stool jittering from the movement. “You must rest more, your healing will take a little longer.”  

“Won't argue with that. My life is literally in your hands.” He grunted out a laugh, looking ready to fall back to sleep, but before his eyes closed he repeated, “Thank you.”  

Namor simply nodded and left the fallen King to find Namora standing just outside of the cave. He slowed to a stop, waiting for her to speak. It took several long seconds, but her face was lined with a severe determination. He knew she must have heard most of their conversation, and wondered what was bothering her to have such a look on her face. 

“Speak, Namora.” 

“All of this…precaution, preparation. If this other Black Panther is such a threat. Why have you not killed her?” 

The question hung like a dead weight between them. Namor kept his face perfectly placid. His fingers flexing outward just underneath his cloak. “I will keep Talokan safe.” He answered plainly, seeing the twitch of his generals right eye. It was not an answer she appreciated but it was the only one he could offer. The only one that would always remain true. “Was there something else you wanted to tell me?”  

“The other one is awake.” 

Irritation flared briefly within Namor at the revealed information, giving Namora a curt nod as he went in the direction of said ‘other one’. It was not ideal but he supposed he could see this predicament as a gift from Chaac. 

However he did not get very far when Namora’s next words froze him still. 

“The Black Panther does not return your feelings.”  

The words had a physical weight to them. 

Similar to broken glass being shoved into his skin. 

Namor was unsure how to respond. Should he show anger at his general’s impudence? Should he admit that he already understood that and confirm what Namora already clearly knew? Or should he tell her that it did not matter what Shuri felt for him?

“She doesn’t love you. She never will.”  

Those taunting words drifted lazily across Namor’s mind, spoken with Shuri’s voice. Soft, yet loud. As if she had her lips pressed right to his ear. 

The press of her teeth at his throat. 

In the end he said nothing and walked away without sparing Namora a single glance back.  

Leaving a silence that was louder than anything he could have said. 

 

---

 

The second that the star shaped portal closed behind America Chavez, two Kang variants seized her from either side. Shang Chi leaving her to her fate. Her first instinct was to struggle, even though she already knew she was caught, her need to escape was still there. And that need flared bright red as she saw the small arched manacled contraption they were dragging her too.  

No. NO! 

Her voice was lodged in her throat, and she was unable to do anything else but continue to make it difficult for the ones that had trapped her. She kicked and screamed, hoping to at least extract one arm from their hold. That was all she needed. Just one arm. 

But their hold was unbreakable. 

They shoved her down to her knees, and snapped the manacles onto her wrists. Followed lastly by a metal claw like headgear that dug into her scalp. The metal protested against her struggle, but she stopped the second Kang came into her view. The one that appeared on tv with the scar,the one who had personally requested her. 

He kneeled in front of her on one leg, his other leg bent upward to lean on as he studied her face. “Hello, America Chavez. I have been looking for you for a very long time.”

Chavez did not respond, her eyes unblinking as she stared at him, jaw clenched tightly. 

“I know you have traveled throughout the multiverse. I’m curious if you have ever heard of me. I've been called many things; a genius, an inventor, a con man, a-”

“A conqueror .” She whispered. America knew exactly who he was. If there were ever a sign of him in any place she traveled she would make sure to leave the second she could. 

No place was safe with him. 

The title only appeared to delight him, and he gave her a rare genuine grin, “So you have heard of me? I’m honored.” He puts a hand to his chest and gives her a small bow of his head. Kang lifts his eyes to her first before slowly lifting his chin back up. “But honestly you are the most fascinating one here. As you see there are many of me,” He gestured around to the many around him, before his hand shot out and grabbed her chin roughly, “ and only one of you.” 

She yanked her chin out of his grasp and practically hissed at him, “What do you want with me?”

At first he didn’t say anything, a slight twitch under his right eye, and then he blinked and it was gone. Kang pointed directly to the arched doorway next to them, beyond it a lone celestial in the ocean. 

“Do you know what that is?” 

“Not really.” Which was true. She technically knew what it was, but it was only through stories heard through word of mouth during her travels. 

Kang nodded in understanding, standing to walk toward the arch and stopped just shy of stepping outside of it. “It’s a rare thing to see a fully grown celestial in such a way. Did you know that this is the only intact ‘corpse’ in any multiverse?” He turned to her then, looking at her with a hunger in his eyes that frightened her. “And you just so happen to be in this dimension, this timeline. One would think it providential.”

A bone chilled foreboding began to grow within Chavez. The claws of some unknown danger reaching out to touch her. It reminded her of a universe she had entered, dark and raining with a persistent fog that felt sentient. She stood there for only a moment, listening to the dragging footsteps of something large coming towards her and she left as soon as she arrived.  

This time she didn’t have the luxury of fleeing. 

She strained against her bindings again, only half paying attention to what Kang had to say.

“Do you know the amount of power needed for such a thing to exist? The power released and consumed the exact moment as it emerges from its cocoon. It's almost limitless, a wonder of technology and magic that should be impossible. If I could just bottle that moment…I could open every door to time and space in an instant. All at once.”

“Why am I here?” Chavez asked again, noticing how all the Kang variants were looking at her now. Hungry, like a den full of starving wolves looking at a single rabbit. 

Kang walked over to the large machine making a faint ticking noise, dragging his hand along the panel lovingly. “Our technology can only get us so far. This is the closest I can get to a celestial. Whenever I try to get any close to a living one…its magic places me somewhere else entirely,” He turned to her then with a look of crazed adoration, “but you…You can get me there.”

The ticking from the machine sounded suddenly too loud to Chavez. She swallowed and took a long assessing look at the machine, the archway, and the smaller manacled archway she was attached too. All connected by large wired tubing. “If all you need is my power, then what is all this?” 

“Would you like to see how it works?” Kang clapped his hands together in excitement, the sound making his captive flinch. He turned and began running his fingers along the panel, waking the machine to life. “It does several things at once; a conductor, a doorstop, and a syphon.” 

“A d-doorstop?” She asked, her stomach clenching painfully as her heart began beating faster. The question only came out of her because she needed to focus on anything but the large archway beginning to light up next to her. It’s dull metal now gleaming a golden hue. 

“Meaning this machine will pause at the exact moment as it’s emerging,” A sudden sharp high pitched scream ripped out of the younger girl, and Kang didn’t bat an eye. “Indefinitely.”  

For only ten seconds, America arched her back as her body contorted to the acid coursing through her veins. It was a violation to feel her powers manipulated in such a way. Her lungs already out of breath as she continued to wail. 

For ten seconds, Kang watched his dream become a reality. The glow of the celestial eyes staring back at him as the water churned violently around its emergence. 

And then those ten seconds passed and the machine came to an abrupt stop. 

Chavez slumped against her bindings, sobbing from the pain she still felt in her limbs, but mostly because of the relief of it being over. 

A curl of rage crept its way into the Superior Kang’s mind. That was not supposed to happen. He already had an inkling of what was happening but he asked the question anyway. “What was that?” 

A nervous looking variant Kang, thin with large amphibian-like eyes, ran to the machine. “I don’t know. We did a full scan but nothing appeared off?” 

“A scan? Did you even open the machine to look inside?” Kang turned to him, shoving the variant out of the way to open a side panel. Nothing looked out of the ordinary, but when he reached inside his fingers tangled into something hard. 

The large eyed Kang shown a small flashlight into the machine, revealing near invisible rods of silver. It looked like an intricate spider’s web, made visible by the morning dew. “W-What is this?” 

“Vibranium.” Kang growled, the rage bloomed across his skull, turning his vision red as he strode to another counsel. He pulled up a screen that stayed blank for a long moment, making a soft trilling sound until Queen Shuri’s face appeared before them. 

She already looked smug, her eyes glinting teasingly, as she saw who had called. 

Kang should have strangled her when he had gotten the chance. 

“I need to call on that favor.” 

The Queen let out a long dramatic sigh, looking down at her hand as she lifted one shoulder in a delicate shrug. “No.” 

“No?” He gritted out, his patience as thin as the vibranium rods but not nearly as strong. “What do you mean no?” 

“I. Mean. No.” She spoke in a slow measured voice, her raised eyebrows communicating the unspoken ‘idiot’ . “You gave me that boy’s coordinates and he wasn’t there. So the deal is null and void. If you want my help then you better uphold your end of the bargain.” 

“I can easily destroy Wakanda.” 

“Can you?” Shuri taunted.   

Kang’s rage spread rapidly throughout his entire body. He did his best to suppress it, condensing it to a single closed fist. “I will figure out a way to fix the machine and-” 

“No you won't.” Queen Shuri stated as she leaned back into her chair. “This version of me studied your work very closely. You would have to start from scratch. Unless you have another machine lying around?” A slow grin slid across her face when Kang did not immediately answer. “Find me that boy and you can have your little toy back.” 

The screen went blank as Shuri disconnected the call. 

Kang let out a scream of rage as he slammed his fist directly in the middle of the screen where her face had been, shattering it completely. 

 

---

 

The faint vibration of Shuri’s heartbeat through the black earl on his neck stilled Namor’s step. It did not fill him with the sense of relief as it once did, but now it filled him with one of foreboding. He touched it and her voice came through soft and steady. 

“Oh. It works!” 

“Was there something you needed?”  

“I need to speak with you, I’ll send you the coordinates.” 

“Today?” 

“The sooner the better. It’s urgent.”  

And then she hung up. 

Namor looked up at the entrance of a room he was about to step through. There was a faint sheen of blue that covered the doorway like a light sheer curtain, it was meant to block sound. His eyes narrowed.  

He would deal with this first. 

The room itself was similar to the one M’Baku was staying in. There were shelvings and small tables set with medical equipment, and a long medicinal bathing table with a man laid within it. 

That was where the similarities ended. 

There were no healers to attend to the man, there was no smell of medicinal salted steam in the air, and there were no healing waters within the bath. 

Namor had never intended to use them for this man. 

“Where am I?” Jiya hissed out, prone on the cold surface of the bathing table. His body was wrapped in linen clothes and covered with a single blanket. 

“Talokan.”

“I did not ask to be here.” 

“And we do not want you here.” Namor answered lightly, walking up to stand next to the table. He could see the veins in Jiya’s neck as he strained to move before immediately wincing from the effort. “You were simply in the wrong place at the right time.”  

“Where is she?”  

“Your wife?” 

“ She is not my wife .” Jiya grounded out. 

“Something we can agree on.” Namor placed his hand on top of Jiya’s chest. Gentle, but Jiya still sucked in a breath from the burst of pain. The God King above him gave him a faint smile, his eyes gleaming dangerously. “You have been given medicine to help numb some of the pain. Both of your legs were shattered from the fall, your left lung punctured by a broken branch that caught you before my people found you. We have slowed the internal bleeding to a…trickle. Talokan is of course willing to extend a hand to its ally. We can heal you fully.”

Jiya’s eyes narrowed into slits from the information, his eyes furious. “Then why have you not done so?”

Namor bent at the waist, lowering his face to be just above Jiya’s. His eyes drained of any warmth that may have been left, and he pressed his hand on Jiya’s chest down harder. There was a slight cracking pop underneath his hand, ripping a strangled gasp out of the man below him. “Because I want you to beg for it.”

He thought of the conversation he had accidently heard between the newly wed couple.

“The moment the mantle is stripped from you. You will respect and submit to me. As your husband, I will make sure of it.” 

That day he had been filled with disgust for this man, as well as disgust for himself for not having killed him on the spot. The only thing that had kept this man alive was the risk of war between their two nations. 

But now Chaac had given him this opportunity.  

No one would worry about a man they already thought dead.

“Beg?” Jiya spat, his breathing erratic as he strained against his injured body again. 

“Yes. Only then will I consider it.” 

And the answer will be no.  

“You f-fucking montster-augh-!.”

Namor stood up and gave Jiya’s chest one last pat before he walked away. “I will give you a week to think on it.” But he knew that the man would not last another two days. 

“NAMOR-!!” 

His roaring scream was cut off the second Namor walked through the entryway. 

 

---

 

“Ch’ah!” 

It always unsettled Namor when he heard his true name to be said so lovingly on Shuri’s tongue. His wings kept him afloat just in front of her as she stood on a small balcony. The coordinates had led him to a side of the palace he had never seen before. 

“You said it was urgent.”  

“Yes, but not here, come.” She turned and walked into the room behind her, not bothering to see if he was following her or not.  

He landed lightly on his feet and strode just past the opening and froze, his eyes adjusting to take in the room before him. 

Inside the room was large, a cool breeze stirring the long curtains next to him. It was decorated with shelves bursting with books, a desk with a mess of paperwork on top, and a smooth oval table that had a holographic screen just above it. 

On the other side was a bed with a closet and bathroom just beyond it.  

“This is-” 

“My bedroom of course. I thought we would have better privacy here.” Shuri grinned at the sight of his stiff posture. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to eat you.” Despite looking as if she was going to do exactly that. 

Namor decided to stay near the doorway. “What did you need to talk about?” 

She perched herself at the edge of her bed, her eyes carefully studying his face. “Did you know I had a nephew? A big secret apparently.” She waved a hand behind her carelessly, gesturing to Wakanda in general.

Namor continued to stand very still, reminding himself to blink. He did in fact know about her nephew. When she had disappeared from Wakanda, after they had nearly killed each other, he had followed her to Haiti to see what she was up to. 

The second he realized who the boy was he had left. He had kept silent about that knowledge and Shuri never spoke to him on the matter. It was not his business. 

“I did not realize your brother had a son.”

Whatever she had read in his face appeared to be enough because she looked away from him and shrugged. “Well this version of him did at least. Kang gave me information about him for my future help, but he’s still alive somewhere.” 

Still alive?

The soft breeze from the opened doorway suddenly felt too cold. A chill raked against his skin.  “You tried to kill him.” 

“Technically, yes.” 

“He is your family-” 

“Family?” She scoffed, “He’s as good as a stranger to me. Might as well be a dead one.”

There was something crushing about witnessing this Shuri before him. The woman who had once opened up to him about her brother, the woman who had nearly killed him because of her mother. 

That woman was not here, he did not recognize this person. 

“Why?” 

“Survival. One day someone will use him against me and I refuse to let that happen.”  

“...Why did you ask me here?”

Shuri stood from her perch, gliding over to Namor. “Kang is trying to collect on our deal. So, I’m going to kill Kang first, all of them , and you're going to help me. You're the only one I trust.”

“And how exactly would I help?”

“Your warriors of course. Our combined strength will wipe him out, and we can show the world the might of our nations.”  

“You would have me expose Talokan.” His voice dropped an octave, making sure to keep his anger in check. 

“Yes, or would you prefer to see my country die because you would not help me?” Shuri reached up, her hand gently cupping his cheek. Her words honey sweet, but there was an unmistakable bite to it. “I thought our allyship meant something to you.” 

“It does, but I must put Talokan first.” 

Her nails dug faintly into his skin. 

Her eyes showed a glimpse of a dark emotion before it disappeared. 

Shuri’s rage had the potential to become a reckless thing. He had seen it once before on that burning beach so many years ago. But then she had so truthfully stated that their vengeance would consume them, how it almost had. And how her strength had her choose her people over him. Saving their two nations when she had every right to kill him. 

She had been the closest thing to a Goddess in his eyes in that moment. 

That Shuri was not in front of him. This one kept her rage lurking just beneath her skin. 

She retracted her hand away from his face, taking a step back to stare him down. “Hmm, well I have a contingency for that. If you don’t help me, Talokan will be exposed regardless.” 

“Are you threatening my people?” Namor’s voice went dangerously low, his mind a sudden conflict of the people who put their faith in him to the woman who stood before him. A woman he had come to see as more than just an ally.  

“Of course not.” Her smirk was not reassuring. “It’s simply a precaution, but I know you’ll make the right decision.” 

“If this other Black Panther is such a threat. Why have you not killed her?”

At the memory of Namora’s words, Namor sprung toward Shuri, his wings propelling him forward, and slammed her into the opposite wall. One hand wrapped around her thin neck. She hadn’t even flinched, and looked calm as Namor looked ready to fall apart. His fingers gripped tighter. 

“Do it.” She said, giving him a strained smile. Her fingers touched his wrist briefly before falling back to her side. “I suppose I owe you that much.” 

He squeezed her neck tighter, cutting off her ability to speak. Her strangled gasp sent a sharp shard of pain through his heart. Again he thinks of the thousands upon thousands of people that relied on him, that trusted him. 

Namor could snap her neck, crush her windpipe. He willed his hand to do just that, but then he saw her squeeze her eyes shut and a single tear slid down her cheek from the lack of air. Another strangled breath. The warm tear falling onto his hand and absorbing into his skin. 

And all he could see was the woman he had fallen in love with. 

When his hand released the hold on her throat, he fell to his knees with a gasp. 

He couldn’t do it. 

He could not do it.

Shuri.  

Namor pressed a hand to his chest, an unbearable panic causing him to hunch over the ground he kneeled on. 

Slowly, Shuri knelt on the ground next to him, pressing into his side as she held him. “Hold onto this moment, Ch’ah. Remember this.” She brought his face to look at her. To see all of the love and danger communicated through her eyes. “Think about how close you were to losing everything. Everything you love. ” 

Namor could only stare at her, not quite comprehending. 

So she continued.

“That contingency plan I spoke of? Well, if I die, so does Talokan.” She let the words sink in, watching as Namor’s eyes widened. “A little…trick I learned by accident. I’ve already ensured that the second my heart stops beating, you will truly be left all alone.” The poison in her words contrasted with the way she touched him, nuzzling her forehead against his temple.

Namor couldn't breathe. Couldn't speak. As if she was the one choking him. 

“But I knew you couldn’t have killed me, Umyeni.” 

Chapter 20: Frozen path

 

 

Universe 797

 

 

A new rotary belt…or maybe there is a small hole that needs patching in the hull. Maybe- 

The airship rattled in a subtle way that wasn’t alarming, but there were clear indications that it would need to be looked at. Shuri sat by herself on a bench in the back of the small ship as Okoye acted as pilot, and M’Baku taking his place in the seat next to her. They had decided on a small ship that still had cloaking, unanimously agreeing on a three man operation to keep resources to a minimal. 

Shuri kept her focus on what the old airship would need to be fixed, otherwise she was sure to crumble in on herself. 

The past week had been…too much. 

Much too much.  

There was a hairline fracture in the glass on the back door of the ship. It’s most likely making that high pitch squealing noise- 

M’Baku sat on the bench across from her with a loud plop, lowering his elbows to his knees as he looked at her. When she had first arrived he had only looked at her with disdain, so the concern on his face now was a welcome change. 

Although she wouldn’t blame him if he continued to look at her with disdain. 

She hadn’t even noticed that he had moved with how focused she was on the mundane problems. Her eye glanced briefly toward Okoye before settling back on M’Baku. 

He rubbed a hand on his jaw, studying her, “Was it a mistake to have told you?” 

Shuri let out a shuddery breath, flexing the fingers of her right hand. The cold making them feel numb. 

The heating unit in this ship needs to be replaced…and there doesn’t look to be a navigational Griot…  

“Shuri?” 

“N-no. I’m grateful that you told me…” Shuri covered her left wrist, the strangeness of only having one hand still unnerving. “I would rather know what happened than not. No matter how bad it was.”

 

---

 

Shuri was shoved into a tiny one room cottage at the back of Okoye’s home, where she was ordered to never leave unless escorted by either Okoye and M’Baku. The cottage had been used as a storage unit so it was not reinforced as the other homes as the winds blew straight through it, but there was a small fireplace in the room that made the accommodations much nicer than the cell she had first spent the night in. 

There were no windows but Shuri could hear the sounds of life just outside. Children playing, adults gossiping, laughter, movement. Jabariland sounded alive and thriving despite what she had seen in Wakanda.  

It was a small relief, but that relief would curdle the second she remembered what Loki had revealed to her about this world’s fate. 

M’Baku would come and bring her food, mostly bowls of warm soup flavored with spices and chunky vegetables along with fresh flatbread. She could have eaten several helpings if offered but she didn’t push her luck. Instead the fresh food made her curious.  

“How do you grow your food in this type of climate?” She asked on her second day of captivity, handing her finished bowl back to M’Baku’s waiting hands.  

He raised an eyebrow at her as if she was stupid. “Jabariland has always had a cold climate. We have managed before.” 

“Oh.” Shuri bit her lip, wanting to inquire further, her mind starving for any type of knowledge in this different universe. 

M’Baku paused, letting out a soft sigh. “It’s strange…I didn’t think I would see the annoying, ‘ask too many questions’, Shuri again.” He tapped the side of the empty dish for another beat of silence. “The constant cloud cover has made it difficult to grow food, but we had made artificial suns with our leftover vibranium. We moved our gardens into the mountains to keep our crops safe.” 

“Artificial sun?...like the Talokanil?” 

“Yes. They were the ones who had shown us, before…” He grimaced and looked away from her, “Before everything.” At that, M’Baku left without another word. Locking the door behind him. 

That night, snuggled under several blankets with her bedroll shoved next to the fireplace, Shuri was visited by a ghost of Namora. Distraught and angry.  

At first she had been trying to think about what had happened to Namor, but only the happy memories would come to her. As much as she wanted to stay wrapped up in the comfort of a happy marriage, it did not reveal how he died or what had happened to Wakanda, so instead she tried thinking of Namora.  

The memory hit her like a slap to the face. 

///

“Where is he, I know you have him. Give him back to his people.” Namora pleaded with her queen, kneeled just before her. Her fingers clutching her spear so tightly that a slight creaking could be heard. 

They had met at a river entrance nearest Mount Bashenga. Shuri wasn’t even sure how Namora knew where to find her, or how she even heard of his death, especially with the chaos of Wakanda still smoking just to the east of them. She held her bandaged wrist to her chest, the pain dulled to an ache but still sharp enough to keep her on edge. 

“His body stays with me. He is my husband.” 

Namora looked up at her with a glare, her tears streaking down her face, but it only made her look angrier. “And he is our King, our God. His people are the ones to perform the burial rights, the ones to properly send him off in the way he deserves.”

“No.” 

“Then we will wash away whatever is left of Wakanda and take him back. It does not matter who you are.” The warrior stood, her short stature meaning nothing as she stood tall. “Do not let it come to this, my queen.”  

Shuri knew that the general would keep to her word. She looked away, unable to see the grief in Namora’s face any longer. Her own was crushing enough. 

Time. She just needed time to think.  

“Alright.” Shuri mumbled, her mind whirling with equations and half baked ideas. A plan she would have never dreamed of doing before, presented itself to her, “I will bring him to you.”  

She said aloud, but internally she kept the details of ‘when’ she would give him back.  

“I will come to Talokan tomorrow.”

///

A sharp pain sliced through Shuri’s mind, so painful that it woke her up with a gasp. She pressed her left wrist to her temple, her eyes screwed shut until the pain finally passed. Shuri slowly opened her eyes and laid back down. The fire long burned out, leaving only a few glowing embers. 

Shuri couldn’t go back to sleep after that. An uncomfortable feeling lodged in her throat that made her feel like she might throw up if she swallowed wrong. She burrowed deeper into her blankets as a reflex, her mind too occupied to notice the cold. 

Why were the memories fighting her at certain moments? 

What happened to Namor? 

What happened to Talokan?

She held onto those questions until morning light finally peaked through the cracks of the shabily built room, waiting for M’Baku’s brisk knock before unlocking the door and letting himself in. Shuri took the bowl of food from him, holding the plain broth in her hand to warm her fingers, feeling somewhat embarrassed when he took the pot she had been using as a bathroom to toss outside. 

M’Baku came back in with new wood logs and was in the middle of lighting a new fire when she finally asked her question.  

“You mentioned Talokan yesterday. How are they faring with the cold?” 

It worried her with how disturbingly still he went. Several seconds passed before he moved again, but he didn’t turn to look at her. “You don’t remember?” 

“There are a few memories that keep…alluding me.” 

“Finish your breakfast.” M’Baku stood, finally turning to look at her. The grim look on his face made her lose her appetite. “I think it might be better to show you then to tell you.” 

 

---

 

M’Baku had to smuggle her out of the village. The hood of her cloak secured with another scarf to keep it in place as the wind buffeted against them. Once he got them into the air, using an old airship with an outdated navigational system, Shuri had to ask, 

“Where are we going?” 

“It won’t be long.” 

The view ahead of them was just various shades of grey, clouds swirling in front of them as M’Baku flew them into the unknown. Shuri felt a nauseating induced tremor start from her feet and up to her throat.  

Wherever he was taking her she hoped it would be a short trip.  

The outside world suddenly felt too much for her. 

It took them nearly thirty minutes until M’Baku finally landed the plane. He let out a long slow breath, and turned to her, his eyes looking much too old. 

“C’mon.”  

Don’t look.  

A voice whispered in the back of Shuri’s mind, with the tone of dry leaves scraping on hard ground. It made her pause just at the doorway of the open ship, M’Baku just a few feet in front of her. 

Don’t look.  

Shuri forced her way out of the ship and into the frozen world. It felt much colder here than in Wakanda or Jabariland. Fog rolled around them chaotically, the sun hidden yet illuminating everything in a hazy light grey. If the ground was not underneath her she wouldn’t know where the ground ended and when the sky began.  

The ground itself was much colder, her toes numb within seconds, and when she kneeled down to touch it she realized it was solid ice. 

“Where are we?”  

“The nearest coast.”

The what?  

Shuri looked down at the ice, then realized that all she could hear was the sounds of wind. 

She did not hear the ocean, the crashing waves against land.   

“Talokan is…” Her voice wavered, not wanting to speak the reality that she was beginning to remember. Unable to deny the evidence in front of her. 

“Talokan is gone. The oceans…gone. And the reason why this world will cease to exist.”

He did not speak any further, but he did not have to because Shuri knew the truth. 

This was her doing. 

///

Shuri had simply wanted time. Time to think. She only wanted to stop Talokan from taking Ch’ah from her.   

Her plan had been a rushed one. A barely tested weapon that she did not wait to see if there were any additional problems. She wanted to freeze just a portion of water near Talokan, a threat to Namora to stay where she was. 

To leave her and Ch’ah alone. 

What Shuri hadn’t realized was how ‘effective’ the bio weapon she had made would be, how explosively dangerous it was once introduced to a liquid. It froze the portion of ocean just as she planned…but she did not know how it would spread like a cancer. That it would touch everybit of water and freeze it solid. 

Killing everything it touched. 

An entire eco system gone. 

An entire people gone. 

And it was all her fault. 

Another mistake.  

///

Shuri curled in on herself, curling a fist into her good eye. It was a curious feeling to witness the mental breakdown of another self. To see that this moment was the final thread to snap. 

The memory of the other Shuri’s shocked sobbing turning into a strangled desolate laugh, slamming her injured wrist into the ice again and again, had the present Shuri choking back the bile burning her throat.  

M’Baku did not comfort her, and she did not blame him.  

“It was an accident.” Was all she could horsley say, her own memories flashing before her, allowing the grief to burrow deeper. They were of the children playing deep in the ocean, the people at the markets trading food and shells, the people saluting their King with splayed fingers as he unhesitatingly returned the gesture. 

Gone. 

All gone.  

 

---

 

Shuri came back to herself as the ship shuddered and she automatically blurted out, “The ship will need a new rotary belt.” 

M’Baku chuckled, something that sounded almost genuine, but in a way that felt foreign. As if it had been so long since he last truly laughed that he had forgotten how. It hurt Shuri to hear it. 

He moved and pulled out a cloth wrapped object and reached the distance between them to hand it to her. “Well I don't know anything about all that, but here.” 

Tentatively, Shuri reached out to take the object from M’Baku. It felt solid yet light. She had to set it down in her lap to open it, peeling back the layer of cloth to reveal…a hand. 

One made of vibranium. 

Shuri’s eyes widened, a feeling of delighted fascination as she took in the intricately built hand. The vibranium was a shiny lacquered black with edges of jade green as it bent at the joints. The hand itself had numerous closely knit scales that felt wonderfully fluid as she moved the hand around.  

With a quick glance at M’Baku, who gave her a nod to her left wrist, Shuri rolled up her sleeve. She watched closely as the cuff of the vibranium hand connected to her wrist with a suctioned click. There was a ticklish jolt to her nerves that ‘woke up’ the hand. 

Shuri stretched the fingers, feeling the disconnected sense of movement but there was no sensation of cold. She tested the hand against the bench she was sitting on, feeling the subtlety of the hard surface but not the texture itself. 

There must be a vibranium plate implanted in the wrist to act as a conductor for the nerve endings and- 

Her mind continued to simultaneously work out how it functioned as well as how she would be able to recreate it once she got back to her own body.  Luckily this mind was already supplying her with some of the answers already. 

“I had forgotten that look.” 

M’Baku’s deep voice, softened by old wary affection, pulled Shuri’s attention away from the hand. She gave him a small sheepish smile, her heart leaping as he returned it. 

“Don’t let me regret this.” He gestured toward the hand. “It was hard to convince Okoye to let you have it back. Although I can’t provide you with any weapon.” 

At the mention of Okoye, Shuri flicked her eyes toward the cockpit to see that the woman was already eyeing them. Holding Shuri’s gaze for a long tense moment before tilting her head to the front of the ship. 

“We’ll be arriving soon.” 

M’Baku stood and made his way back to Okoye, the two of them speaking in low hush tones that Shuri could not hear over the shudder of the ship. She looked past them to see her home just ahead, gleaming in the cold light of the hidden sun, before a thick plume of fog rolled in and hid it from sight. 

Her stomach tightened in nervous anticipation.  

 

---

 

They landed the ship at the border of Wakanda at the river entrance. Shuri secured a scarf over her mouth and pulled her hood tightly around her head. A minor defense against the chill. 

M’Baku came to her, handing her a pair of gloves and she quickly put them on. Grateful to be able to use both hands again.  

“Are we walking up the river?” Shuri asked as she noticed Okoye walking ahead of them down the frozen path. She took the bag of meager supplies they trusted her with, and followed closely to M’Baku. 

“Yes. Like I said, the border tribe has taken it upon themselves to protect what is left of Wakanda.”

“Why not tell them that you two know of a way to bring back the barriers, work together?” She looked up just in time to see the fog part enough for her to get another glimpse of the palace. 

Almost home. 

“Unfortunately they did not take kindly to us holding up in Jabariland. We try to offer food and shelter, however…” M’Baku simply rolled his shoulder, ending his small explanation. “Besides, it will be harder to keep you hidden if we work with them. You would be dead without a second thought.” 

They walked on the ice for nearly an hour. The chill from the ground seeping into Shuri’s leg bones, wishing for the warmth of the tiny wooden shack she had been in the past week. 

“We’ll be reaching the housing in the river district soon. I have someone that will help us get into the palace.” Okoye called back. 

M’Baku quickened his pace to stand next to Okoye, brushing his shoulder into hers. “So who is this secret little helper, hmm?” When Okoye blatantly ignored him, he let out an offended scoff, “We are quite literally about to meet him and you still won’t tell me?” 

“I don’t see why it matters.” 

“It’s W’Kabi isn’t it?” 

“...no.” Okoye grumbled unconvincingly, keeping her eyes strictly ahead of her. 

“You’re husband?” Shuri blurted out, unable to stop herself. The two ahead of her stopped abruptly, staring at her in confusion. 

“W’Kabi?” M’Baku blinked in surprise, letting out a humorless laugh. “It would be less of a surprise if he were to marry me than Okoye.”   

“Oh. They were married where…I came from.” Shuri supplied, looking from M’Baku to Okoye. Her heart swooped low to her belly at the narrowed glare she was getting from the other woman. 

“I am married. Was married. A long time ago, but he’s dead now.” Her voice went low into a hiss, throwing the last few words like a dagger at Shuri’s throat before turning away to continue their trek. “ You saw to that.”

M’Baku waited until Okoye was several feet ahead of them before telling Shuri, “W'Kabi was a childhood friend…and her husband was a Talokanil man.” Then he walked off as well.  

A throbbing pain bloomed just behind Shuri’s ruined left eye. She ignored it and started walking again. 

Well, that’s one mystery solved. 

With the wrath of Okoye in front of her, and the cold at her back, Shuri focused on the mundane again. Like how her shoes had been designed to walk easily on the ice. Noticing that the shoes had a decent grip when they should be sliding. 

The soles must be designed with a slight suction. If they could design a function to store kinetic energy from just walking, it could then be used to heat the boots…

Her mind wandered from heated shoes to keeping feet warm, to how long one could walk on the ice with bare feet. She thought of Namor’s sandaled feet. She wondered if it would be torture for him to be in such a dry cold. 

Would his skin be able to absorb the snow? 

Would it need to melt first?

…Namor was warm. 

Shuri was freezing, hungry, exhausted, and mentally at her limit. So instead of fighting the memory she leaned into it. Not one of this world…but one of her own. 

The moment when Namor had held her close to keep her from falling. Offering her comfort when she needed it the most.  

He was warm. 

And she missed it.  

She missed… 

Shuri pulled her cloak tighter to her body, and looked up, focusing on her surroundings again. They were entering the River district, homes built along the river, their docks and boats useless now. 

Ahead she could see a figure under one of the docks, and stood at his full height when they got closer. He looked wary from just his stiff posture alone, but seemed to relax when Okoye lifted her spear in the air in a non threatening gesture. 

The man pulled back the hood of his thick blue cloak. The familiar shade of the fabric marking him as one of the Border tribe. 

Shuri found no comfort in the familiar face, his eyes narrowing at both M’Baku and her suspiciously. She prayed to Bast that her mask and hood were on securely. “W’Kabi.” She whispered, sending out another prayer that they would be successful. And then, for good measure, she prayed to Chaac as well. 

Please let this work. 

Please let me go back home. 

Notes:

Had to split this chapter in two ugghhhhh

Chapter 21: Down the rabbit hole

 

797 - Present

 

“Here.” M’Baku whispered, holding a hand behind his back to show Shuri a pair of goggles. They were still several yards away from reaching W’Kabi. “Put these on. I forgot about that eye of yours. We’ll pretend you don’t speak.” 

Shuri took a small step to her left, using the bulk of M’Baku to hide herself and to put on the offered goggles. It gave her the extra time to better secure her mask and fur lined hood. She had wished he had offered them earlier since they gave her eyes some relief from the dry cold.  

As Okoye reached W’Kabi first, both M’Baku and Shuri stopped several feet to keep their distance. The wary look the other man was giving them was enough of a barrier as it was. 

It was an eternity before W’Kabi finally turned from them, and Okoye tilted her head in his direction. A signal for everyone to follow. They were led into the house that W’Kabi had been waiting under. Shuri could have kissed him when she saw him getting a small fire ready for them. 

The house was in shambles, ransacked and broken. The windows had been reinforced with leftover materials, wood and cloth, to keep most of the winds out. There was a space cleared in the middle where there was an impromptu ‘fire pit’, making it clear that this house had been used before.  

Once the fire was lit, the house became a few degrees warmer. A small difference that Shuri was eternally grateful for. 

The four pulled up to sit on the floor on broken bits of furniture to warm themselves near the fire. Shuri kept close to M’Baku.  

“So you want me to grant you access to the palace?” W’Kabi began, stirring the fire gently to have it burn a little brighter. 

“ Grant us access?” M’Baku scoffed, “I didn’t realize you owned the place now-” 

Okoye used the end of her spear to knock into M’Baku’s foot. Her wordless request for him to be quiet obvious and he obeyed with a grunt.  

“Yes. I know it’s a lot to ask of you, but we have a way of bringing back the barriers.”  

The only response was the loud crackling pop of the fire burning. W’Kabi kept his eyes level with Okoye, not moving or even blinking. There was no surprise or relief on W’kabi’s face, just a grim anger.  

“Would that be the reason you had brought that traitor with you?”

Shuri flinched at the title, thankful for her face being completely hidden. She stayed silent and unmoving. Even if her remaining hidden was unnecessary, she doubted that W’Kabi would want to listen to her.  

That woman that had been with Loki was the one to fully convince M’Baku with her powers to believe in her, seconds before her execution. And Bast only knows how M’Baku had convinced Okoye to help her. 

So Shuri kept quiet. Knowing full well that she wouldn’t be able to argue for herself. 

Not in this world. 

Okoye made no expression of surprise that he had guessed correctly and continued on with her request. “It doesn’t make my request any less important. Help us and we will restore the barriers. Bring power back to our people for whatever time remains.”  

“And what,” W’Kabi finally turned his eyes to Shuri, his disdain making her feel small. “She suddenly, out of the goodness of her heart, wants to help Wakanda?” 

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is we have the one person who can restore power to our home.” 

W’Kabi brought his gaze back to Okoye, no longer looking angry…but tired. “And what good is that when the world is dying?”  

Without even blinking Okoye leaned forward, her voice steady and strong, “Yes. The world is dying, but we are still here. And I will be here until the end.”

They hold each other's gaze for a long moment before W’kabi finally looked away. 

“I still don’t trust her.” 

“Do you trust me?” Okoye asked. 

“...yes.” 

“Then trust me . We will get the barriers back up. Let me be concerned about Shuri.”

A chill of foreboding went through Shuri then. Okoye’s words filled with a promise that made her nervous.  

If she had any other choice, Shuri would have heeded this warning chill and finished what she set out to do herself.

But she had no other choice.   

So her fate remained in the hands of those who were now strangers to her.  

W’Kabi sat a little straighter, slapping his hands to his knees. His face did not look wholly convinced but to Shuri’s relief he relented. 

“I can help you get as far as the main gate. The rest is up to you.” 

 

---

 

After putting out the fire, W’Kabi led the three of them toward the Golden Palace. Leading them through known blindspots of Border tribe patrols. Shuri imagined it wasn’t too hard of a task considering how large and empty the area was and how little was left of the Border tribe. 

The trek led them through broken down homes and abandoned shops. Frozen walkways and charred buildings. 

If Shuri had thought it had looked terrible from far away…it was even worse up close. 

The fog that surrounded them muted any sound in general, but even without it the place would have been deathly quiet. It was hard for Shuri to even consider this place as Wakanda. 

Sounds of constant chatter, the warmth of laughter, the vibrancy of life. All gone. 

Shuri pulled her cloak tighter to herself, taking everything in as she trailed behind M’Baku. Her mind too stunned to ask a single question. 

She was grateful for the thick fog as it both kept them hidden as well as what was once the heart of Wakanda. 

However, when they passed the main street where the market district was, a strong wind cleared a portion of the fog away to show the devastation that was leftover. 

And in an instant Shuri saw everything on fire. The oppressive heat stealing her breath away as she stood in the middle of it all. 

Behind her was a familiar voice, 

“Then why are you crying?”

Namor?  

Shuri whipped her head around to find nothing behind her. The freezing cold and fog back with a snap. 

“Are you alright?” Mbaku asked, noticing she had stopped walking. He gripped her arm loosely to pull her forward so they wouldn’t gain too much distance between them and the others. “C’mon, we can’t linger here.”

“Yes.” She numbly said, wiping at her face to feel her cheeks had been wet. 

 

---

 

“I hope you’re right about this Okoye.” Were W’Kabi’s parting words as he stood at a broken sidewall of the palace. He flicked his eyes toward M’Baku and Shuri, lingering a long uncomfortable moment on her. 

They were standing just outside of the palace on top of the frozen river.  Shuri realized it was similar to the river entrance she had made for the Talokanil in her world. The design was slightly different, but the similarities made Shuri’s stomach churn slightly. 

Was she the same? 

Were the differences between her and this world’s Shuri many…or few?   

Okoye did not say anything back to W’kabi. She lifted her hand to grip onto his shoulder gently, giving him a slight nod in ‘thanks’ before moving into the palace. Shuri hurried after her, not wanting to be the last one with W’Kabi.  

Again, she was struck by the similarities and differences of the Talokanil entrance. The murals were different, the colors the same. The light fixtures were different, the hooks where Namor would hang his cloaks the same.  

Shuri walked over to the hooks, touching one gingerly.  

“Where do we go from here?” Okoye asked, breaking Shuri from her trance. 

“Security room, top floor.” 

M’Baku let out a long groan, “Of course it is.”  

They find the closest emergency stairwell, careful to avoid larger areas of the palace, not wanting to randomly run into anyone patrolling. Shuri couldn’t bring herself to focus on any of her surroundings as she should. Keeping her eyes solely on the back of M’Baku’s cloak. 

She couldn’t bring herself to see what had become of her home. 

It was only when they were within the stairwell that Shuri looked up, and up, and up. The stairwell was the length of the tallest point of the palace. When M’Baku groaned his displeasure again, Shuri had to agree.  

Okoye was the only one to look unbothered and was the first to begin the climb. 

They are quiet for a majority of it. Although Shuri had to admit that it was mostly due to her being out of breath then anything else. The cold had made the air thin and it was difficult to breathe with each agonizing step up. 

M’Baku would periodically curse a complaint, and Shuri turned it into a strange game to keep her mind occupied from the burn in her thighs. She made small bets with herself as to how many steps it would take for him to complain. Her accuracy rate of being right was at an impressive 77%. 

“Tell me,” The suddenness of Okoye speaking startled Shuri, causing her to trip slightly and mess up her game. She righted herself quickly and looked up to Okoye’s back. “Is Attuma living in your world?” 

Attuma?  

Shuri blinked rapidly at the question, surprised to hear the name roll off of the general’s tongue. The Okoye she knew couldn’t stand him. Then she remembered what M’Baku had told her on the river. Her husband had been a Talokanil man.

… he must have been in Talokan when… 

“Yes,” Shuri swallowed, wanting to be careful with her words. She didn’t want to keep upsetting Okoye. “But, the Okoye I know doesn’t really give him the time of day.” 

There was an encouraging snort that came out of Okoye, but she kept her back to Shuri to keep her face hidden. Shuri didn’t want to push her luck by saying anything else so she kept quiet. She only allowed herself a small smile as she imagined the soft look of irritated affection that only Okoye could make. 

At the top of the stairwell, M’Baku slammed his butt down at the top stair with a wheeze. He waved them away, “I’m not moving another step. Go on.”  

Okoye placed a hand on her hip. A look of annoyance crossing her features. “You live on top of a mountain and stairs are a problem?”

“Shut up, woman. Go on.” He growled out. 

“Fine. Be useful and serve as a lookout then.” Okoye rolled her eyes at M’Baku’s responding grunt, and tilted her head sharply for Shuri to go into the security room first. 

The room was cold, just as previous parts of the palace had been, but there was a stale stagnant scent that had been trapped within the room that caught her off guard. 

It was a surprisingly intact room, none of the windows cracked or broken. Only a main console at the center of the room had some damage done to it, bits of metal paneling pried off to get to the wiring and that was about it. 

Shuri surveyed the room with a quick glance, her heart jolting at having found the source of the smell. 

The bodies were old and desiccated. She assumed that the only reason why they weren't bones yet was because the room had remained sealed with near freezing temperatures.  

Her eyes lingered and she had to rip her eyes away to focus on what needed to be done. She began with wiping the dust away from the top of the console, feeling along the seam near the top as memories of her dismantling Wakanda’s protective measures began assaulting her.  

“How will you bring the barriers back with no power?”  

Shuri’s fingers found what she was looking for, pressing down on an invisible button that sprung open a latch the width of her hand. She then reached in to yank up a handled wheel. “I was the one to create this after all.” 

She felt a surge of relief to see the crank, not wanting to tell Okoye the full truth. That she was unsure if this world’s Shuri had put in this fail safe. 

Thank Bast. 

The crank was stiff from never having been used, but once Shuri got it turning, it moved with a bit more ease. There was a small amount of kinetic energy created as she turned, giving just enough to turn on the console. 

It lit up, flickering to life, and brightening with each turn of the wheel. 

“Thank Bast,” Okoye whispered, echoing Shuri’s earlier prayer. “This is really happening.” 

“It will take a few minutes for me to get everything set in place. Safety protocols and getting the power back before I can bring back the barriers.”  

“How long?” 

“Maybe five minutes? Ten? It’s hard to say, because of the cold, but if I can get this console to work then everything should be fine.” 

Okoye stared at the console with wonder, dancing her fingers along its smooth yet dusty surface. “Is there anything I can do?” 

“There are emergency elevators that work on the same kinetic energy mechanism that I have set with the console. It may take longer to power though. The crank is hidden just below the control panel.” She pointed to the opposite direction of the stairwell down a short hall. 

“Alright, I’ll take care of that.” 

Shuri nodded and turned to face the security computer, but was stopped with the tip of Okoye’s spear to her neck. 

“If this turns out to be some sort of trick…I’m tossing you out of that window.” Okoye flicked her eyes to the large window in front of them, the venom in her voice more chilling than the surrounding frost. 

“I just want to go home.” Shuri whispered, and the truth of that statement weighed between them like a physical thing.   

It was enough for Okoye to take her weapon away. 

Shuri let out a slow breath as she watched Okoye walk away. She closed her eyes briefly to focus on what could be done now so as to not get overwhelmed by…everything. 

If she did, she would become just as frozen as the world around her. 

She turned toward the console and let her fingers do the work, her mind locking in. The lit up computer a familiar comfort that eased her. 

Just as she thought, it would take several minutes longer than normal to have all systems warmed up enough to bring back both power and the barriers. But a few extra minutes was nothing compared to what this would mean to the struggling survivors of Wakanda. 

She shuddered at the thought that if this had been anywhere else, this process would have been weeks.  

Shuri sent another mental prayer to thank Bast as she watched each program she brought back online turned green. She switched back the safety protocols, rerouted the power where it needed to be first, and lastly set the barriers to turn back on as soon as the stored power allowed. 

There was a brief moment of hesitation, wondering if what she was doing would ultimately doom her and all of the universes’ if she did this as Loki had warned her. 

…But she had an instinctual feeling it would take more than a powered up Wakanda to reverse the effects of what happened to this world.  

As she waited for the systems to fully warm up, her gaze flicked to the side as a bit of color caught her eye. 

Red and blue. 

On the floor, under a piece of broken debris, was a string of kimoyo beads…but just not any set of beads. There were two smaller beads within the bracelet, one red and one blue.  

“To represent my life before becoming queen, my tribe, the dora-”  

These were her mothers beads. 

Shuri slowly bent to pick them up, her finger grazing over the beads. Her own mother had never done this, but apparently this version did. 

The unevenness of the bracelet reminded her of her own. The one with the misshapen black pearl. 

Why were they here? 

A brief image of a memory came into view. One where she tossed the beads to the side in her haste to burn down Wakanda…

…and then a voice spoke. Words that she knew would change the course of everything in this life.  

A woman’s voice she did not recognize. 

“ I can tell you who killed your family.”

 

---

 

797 - Past   

 

Shuri shoved her way into the medical bay, not caring that she had knocked several people down to get through. The place was too crowded and her throat felt too tight to properly speak to have them move. It was a feeling that had followed her all the way from Talokan.  

She had heard news that had her dropping everything. The young Talokanil Queen didn’t even have the presence of mind to tell her husband what happened.  

This isn’t real. 

This isn’t real. 

Bast, please let this not be real. 

Bast did not hear her prayers. 

“Mother?”  

In front of her was a long white oval shaped table. 

Ramonda lying lifelessly on top of it. 

“Princess Shuri-” A young doctor began, holding up his hands as he took a step toward her.  

“Get out.” She whispered. 

“Prin-” 

“GET OUT!” 

The sharp command had the other doctors and medical staff stumbling over themselves to leave. Shuri didn’t move until only the silence was left. A small, childish part of her wished that her mother was simply asleep. That her features were relaxed instead of strangely rigid. 

But the moment she placed a hand on Ramonda’s wrist, she knew her mother was gone.  

All of them gone. 

Her whole family gone. 

Shuri let out an anguished scream, turning to strike at whatever was closest to her. Medical supplies were sent crashing to the floor and anything glass was broken. The only thing left untouched was Ramonda's body as Shuri raged at the room around her. 

Her eyes and throat burned as she sobbed, unable to stop the flood of grief that poured out of her. Ramonda was dead and all Shuri could remember was that their last conversation was a bitterly angry argument.  

The irrational guilt of not being there, for not saving her mother, clawed at her.  

Amongst the destruction of broken syringes and ripped gauze, Shuri sat down with her back leaning against the table that cradled the dead Queen. Her voice hoarse as she croaked out her question. 

“Griot. What happened?” 

“Your mother had suffered a heart attack. It was unexpected, and her body was not strong enough to withstand it.”  

“What do you mean ‘not strong enough’? My mother has always been healthy.” 

“True. However it is not unheard of for a woman your mother’s age to experience a heart attack.” 

Shuri thought about their last conversation again. The sheer amount of paranoia her mother exhibited must have put a lot of stress on her body alone…yet… 

“Griot, was there anything strange with her blood work?” 

“The tests came back as inconclusive.” 

“...was there anything strange with my brothers?” 

“Those tests came back as inconclusive as well.”  

Shuri curled into herself, her arms wrapped tightly around her body. She stayed that way, unsure of how much time had passed. The light shifted to let her know that time was still moving forward somehow.  

“Princess? Your husband has arrived and requested to see you.” 

“...no.” She croaked out, her limbs aching from having not moved. Her husband would comfort her, know exactly the right words to soothe her. And Shuri did not want that. She wanted to hold onto what she was feeling. “I don’t want to see him…I can’t.” 

Time passed until night fell and the fluorescent lights flickered on above her. Warm light replaced with cold light. 

She only moved when she heard the soft trill of an incoming call on Kimoyo beads. It wasn’t hers because she had shut them off, and with a slow turn of her head she realized it was coming from her mothers. 

Shuri stared wide eyed at the beads on her wrist, the familiar blue and red beads making her heart ache. 

Slowly she pulled off the bracelet, avoiding contact with her mother’s skin as much as possible. 

And answered the call. 

“Ah hah, Princess Shuri. Pleasure to finally meet you.” 

A small half hologram appeared above the beads, revealing a middle aged pale woman with long dark hair with a shock of white strands framing her face. She looked comfortable which contrasted the stark confusion that Shuri felt.  

“Oh, that’s right, should I be calling you Queen Shuri? Sorry for your loss.” 

“What?” Shuri blurted out. How could this woman possibly know her mother was dead when she just barely learned of it today. “Who are you?”  

“The name is Val…a ‘friend’ of your mother’s.” The woman squinted and tilted her head to amend, “ Of sorts.”  

It dawned on Shuri then that this was the person her mother had been speaking to. The one who had filled her head with conspiracies about Namor.  

“You told my mother my brother was murdered.” 

“I did.” 

“You lied-” 

“Not really, I simply provided a small truth with a few retractions. She was more than ready to fill in the blanks herself instead of asking for details.”  She grinned, the look stoking Shuri’s anger to a full boil. “I would have gladly given the whole truth. One would just have to ask.” 

Shuri gritted her teeth, gripping the beads so tightly that she was sure an indentation in her skin would be left over. “And what truth was that?” 

“That your brother was poisoned by someone close to him.”   Val tilted her head , studying Shuri’s face carefully. 

There was a single second of hesitation that stopped Shuri from immediately asking ‘who?’, that moment filled with a crushing worry that her mother had been right. That her husband was the one to be blamed…but Val had said her mother had not asked for details. Her mother had allowed her anger to win. 

Shuri was quiet for a long time and Val quickly grew impatient. 

“ I can tell you who killed your family.” The words brought Shuri’s focus back to Val. This stranger she shouldn’t trust, but she couldn’t bring herself to stop listening too. “Your mother may not have wanted the details, but I know that you’re different. You want the facts first.” 

“Then who?” 

“Eric Killmonger.”  

Shuri was quick to pull the name into a separate screen, bringing up an old military photo of a young man. Her eyes quickly scanned the impressive record and aptitude tests. This man clearly excelled in everything he’d set out to do, but he was a stranger to her. 

…however there was a familiarity to his face that frightened her. 

“Who exactly is this?” 

“Your cousin. It’s not listed in his records, but his Wakandan name is N’Jadaka.” 

The news stunned her mute. She would have immediately protested until Val mentioned the second name. So her response came out stiffly, unconvinced even in herself as she uttered, “I don’t have a cousin.” 

“Your father hadn’t realized his brother had a son…If only they had the chance to talk…if he hadn’t killed his brother.”

“You're lying.”

Val continued as if she hadn’t heard Shuri, “So that’s why Kilmonger killed him.”

“…it was- it was an attack on a US embassy-”

“Killing your father was personal for him, but killing the rest of your family? He considered that a necessity.” Val continued to explain how they had once worked together, how Killmonger had come to them for their resources acquired after the alien invasion of New York, how Killmonger had helped to create a poison to take down a biologically enhanced individual. 

And in return? Killmonger had offered Wakanda’s coveted Vibranium for her help.  

“So together we created an untraceable poison from alien technology, and suddenly the indestructible Black Panther has an aggressive sickness that no one can stop.” Shuri flinched, her heart breaking into a million pieces, but Val continued, “And the widowed Queen has an unexpected heart attack.” 

“W-why are you telling me this?” Shuri gasped, unable to breathe. 

“Well, your mother and I are friends.” The older woman snorted, as if she had spoken a joke, then relented, “And also your cousin has no intention of keeping up his end of the deal so,” She held up her hands in a ‘ta da’ gesture, “here I am.” 

Shuri was unable to listen to another word this woman was speaking, her shock and grief replaced with a fierce determination. “I’m going to kill you, you did all of this.” She hissed.  

“Oh, but how? I don’t have access to your country and wouldn’t it be strange to have this cousin of yours suddenly appear? He had an in…” Val held up a hand, displaying four fingers with her thumb tucked in, “Four ‘ins’ of them to be precise. Who were more than happy to be rid of your family to usher in a new King.” 

Dread and betrayal unsettled everything within Shuri. 

“Killmonger provided the plan, I handed over the gun, your council pulled the trigger.” 

 

---

 

The memory shifted and blurred the following events quickly. 

Shuri locked herself away in her lab, forcing everyone out and denying any audience her husband requested of her. She found the proof in Val’s words, finding photos of her cousin at the embassy her father had been killed in, and later isolated the compound in both her brother’s and mother’s blood samples taken after their death. 

Everything that Val had told her had been true. 

If Shuri had more presence of mind. If she had spoken to her husband or Okoye, they would have rationalized the entire thing. That Val had told her to create a destructive incident that only Val could benefit from. 

...but she refused to see them.  

So her rage overtook her. 

Even the words of her own brother could not stop her when she took the herb and was visited by him in the Ancestral plain. He had been shocked to see her, begging her to change her mind. To listen to the ones that were still there for her, that loved her.  

“Who would I be if I allowed this injustice to go unpunished? To do nothing when my entire family is dead.” She hissed, her eyes bright and shining. 

Her brother rushed forward, holding onto her shoulders tightly, his words earnest and desperate. “It’s not a weakness to choose another path, Shuri, please-” 

“No.” 

T’Challa took a step back, stunned and heartbroken as his eyes searched hers, before his features settled into a grave recognition. Shuri was unmoved, so he left her with one last warning. His words would go unheard until it would be too late. “Sister, your rage, this fire, will consume more than you are willing to give.” 

Everything shifted again, speeding through memories in quick succession.  

Shuri called on a council meeting. Dressed as the new Black Panther. She forced the guards out of the room and pulled a confession out of each of the tribal leaders before executing them, throwing them one by one off of the balcony to the shocked Wakandans below them. 

It shifted again. 

Shuri was finally confronted by Namor for the first time in weeks. He tried to reason with her, to stop her, and she surprised him with her new strength. Yanking his golden spear out of his hands, and stabbing him through his side to pin him to the wall to keep him from following her.

It shifted again. 

Shuri, not wanting Wakanda to benefit from all that she had done for them, undid every safety protocol, brought down the barriers, shut down Griot from speaking to her, and finally programmed several unmanned ships to attack the people it was meant to protect. Setting all of Wakanda on fire.  

It shifted again.

Wakanda was burning, and Shuri stood in the middle of it all, unmoved by the sight.

N’Jadaka and the council had wanted a throne?  

The Americans wanted their vibranium? 

She would leave them all a hill of ash when she was through. 

“Shuri!” Namor called out, and she looked back to see him struggling to breathe with the surrounding fire, and holding the wound on his side that she had inflicted on him. Holding the spear in his hand to keep him upright. 

Shuri let her cowl recede back, letting loose her braids. The heat of fire around her stealing the breath from her lungs and the moisture from her skin. She wondered why he was trying to stop her. Didn’t he once want to burn the world with her? 

Why not start here?

She pointed toward the palace, rage pushing her voice into a scream, “They did this! They killed her!” Shuri swallowed, angry at this unknown cousin who wanted her family dead, angry at that American woman who would help him for the promise of resources. Their motivations she could see clearly, but the council? People that have known her family for generations? Their motivation remained unclear to her. “They killed her!  Not for vengeance, not for Wakanda, but for a throne! They betrayed my family, they betrayed me! Have I not given everything!?” 

Namor gave her a long quiet somber look, “This isn’t you, Shuri.”  

“No.” She shook her head, not wanting to listen to him. Her rage louder than the small voice inside of her that pleaded with her to just listen. “The last person who knew me is dead, you know nothing.” 

He flinched at the words as if it were a physical slap and swallowed, taking a step closer to her, “Then why are you crying?” 

 

---

 

797 - Present 

 

“Kimoyo beads?”

Shuri took in a sharp intake of breath, brought back to the present from Okoye’s question. She wiped a hand down her face, her cheeks wet for the second time that day. The Kimoyo beads felt heavy in her hand, so she offered them to Okoye. “My mother’s beads. Keep them.” 

Okoye’s eyes flicked between the beads and Shuri. Hesitation paused her movements as she studied Shuri’s distressed face. Then she finally took them and slipped them over her wrist.  

Behind them, the console made a sound to alert them that the barriers were ready. Both women stepped up to the computer, cautious and hopeful. 

“Is this it?” M’Baku asked, walking in after hearing the foreign noise. No longer used to the artificial sounds of a computer.  

Not bothering to answer him, Shuri reached forward and flipped everything to ‘on’. The trio watched as a blue shimmer filled the sky, dropping over the whole of Wakanda like a piece of lace before disappearing completely. It was followed by the soft yet noticeable sound of an electric hum of power all around them, energy restored to the palace. Warm air filtered into the room bringing it to a comfortable temperature that brought a laugh out of M’Baku and a small smile cracking Okoye’s stoic features. 

The happy moment lasted only a second. 

“I am glad to know that my trust in you Okoye did not go to waste.” W’Kabi’s voice sliced through the their small elated bubble with a jagged edged blade. The trio turned to find him, and several members of the Border tribe, blocking the stairwell. 

Okoye side eyed M’Baku, “You make a terrible look out.” 

“You already knew that about me.” 

W’Kabi huffed out a sigh, cutting in before the two could argue. “We thank you for bringing back the barriers, and for bringing the traitor to us. We will take her off your hands.” 

Shuri felt all eyes on her and could practically hear the slight creak of the many warriors tightening their hold on their weapons. For a heart dropping moment she thought that Okoye would dump her, but was relieved when the general took a step in front of her, taking back their attention. 

“If you give her to us, we will let the two of you go. Unharmed.”  

“Please,” M’Baku snorted, “How kind of you. We get the barriers up and you claim it as yours.” 

“Quiet Jabari!”  A voice sneered. An all too familiar voice that had Shuri tensing instinctively in disgust. She shifted to find Jiya standing just a few feet away from the hallway that led to the elevator. That same unmistakable sneer on his face.  

His eyes found hers and she clutched her vibranium hand into a fist. 

“There is still more she can do. The vibranium-” 

“Is locked away. The safety of Wakanda is more than enough for us.”  

DING. 

The elevators.  

“Go!” Okoye yelled, whipping her spear around in an arc to drive away the warriors in front of her. Both M’Baku and Shuri obeyed her command without a second thought, but Shuri made a slight detour.  

As they ran toward the hallway, Jiya came to intercept them. Shuri swung her hand hard. She no longer had the power of Bast coursing through her veins, but her fist was still made out of vibranium. The solid connection between temple and metal, crumpled Jiya to the floor instantly.  

Shuri managed to spit on him before M’Baku dragged her the rest of the way to the elevator. They clammored in, Shuri already typing commands into the elevator to take them to the underground railways that would take them to Mount Bashenga, but froze when she realized Okoye was still standing just outside of the doors, spear swiping at the Border tribe to stay back. 

“You can’t take us all at once, Okoye.” W’Kabi warned, looking as if he did not want to fight her despite his claim. 

The general smirked, widening her stance to show she was ready for the challenge. “You truly believe that?” 

“Okoye-” 

“Go. They will just be able to call the elevator back if we all leave.” 

“But-” 

“Go! That is an order.” She spoke over her shoulder, never taking her eyes off of what was in front of her. “Keep up your end of the deal, Shuri, and M’Baku…do what needs to be done.” Okoye reached back slamming the panel behind her to shut the elevator doors.  

 

---

 

Shuri sat across the way from M’Baku on the tram. It glided silently on the railway toward Bashenga, and inside it was blessedly warm. They would be at the lab in a handful of moments, a place where Shuri could finally find an answer to defeat Kang and find a way back home, but her stomach twisted at the thought of having just left Okoye. 

“M’Baku-” 

“She’ll be alright.”  

Shuri was surprised by the conviction in his words. “How do you know?” 

“I just do.” His voice was uncharacteristically soft, and Shuri believed him. She didn’t want to think otherwise. M’Baku shifted in his seat, tilting his head curiously at her. “That man you punched…it looked like you knew him.” 

“My husband,” Shuri scoffed, then noticed M’Baku’s strange look and quickly supplied, “From my world.” 

“That bad eh?” 

“Yes.” She grimaced, not looking forward to seeing him again. 

“Sorry to not let you finish him off then.” 

“Hopefully I’ll get my chance when I go back.” Shuri offered him a smile, but M’Baku quickly looked away. 

The rest of the ride was quiet, and thankfully uninterrupted. It was nice to have something go smoothly for once. When they made it to Mount Bashenga, the cold coiled itself in as the doors slid open. It would have normally led directly into the lab, but it was barricaded and they were forced to walk outside and up a slight incline to reach another entryway.   

An entryway that showed several bodies just outside of it. 

“You programmed the lab security to attack whomever wasn’t you. Go on. I’ll wait here for you.” M’Baku gestured for her to continue, taking up residence on a nearby boulder. 

Shuri felt her heart speed up, suddenly nervous to be on her own. She swallowed, gingerly stepped over the bodies, and made her way inside.  

The lab was hushed. Quiet in a way that felt unnatural. She had to snap her fingers just to make sure that she hadn’t gone deaf. There wasn’t a single light on and Shuri had never seen it so dark inside before. There was always some program running, personal desk lights on, or at the very least there was Griot with a greeting. She had worked in the lab by herself before, but it never felt so desolate. 

She slowly took a few more steps in until a light above her flickered on, causing her to jump in surprise. Then several lights followed after, lighting a single path for her to follow. It reminded her of that old British fairytale about the young girl following a rabbit. 

Almost home. Shuri reminded herself…but her inner voice sounded strangely masculine…and familiar.  

Shuri followed along the lit path until she reached a barricaded section of the lab. Several tables, chairs, and wooden slabs to block off the rest of the lab. She walked in and found a makeshift room. A table covered in materials, work tools, and sketches. A small mattress in the far corner, piled with blankets and a familiar rust colored cloak. And lastly…

“Atan.” 

…Shuri walked further into the room, her eyes wide as she slowly took in what was infront of her. She hadn’t even realized that the voice didn’t come from inside of her head, that it was said aloud. 

That voice was unmistakable.  

Her eyes watered at having not heard it in so long. 

For not seeing him in so long. 

Before her stood a large tank, the light that flickered on turned the water a soft blue.  

Namor floating just inside of it.  

He looked to be sleeping, his face peaceful. His body was entirely intact and Shuri realized that the water must be preserving him somehow…but there was one jarring difference. 

The jagged tear across his throat.  

“Welcome home.” 

Notes:

Sorry for such a late update.

This month has been *sigh* a month lol

Hope you like it :)

-

OH! If anyone had read 'change for better or worse' I used one of the Shuri's visions to create 797 😅

Chapter 22: Revelations

 

 

616 Present

“Aj K’uk’ulkan.”   

Namor looked up to find Attuma standing before him, a strange mixture of caution and confusion on his face. The large man was normally so stoic that it was unsettling to see him so affected. 

“Yes?” 

“We have a…visitor.” Attuma stepped to the side, allowing Okoye to step into the hut.She wore a blue and yellow suit that Namor had seen her use before, but only in combat. Her mask was retracted completely. Her eyes were large and pleading. Attuma took another glance at her, his anxiety only revealed in the way he looked at her. “I found her on the surface near the coast. She said she was looking for us.”  

That explained why his general looked so unsettled. Namor knew of Attuma’s partiality to the warrior. To Namor, he was about as subtle as a blue whale in a pond.

“I see.” Namor stood, motioning for Okoye to come in closer. “You may leave us, Attuma.”

He hesitated, looking at Okoye again. Namor spoke softer in Maya, assuring Attuma that everything was alright. That seemed to satisfy him as he left soon after. 

It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his general, it was just that he wanted to keep any kind of conversation to just those who needed to be there. 

“Has something happened?”

Okoye took a step closer to him, her voice thick with desperation. “I need to see them, please .”  

The request took him off guard. However, he didn’t need to ask what she meant by ‘them’. “...General-” 

“Please, she-” Okoye closed her eyes briefly, reliving the explosion she had witnessed, that she had been a part of. “She had me be the one to destroy their house, and I just need to see them with my own eyes. I need to know that they are safe.”   

 

---

 

A few weeks prior 

…with their small private meeting over, the King and his general leave first. 

Just as Okoye was about to follow after them, Namor stopped her the second they were alone. 

“There is something I would like to discuss with just you.”  

Okoye eyed him suspiciously, glancing at the doors to the throne room shutting close. It was just the two of them now. She stood taller, squaring her shoulders as she faced him. “About?”

“About a certain precaution I would like to take…one about a young Prince.” He said carefully, watching as she notably tensed. Her reaction confirmed that she knew about Shuri’s hidden nephew. “I learned of his existence when the Black Panther first visited him, and I think it would be prudent that he be moved to a different location for his own safety.” 

“And I presume that you are going to recommend Talokan.” 

He dismissed the clear disdain in her tone. Okoye was clearly unhappy that they were giving him Riri, and now he was asking for her trust with bringing a hidden prince of Wakanda and the woman who had murdered two of his children. 

In all honesty, he would be happy to leave the mother to her fate, but the late Queen of Wakanda had already paid the price and he knew that Shuri considered her a sister. 

So Namor bit back his own ire, knowing that time was of the essence.  

“I already have General Attuma waiting to transport them, but I will be needing your help to contact the mother so that the transfer could be as smooth as possible.” 

“How do I know you won't hurt them?” The resistance in her voice was notable, but softened. Just on the verge of relenting. 

“I would not wait for permission if that were the case.” 

They stare at each other, allowing their eyes to speak for several long seconds before Okoye finally nods her head.   

“I will make the call.” 

 

---

 

“I need to know they are safe.” 

The two of them had refrained from speaking alone since that night. Keeping all interaction surface level so as to not draw any attention to them. 

Namor mulled over what Okoye had admitted to, and what this Shuri had mentioned about trying to have her nephew killed. The details were sparse, but it wasn’t hard to piece together what happened.  

He finally gave Okoye a small nod, and minutes later he had Namora escorting both Nakia and Toussaint into his small hut. 

The relief that crashed over Okoye was staggering. Both Okoye and Nakia rushed into each other, hugging so closely that they could have been mistaken for one entity. 

“You’re alive!” Okoye sobbed out. 

Nakia rubbed a hand down the other woman’s back gently, unsure of her friend's turmoil but knew she needed to reassure her. “We’re alright. We’re both alright.”  

“You have been treated well, sister?” 

This had been spoken in Xhosa. A whispered question for just Nakia to hear. Namor understood the question just fine, but he wasn’t offended. He could understand Okoye’s concern. What surprised him was when Nakia pulled away to answer in English, so that he was brought back into the conversation.  

“The Talokanil have been very generous to us.”  

“I like it down here.” Toussaint piped up shyly, looking at Okoye curiously as he held onto Namora’s hand. 

The two had created a small friendship that had surprised everyone. Namora had been completely charmed by the small prince, answering his millions of questions about the Talokan with a calm patience. Even going as far as to bring him small gifts from the bottom of the ocean to show the curious child. 

Nakia reached out to her son, who was now near his mother’s shoulder, and introduced him to Okoye. “This is one of your mother’s oldest friends. She helped get us here to safety.” 

His eyes lit up with the new information, giving Okoye a large toothy grin, and she quickly knelt down and brought him into a small hug which he returned eagerly. “Thank you! The big blue man was really nice.”   

“You must find everyone you know to be nice.” 

The young boy made a face. “Not Jean Luc. He’s in my class and he always kicks the ball out of the school yard.” 

Okoye snorted, and patted his head. She looked between the mother and son, slowly blinking at the two of them as if to make sure they were real. Her earlier panic melted away. Okoye stood and turned to look at Namor. “How is Riri Williams?” 

“Riri Williams is here?” Nakia asked in surprise. 

With a soft sigh, Namor nodded to Namora and cut a quick glance toward Toussaint. She understood right away and she gently steered him toward the direction of the doorway. Her gurgled speech, translated through her breather. “Come, little prince.” 

The child looked disappointed at having to leave, but Nakia reassured him that she would follow soon. He took Namora’s hand and spoke in broken Maya, “M-na’aloob.” 

She was completely delighted by his attempt, and as they walked off she corrected him, “Ma’alob.” And Toussaint could be heard attempting again with a laugh.  

Namor waited until he could no longer hear them, before addressing Okoye, “I have kept them separate so that the scientist could focus.” 

 

---

 

The scientist had been giving him updates almost daily, walking him through her process. At first it had been tense between them, using Aneka as her main proxy to communicate with him, but as time moved on she began to loosen up around him. 

Never fully, but less suspicious.  

It never bothered him as he only focused on the goal at hand, and was pleased to see that there was actual progress. She took to Talokan’s technology with ease and appeared to be on friendly terms with the Talokanil scientists that helped her. 

Within the vast cave system of upper Talokan where his hut resided, they carved out an area to treat as her lab. A large pool of water was near the center so the Talokanil’s had easy access to the lab to bring whatever she needed. 

The last time he had spoken with her, she had lit up when she saw him, instead of the normal wary indifference she would throw his way. It filled him with a shaky hope that she had some good news to tell him.

Riri led him to the workstation she had made hers, showing him the various drawn equations and blue holograms that she had been working on. 

“So, I’ve been working on small scale tests for that reverse machine to bring back the Princess, and so far everything has been running smoothly.” Riri rummaged through the mess to pull out a few drawings she had done. On top there was one that looked close to the one he had described to her before the other Shuri broke it. She fiddled with it for a moment, partially revealing a second drawing underneath. “I’ll admit that the frequency technology y’all have, have been a major help.” 

“However?” Namor prompted. 

She cut a brief glance his way, “Okay, there have been a couple of issues I’ve been running into in terms of design of the machine. If you need something portable like before, I can rig something up no problem, but it wouldn’t be efficient and would take more time.”  

“You have something else in mind?” He could already tell where this was leading to. She wouldn't have offered the first path if there was a better plan.

Riri squared her shoulders, spreading the drawings apart so he could look at both, and leaned a hip against her workstation, looking ready for battle. “I can create a machine using your people’s technology where a large radius could be affected. It would be quicker and easier, but I would need a high point…like  a mountain….that has a lot of vibranium to act as a conductor.” 

The first drawing was the familiar gun shaped weapon. The second was simply of  Mount Bashenga. Scribbled notes of how the machine would work as a type of transmitter. 

“The lab in Wakanda.”  

“I know it’s a large risk, but it would be our best plan…especially since you mentioned there was more than one victim?”

Namor reached toward the drawing of Mount Bashenga, his fingers tracing the supple parchment paper. He could see for himself, through the various notes, that this would be the most effective plan, but there were too many variables out of place that he did not trust. 

“Would you be opposed to working on both options?” He finally said, looking at the young Scientist for confirmation. “I will work on a way to gather the others who have been affected into one place. However, I have no guarantee. If we need the machine sooner we will cross that bridge if we need to. 

Riri smirked and slapped a hand on the drawing of the smaller gun model, “Already working on it.” 

 

---

 

“I can arrange to speak with Fury to get the others who were affected into a central location. I have been told they have already captured one. However…” After having filled in both Nakia and Okoye of what was currently happening, Namor looked at Okoye expectantly.

She gave him a curt nod, “I can speak to a couple of the scientists that work in the lab, and can trust to be discreet. We can have things ready for Riri’s arrival if it comes to that. Just have her give me a list of what she needs.”

As they went over the details of what needed to be done, Nakia had stayed silent throughout. Her eyes never strayed from Namor’s face, studying him intently. 

“You're doing this all for Shuri?” Nakia asked suddenly. The question gave Okoye pause, her own questioning gaze joining Nakia’s. 

To have it said so plainly out loud, Namor could only hold their gaze. He could feel the two women dissecting him, attempting to make sense of his motives. There was a simple explanation, a path of least resistance to explain his movements. 

But he still felt like his answer was nowhere near adequate enough. 

“Our nations are allies.”  

 

---

 

A few days after Okoye’s impromptu visit, Shuri drops a decision on the council “In light of Ms. Fontaine's work and the recent events with Kang, I've decided it would be prudent to close our borders and end our work with our outreach programs.”

The elders look at one another stunned. Even the Dora send quick glances amongst themselves. 

Namor himself did not care for the programs themselves since it had been the beginning of the end of Talokan’s safe isolation, but even he knew that the Princess had worked tirelessly to keep her brother’s work alive and thriving. 

“Once the borders are closed, I believe we should also make an example of those who thought it wise to steal from us. The United States and France would be a good start.” 

One of the elders from the mining tribe was the first to speak, “Your brother-”

“Is no longer here to lead you.” Shuri quickly batted away their concern, muttering bitterly under her breath, “Apparently it's his fate in most worlds.”

“My Queen…how exactly did your brother die?” The Mining Tribe elder continued, not unkindly. Her question was a sincere one, an attempt to bridge the gap that Shuri was keeping firmly between her and the others. 

Namor looked to Shuri with interest. His curiosity peaked. The little that he knew was that her Wakanda was destroyed and that he was apparently dead.  

The young Queen shifted in her seat, her eyes going dangerously dark. Like a shark smelling blood in water. 

“My family was assassinated, because the council thought it wise to do so.” 

With the blunt way she spoke, it took the entire room several seconds to fully  comprehend what had just been revealed. 

“Y-your council?” 

“Yes. All of you had your hand in the scheme.” Shuri smiled pleasantly. A smile that spoke of light conversation instead of mutiny. “And you were all executed for it. Thrown off that very balcony behind me.”  

The elders looked at one another slowly. Each of their faces pallor quickly waning. M’Kathu in particular looked as if he might turn to stone on the spot. 

Shuri chuckled at their reaction. Sliding to the side to prop her chin on her upturned hand, using the wide armrest of the throne. Her body relaxed, but her eyes calculating. “Don't worry yourselves. You didn’t do anything wrong. I’ve checked.”  

Namor flicked his eyes in Okoye’s direction. She was already looking back at him, her lips pressed firmly together.   

“All of you are so stiff. I plan to keep what’s mine safe. All I ask, as your Queen, is your loyalty. I will not tolerate any form of betrayal or suspicious behavior.” Shuri languidly stood from the throne, as smooth as oil on water. She took a turn around the room slowly, until she was facing the Dora Milaje. Her eyes flashing brightly on Okoye. “Speaking of which.” 

The general’s brows furrowed together in confusion. “My Queen?” 

“A few nights ago you took a Midnight Angel suit, and then you scrambled your location after leaving Wakanda. Where did you go?” 

Okoye focused all of her energy to not let her eyes stray, to not look toward Namor. She had no lie to give, and the truth would get several people killed. All she could say was, 

“I-” 

The Queen lifted a hand to cut her off, nodding to Ayo and the other Dora Milaje that stood behind her who, with an uncommon hesitation in their movements, lifted their spears to point toward their friend.  

To Okoye’s credit she didn’t flinch and kept her eyes on Shuri. Who didn’t look the least bit upset by this development. 

“I will not tolerate any type of betrayal,” She looked toward the other Dora Milaje expectantly. “Go on.” 

“My Queen?” Ayo questioned. 

Shuri let out a huff, annoyed. “Take her eye, for now. She can be executed later.”

“The general was in Talokan.” 

All heads whipped toward Namor who stood from his seat. There was a hurried whisper of ‘My King’ from Namora who stood behind him. He didn’t need to turn to know that she was looking at him in disbelief, because that was exactly what he was feeling.   

Instinct had kicked in and he was moving before he could even weigh in the consequences. 

Shuri lifted her chin, studying his face carefully as she asked, “And what exactly was she doing in Talokan?” 

A flash of Attuma’s face came to Namor then, and again, without thinking, he calmly said, “She was there for a personal matter. Visiting with one of my generals.” The partial truth rolled smoothly off of his tongue, hoping that that would be enough.  

And to his and Okoye’s surprise, it was. 

Queen Shuri snorted and rolled her eyes to bring back her gaze to Okoye. “So you prefer Talokanil men in this world too?” 

Okoye didn’t say a word. 

“ Fine , leave the eye and have her locked away. I'll deal with her later.”

Shuri brought her gaze back to Namor. A hint of a smile at the corner of her lips. In the short time he had gotten to know this  Shuri…Namor knew it was a bad omen. 

Without looking away from him, Shuri spoke to the rest of the room. “This meeting is over. Leave us.” 

There was a palpable hesitation in the room. Not one person moving to leave. She sighed in annoyance and repeated her command. The words edged with a sharpness that had the room emptied within seconds. 

Shuri tilted her head, taking slow steps around Namor. Her sliding up his form from toe to head. “So, you want to stop me from killing Okoye? I could be better persuaded not to.” She stopped directly in front of him. The omen that had been resting on her lips curved into a full grin.

“I will help you with Kang.”  

“Yes, yes,” She waved a hand in the air with a roll of her eyes, “But you were going to help me with that regardless. You wouldn't be giving me anything that I don't already have.” 

Rage burned through him in a flash. Her nonchalance to her threats against Talokan clearly a game to her. He moved to hold onto his wrist, his teeth gritting against saying what he really wanted to say to her.  

“What else did you want then?” 

“You.”

The answer was so simple, so startling, that all of the anger that had been boiling through him momentarily chilled. Shuri looked so sincere, so eager, but there was something just beyond that that made him unsettled. 

“After you help me destroy Kang, I promise not to kill Okoye, she can rot in a cell for all I care. Both Wakanda and Talokan will be kept safe.” She stepped closer to him, reaching up to touch his cheek. “Then we can be together again.”  

Again?

With Shuri so close, Namor glimpsed the sliver of insanity as she looked up at him, edged with desperation.  

If he said yes…that would buy him some time. The small scientist was so close. Everything felt within arms reach. 

But if he said no…Well, was that really an option available to him now?

Namor swallowed thickly, his tone hushed, “Fine.” 

Shuri's eyes lit up, her hand slipping down to press onto his chest. His heart stuttered, sharp and painful. To see her looking at him so freely, so happy to want to be with him.

It was something that he had never dreamed of as a possibility. 

All of it tainted. 

Shuri took a step closer to him, her chest nearly pressed to his, tilting her face to him expectantly. “I need some reassurance that you'll make good on our deal.” 

A tense breath passed. She had kissed him before, but he had never reciprocated. And now, with her looking up at him, sweet and taunting, it felt like another thing tainted. 

Stolen.  

He leaned down, his eyes landing on her still open gaze as he pressed a faint kiss to her lips. Breaking it off before she could kiss him back. 

“Come now,” She didn’t pull away, keeping her face exactly as before. A brow lifted. “I know you can do better than that. This could be your only chance to kiss the woman who doesn’t love you back.”  

The careful, practiced patience that he had always relied on finally snapped. Fueled mostly by anger, he crashed his mouth down onto hers. Namor pulled her in close, and she became pliant under his hands, molding into his body perfectly. 

Anger and desire danced within him like two pieces of discordant music that somehow made sense when played together. It was distracting enough to pretend that this was the Shuri he had fallen in love with. The compassionate, brilliant woman that he would have been content with to just pass through life side by side.  

Even if she never loved him. 

Even if she hated him for the rest of her life. 

Maybe this would be his only chance.  

He went momentarily blind, his tongue sliding into her mouth, drinking her in. The anger began to leach out of him, leaving just the shell of a man that was filled with longing for the woman in his arms.  

Shuri made a sound in the back of her throat that nearly undid him, vaguely noticing that she had turned him enough to push him onto the throne. He only had a second's worth of breath before she climbed into his lap, wrapping around him to kiss him again. Taking his hand from her waist to slide up to her breast. 

That second gave him enough presence of mind to bring him back to the present. To remember who was in his lap now, pressed into him so intimately.  

This wasn’t who he wanted.

Namor roughly pushed her off of him, his breath uneven as she let out a startled laugh. She hopped a couple steps back to catch her balance, looking down at him. 

Smug. 

As if she knew exactly how everything would pan out for them now. “Much better.”  

She slid close to him again, leaning in close to press her lips to the corner of his mouth. He tensed, ready to push her back again if he had to. But she didn’t try anything else and simply stared at him, a possessive gleam in her eyes.

“I want you willingly my love,” She whispered, her lips nearly on his, her voice dropping an octave, “but I’m willing to rip you down to shreds and take whatever is left of you if I have to.”  

There had been a detail that tugged at Namor, one that hadn’t made sense to him when she had mentioned the execution of her council. 

“You were the one that killed your council." 

It wasn’t a question.  

“Yes.” 

“Because they killed your family.” 

“Yes.” 

“When I had told you that I was the one responsible for your mother’s death, why had you not done the same to me?”  

Shuri stood straight, her face going blank.

The tense silence in the room thick enough to suffocate. 

“Because I've already killed you before.”

Notes:

*Insert* I'm in danger simpson's gif for Namor lol

Back to 797 next chapter!

Just a lil more to go :) (also HOLY HELL THIS IS AT 90k words! T_T)

Chapter 23: What we can and can't fix

Notes:

Please be aware that there is some graphic violence ahead.

 

 

797
Past

 

"Then why are you crying?"…

Shuri reached up to touch her face and feeling the moisture there. She angrily scrubbed away the tears. Skin chaffing slightly from the roughness of her suit. The fire surrounding her quickly dried away the rest.

It did not sway her anger in the least.

"It does not matter." Her teeth gritted together, her anger directing itself toward her husband now. "Why are you not on my side? Why don't you understand?!"

Namor looked at her with a pained expression. The kind that had nothing to do with the wound he was trying to hold shut. He took a ragged breath in to speak, the heat was almost too much for him, "I do understand Shuri. I understand to have one's enemy pay. I would have stood by your side if that was what you needed of me."

"Then why are you trying to stop me."

"Listen. Just take a moment to breathe. And listen."

The request had taken her momentarily off guard to do just that.

At first all she heard was the roaring flames eating away at the heart of Wakanda, burning through generations and ingenuity. Then beyond that she heard the wailing, the cries of her people trying desperately to survive.

It sent a chill down her spine that cut through the heat.

But it only lasted a second.

Shuri mentally shut out the screams and focused on the fire, her rage. She refused to let this go. She had come too far to stop now. She couldn't. Namor read it clearly on his face, and she could see his heart breaking.

"If you're not going to help me, then I suggest you leave." She turned then, determined to finish what she had started, but her husband would not leave her. Shuri heard his fumbled footsteps as he tried to follow her.

JUST LEAVE ME ALONE.

Everything screamed within her, burying her deep in a place that no one could reach.

Blinding her.

Leading to a moment she could never take back.

Without thinking, Shuri turned toward him and swiped out a hand. She had meant to only push him back. Throw out an attack that would force him to step away from her. However there were several things that she did not anticipate. Things that she would come to recognize when it was all too late.

How the fire had slowed his movements due to the lack of moisture in the air.

How close he had gotten to her.

How she was still unfamiliar to the power of the Black Panther boiling through her veins.

How she had unsheathed her claws.

How the vibranium had so easily torn through his throat.

For a long moment nothing had happened, Shuri frozen by the wrongness of it all, and then a deep red spilled over Namor's skin, drenching his pearls and chest in flood.

There was so much blood.

"No." She whispered, and dove to catch him as he slowly crumbled to the floor, ignoring his spear that clanged to the ground right next to them. Shuri held him close to her, cradling him in her lap, her free hand trying desperately to stop the blood from flowing out of him. "No no no no no-! Ch'ah! Please-"

As she was in denial of what was happening, hoping against all hope that things could somehow be reversed, Namor took it all in calmly. He reached up with a weak hand, his fingers trailing down her cheeks to follow the path her tears were taking.

Namor looked at her as if he was simply trying to memorize her face. There was no anger, no hate, no betrayal in his gaze, and it all somehow felt worse to her.

"…Please…Ch'ah."

///

T'Challa had officially introduced them the day Wakanda and Talokan's alliance was formally made. There had been a huge procession as Talokan walked into the Golden palace as guests to the King. It was an end to a long standing feud that left most relieved.

And others not so much.

Originally, T'Challa had planned to introduce Namor to both Queen Ramonda and Princess Shuri, but their mother had scoffed and stormed out of the room before he could even speak. Her brother had let out a long sigh, throwing a quick apology to Namor before following after Ramonda.

Leaving the Wakandan Princess and Talokanil King alone.

Shuri tilted her head, openly taking his appearance in. He had come to the palace with an elaborate head piece that dazzled with gold and feathers, but he had long since taken it off and appeared disappointingly human now. Minus his pointed ears and winged feet of course.

Although, she had to admit he was quite handsome up close.

He looked back at her with equal interest, amusement glittering through his eyes.

"So," She began, crossing her arms. "Your name is Namor?"

"Only if you see me as your enemy." He answered casually, not a hint of malice in his tone. It was almost teasing.

"Hmm well you are, for now. You're on a probationary period until I officially decide."

They both instantly grinned at each other, and Shuri decided right then and there that she liked him.

///

It didn't matter how much she pleaded, how hard she pressed his wound shut. Namor died in her arms, his eyes never straying from her face even as they grew distant.

Shuri let out a deep guttural cry that could be more felt then heard, when she saw that he was gone. The sound of a shattering heart fully realized.

She shakily touched his face, his arms, still not believing he was gone. Then she saw the blood that had pooled between them, his blood. Her eyes tracked the blood up to his neck, to her left hand that had torn through it, and lastly to his golden spear that sat only a few feet away from them.

Carefully she settled him down to the floor, and grabbed the spear. Setting the sharp edge of the weapon to her left wrist.

 

---

 

797
Present

"Are you well, Atan?"

Namor's voice drifted into her, soft and insistent. Pulling her back to the present. It was a balm to her nerves. She had no headache but her heart felt weighed down by the truth she had just seen.

Shuri slowly raised her eyes to look at him, his body suspended and intact, in a liquid she assumed was keeping him that way. Her eyes stayed on the jagged tear across his throat, bloodless, but still unnerving to see.

Her vibranium hand flexed.

"…You're dead…"

"Yes."

"But your…not-" Decaying. Shuri thought, but she couldn't bring herself to say it. "Your intact."

"Yes, because you have put my body in stasis."

"Stasis." She echoed, and she looked around her to see all the papers scattered in front of his tank. Realizing just then she had fallen to her knees when that awful memory had hit her. She shifted through a few of them but she knew what they were. "I was trying to bring you back to life."

"Yes, Atan."

Each paper acted as a puzzle piece locking into place. Bleeding in the knowledge slowly. This Shuri had been trying, unsuccessfully, for years. Most of her plans seemed to border on the more fantastical. A view of a desperate mind weighed down by years of failure.

Shuri felt pity for this version of her. She could almost understand why, the want to bring her own family back was a weight in her own life, but the rational part of her kept from fully sympathizing.

"Why would she- Why would I…even think this could work." She had said it mostly to herself, but 'Namor' answered.

"You attempted the more practical routes of your understanding, but when you could go no further you turned to Wakanda's Gods and legends. And when that did not work…" His words trailed off then, and Shuri felt a strange sense that it was him thinking.

"And when that did not work?" She prompted.

"You are not my wife, are you?"

A trickle of trepidation went through her. The traps that had been set up were for any and all intruders. Would she now be considered one when she was not technically someone that belonged? "…no. I'm not."

"I see. Then she was successful in her third route? She has found a way into other universe's?"

"Not exactly, but I suppose if I am here…"

"Then she is there."

"Am I no longer welcome here then?" Shuri cautiously asked, and stood to better face him. Even though he was as still as stone, it didn't feel right not speaking to him face to face.

"As long as you are Shuri, you are always welcome. You are safe here."

"Thank you." She whispered, amazed how soothing his voice was despite everything.

She raised her hand and touched the tank. It's glass cool to the touch. This Shuri must have programed Griot's voice to sound like Namor, to act more like him. Because it was more than just his voice. It was the nuances of his pattern of speech. The calm way he explained things. The way he would pause. The way he pronounced her name.

It made him feel almost too real.

So real that if he had opened his eyes right now it would have not shocked her.

Shuri let her hand slowly slide down the glass, thinking of her other self spending her time here. Surviving in the ruins of her lab with a dead husband that spoke to her like everything was normal.

To stay in the same room with a mistake displayed in front of you daily. A tragic mistake that could never be made right.

She finally ripped her eyes away from the tank, unable to look at him any longer.

Her focus went over the rest of the make shift room, allowing her eyes to drift over the details quickly. She walked over to the mattress wedged in he corner right next to the tank and touched the cloak sitting on top. It was the color of sunset, a burnt orange that Shuri was very familiar with.

The Namor she knew wore this particular cloak the most. His favorite, she had guessed. Her fingers touched the edge of the cloak, the fabric was well worn but still intact.

Next she looked up to the wall, taking in the numerous items hung there. They were too random to be intentional decorations.

One in particular caught her eye.

It was…familiar.

Shuri moved to the wall and plucked away a single wooden mask. It had horns, a bristly mane, and a intricate cross lattice pattern.

Were did she remember this from?

She looked from the mask to the wall again, noticing more things that she had a familiarity with.

"What is all this?"

"My Atan's conquests."

"Her-"

It suddenly dawned on her on why she remembered the mask and she nearly dropped it.

A quick vision flashed of her killing N'Jdaka. He had come, him and the Americans, to Wakanda when it was at it's weakest…and she had killed him. Pinning him with a spear to the very throne he had sought to claim.

He clearly had a something to say, something that had been on the tip of his tongue for years, but he only got as far as 'Your father-' before she ran him through. Never allowing him the satisfaction.

Shuri hadn't cared for his reasons. Her cousin was a central cause to her misery and that was all that mattered.

Shakily, Shuri placed the mask back and carefully looked at each item. Her mind supplying her with how she had taken each one.

Bits of fabric, weapons, trinkets. Dozens upon dozens of people killed by her hand and displayed like trophies. And above it all was Namor's spear.

"You were an accident though." She whispered.

"Yet I am the one who haunts her the most." He responded just as soft.

Shuri swallowed at the lump that formed suddenly in her throat, trying her best not to think about how her hands felt as she attempted to stop the blood flowing from his neck. A river of red forever imprinted in her mind despite it not even being her memory.

The next thing to catch her eyes was the set of thin silver bangles individually hanging on the wall, bunched close together. Shang chi. Her fingers grazed over them briefly but she paused when she counted to only nine.

She could have sworn there were ten altogether.

Shuri gave the room a quick scan and found the last bangle placed at the center of the workstation, atop a scattering of designs and notes. She walked over to the table and went to pick up the ring with the intention of putting it back in its place, then her eyes caught on the papers underneath.

It was a mess of equations and a rough sketch of the earth itself, with a 4th cut out to show the earths core. She read over the notes and realized what she was looking at. "She could reverse what she did to the ocean…" Shuri looked toward Namor's tank. "Do you know why she hasn't?"

"I do not have that knowledge. She did not share her thoughts about that with me. There is still time before the freeze touches this earth's core…however not much."

"How much time?"

"Approximately…a little over a month. If reversed now, there would still be unknown damage to this planet's surface, but it would survive."

"So I can still help! I can fix-"

'You will find away to save this world…

…You will succeed in doing so.

And Kang will find you…'

Loki's warning cut through her excitement, bleeding out the hope as soon as it came to her.

No.

She couldn't save this world. Shuri glanced down at the papers in her hands. A solution to fix and stop the total destruction of this planet. And it would save the small population that was left. However that would mean the destruction of everything by Kang's hands.

Shuri let out a slow shaky breath. If she made any sudden move, the tears that had gathered with a burning quickness would spill over her cheeks. She studied the papers for a long moment before opening the small incinerator that was at the center of the work table, and shoved them into the hole.

The table was in working order, and she flinched when a small flash of flame destroyed everything.

She couldn't risk someone finding the plans.

She couldn't risk changing her own mind.

"Are you well?"

Shuri blinked, her cheeks warmed by the overflow of tears. She managed to keep her voice steady when she answered 'Namor'. "I just want to go home."

There was silence after that, and Shuri thought that was that, but then 'Namor ' spoke again. "You will." The warmth in his tone surprised Shuri enough to have her turn to look at him.

Unsettled again at how close he sounded to a Namor being alive and well.

With the small strange bit of encouragement, Shuri took a deep breath and brought her focus back to the workstation. Her eyes instantly went to the lone bangle and the sketches upon sketches of the bangles inner workings and scribbled hypothesis.

"It's a machine?"

"Atan was able to do a full analysis after she 'acquired' it. She had taken it from a mortal man who had lived over a thousand years with them on. There were mechanisms within it that appeared to be able to bend time itself."

"She was using these to find away into other dimensions."

"Yes. However she was unsuccessful." As emphasized by the frustration shown through the angry scrawls and shredded papers. "They had appeared to loose power the moment she took them."

"Power…" Shuri echoed, picking up the ring to turn and twist. She admired the intricate metal work. Power. The thought brought back what Monica had mentioned when they had first snuck into Kang's encampment.

'It's strange… the spherical machines… they had the same energy signatures as Shang Chi's bangles.'

Then, as she twisted her hand again, her breath caught in her throat. She had been holding the ring with her good hand, and on the meat of her palm there was still a small faded sketch of a circle.

The one Loki had drawn.

'This is all that we can do for you, Shuri.'

"This is it…"

The key to possibly defeating Kang.

Her mind whirred with the possibilities but not landing on anything particular. But it was there, she knew it was there.

All she knew was that she needed to get back. Now.

Shuri had been so caught up in surviving in this devastated landscape that she hadn't thought what this other version of her was up to in her universe. Would Wakanda and Talokan still be standing by the time she made it back?

"It will." Shuri whispered. Echoing 'Namor's' earlier encouragement.

…Namor.

She glanced at Namor's body suspended in the tank. This Shuri, his atan, loved him. Loved him so much that she would keep his body in hopes of bringing him back. Her mind and body broken by the events of this world, and crushed by the grief of her mistakes.

And now she was in a world were he was alive.

I need to get home.

Shuri quickly looked over each note that was taken in regard to the bangle, memorizing every little detail that had been gone over in excruciating detail. She absorbed everything in hopes she could use this when she got home. This version of her would have been successful if only the bangle still had power.

These bangles may no longer be working, but she knew exactly were she could find some working ones.

After going over the notes a third time, comfortable that she had it imprinted in her mind, she determined that she would need to move on from this to find a way home.

"Nam-" Shuri stopped short, and tried again, testing out a name she had never used before, "Ch'ah?"

"Yes, Shuri?"

"I need you to scale back security measures to allow M'Baku inside. Give him full access to change any and all settings, including giving him access to the stores of vibranium. And turn back the main power to the lab…also…" She tapered off, taking her time in gathering all of the scattered notes and shoving them into the small incinerator.

When the silence stretched 'Namor' prompted, "Also?"

Shuri picked up the tenth ring, and carefully placed it on the wall with the others. Her eyes drifting up to his golden spear above all the rest. "Don't allow any access to your body, go on lock down. I don't want you disturbed…and revert your voice back to the original settings from before. Answer to Griot."

"As you say, would you like the voice change to happen now."

"…No. Wait until after I leave."

"…As you say."

The tank began to grow dark. Thin strips of vibranium metal sheath slowly locking into place, hiding Namor from view. Shuri kept her eyes on his face until the last sheath slid into place, absentmindedly touching the shoulder Namor had help heal.

"Ch'ah?"

"Yes, Shuri."

"Look into any projects that focused on space travel. If I can't save this Wakanda…then maybe they can survive amongst the stars."

It was a chance, a small chance, but a chance. There were plenty of life outside of earth so it wasn't improbable. It was the only thing she could do that wouldn't jeopardize everything.

"Of course. I will help them." He promised, and Shuri felt a little better. "Goodbye…Atan."

"…Goodbye, Ch'ah."

 

---

 

The labs had been somewhat heated, making Shuri forget how cold the outside had been until it blasted her in the face like a solid slap. It was a cold she would never get used to and would be glad to never see again. She held her cloak closer around her as she made her way to M'Baku.

He was sitting on a low boulder, overlooking the whole of the capital below. Lights now scattered amongst the broken kingdom to show that the power was back.

M'Baku stood when she got closer, his face unreadable. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes, I think I have an idea on how to get back and a way to save my home, but before I explain I-"

"And the access to the lab? The vibranium?"

Shuri blinked at being cut off mid thought. "I've transferred all access over to you as an admin. You can make changes to who would be in charge but-" She was cut off again, but this time by an unexpected act of affection.

She hadn't even realized how close M'Baku had gotten.

He bent low, wrapping his arms around her to pull her into a hug. The added warmth of his body welcome to Shuri's frozen limbs. It all threw her off guard, her hands hesitating to reach up and hug him back in her confusion.

"M'Baku?"

"I'm glad to have met you, Shuri. It was nice to see the old Shuri I once knew. Even if it was only for a blink of an eye."

The faint smell of wood from his cloak relaxed Shuri into the embrace, but when she finally moved her arms around him he hugged her even tighter.

Much, much, too tight. Painful and lung crushing, too tight.

"M'Baku?!" She gasped, her voice faint from the lack of air. Almost to faint too hear over the whistling winds that whipped their cloaks around them. He stood lifting her a few feet from the ground, her legs kicking out uselessly in an attempt to fight him off.

"I'm sorry, but We can't risk her coming back."

Then he twisted his torso as he used his full strength to crush her to him.

A loud sickening crack sounding so unnatural and distant that Shuri could barely comprehend it.

Pain shot up through her upper body and she sobbed out a gasp. Too stunned to say anything.

M'Baku carefully laid her down into the snow, turning her onto her side so he could speak with her face to face. His face lined deeply with true remorse. "Forgive me. Jabariland…the leftover dregs of Wakanda, they all rely on me. I must protect them."

Shuri stared at his face, hearing him but not really comprehending him. Because all she could think was-

I can't feel my legs.

She could still move her arms and she weakly tried to push away from him. Breathing in short puffs of breath as each movement brought on new sparks of shooting pain up her spine. She couldn't think clearly with the amount of pain she was in. Her thoughts a rapid fire spiral.

The need to survive the only thing keeping her moving.

If I can get back to my lab-

I could- I could-

M'Baku clicked his tongue when she began to move and he dragged her back toward him from the short distance that she had moved. She let out a sharp scream from the sudden pull.

"I was hoping to avoid this," He reached into his cloak and took out a small dagger, and without another word he shoved the blade upward into her stomach, stealing what little air was left in her lungs. M'Baku left it lodged there. Effectively stopping Shuri from any further movement. "Thank you, Shuri…goodbye."

Shuri's fingers twitched, stretching toward M'Baku as he walked away from her. And left her with the view of Wakanda below.

"P-please-" She choked out. The pain dissipating to an alarming numbness.

'Will you allow me to help you then?'

Namor's words echoed to her from when he had offered to heal her shoulder. She shakily moved her eyes, her mind hallucinating a pair of winged feet just in front of her. To weak to lift her head to see Namor's face.

'We would not want you to bleed out over a small scratch, a rather pathetic end for the Black Panther I would think.'

"Help me…please…Namor…"

Notes:

....SEE YA!

Chapter 24: Wake up

 

 

---

 

It is cold.

Namor's senses came in slowly.

First his skin felt startlingly parched, not from an intense heat, but from an overwhelmingly dry cold. It stole his breath and when he gasped for air his vision came to him next.

Everything pitch dark except the white snow at his feet, as if the moon shown only on him.

Snow?

Sound came to him last. At first he thought he heard thunder far, far above him, then the softest sound gently nudged itself into the front.

"Help me…please…"

The voice was distant and weak. He recognized it instantly. With a slow turn, Namor looked down to see Shuri, crumpled and broken.

"Namor…"

And he knew that this was his Shuri. The one he had been so desperate to bring back home.

Namor fell to his knees and Shuri, who didn't quite look like Shuri, looked up at him, fingers reaching. There was blood, too much blood, spreading through the snow around her like an infection. He reached out, his hand hovering just over hers. "Shuri?"

"It's you." She let out a sob, the invisible sky above them faintly rumbled again with thunder. This time a little louder. Shuri looked so relieved to see him that it nearly broke him when she repeated, "It's you."

"Just wait for me a little longer, Shuri." Namor finally moved to place his hand over hers, but she was suddenly yanked away from him before he could touch her. Swallowed by the surrounding darkness.

 

---

 

Namor woke with a start in his hammock, his breath coming in short burning gasps, sleep still clinging to him as his mind desperately clung on to the vision he had been gifted. That was no dream. It was Shuri, he was sure of it.

They were out of time.

He nearly ripped the hammock out of its hangings as he moved to get off of it, throwing on a cloak at random and ignoring his usual fanfare of necklaces and chest plate. None of that mattered.

Although he still had the black pearl still strung to his neck.

Both of his generals were summoned, calls were to be made and preparations to be attended to. Any and all questions were ignored as he simply move forward. If his generals were disgruntled with his behavior, he would deal with it later.

Attuma was in charge of evacuating Talokan to a safe location until he was sure their plan had succeeded. If he failed then at least he would give his people a chance.

Namora were in charge of their guests. She would escort the young prince and his mother to a safe house on the surface where she would stay with them as guard, but before all of that, she would first help with the preparation of a hasty exit for the scientist.

She managed to have both women ready within a handful of minutes.

"We're going with the big radius plan aren't we." Riri asked as soon as she saw Namor stride in to their room. She looked tired, bundled in both a sweater and jacket, but to her credit she looked ready to leave.

"Yes. We can not risk anymore time. " Namor turned to Aneka, "Namora will help you with any preparations you may need for the trip."

"We won't need long, but if we could send Namora ahead of us to get a message to my wife, we can get the lab partially cleared. I know Okoye already did what she could to prep the lab for our arrival."

"Of course." Namor brought up a small coin, tapping it to bring up a blue map of Wakanda. He pointed to a location further down the river just outside of Wakanda's borders. "We will meet here. Do not go in until I come for you."

"You're not coming with us now?"

"I have a stop to make first, however I will not be far behind." Before he could turn to leave, he saw the small scientist take a step toward him.

"Did something happen to Shuri?" Riri asked, looking extremely young in that moment.

The memory of cold rushed him then, stealing his breath again. Shuri curled in the red snow before him.

"I do not have an answer for you. All I know for certain is the Black Panther needs our help and I will not keep her waiting a second longer."

 

---

 

The Avengers base in the middle of the ocean had been some what repaired. Namor could see the difference of metalwork, lighter in color as it wasn't as weather worn as the rest of the compound.

From a distance, Namor saw two people waiting for him. He recognized them as he got closer. Fury and Monica, the former using a cane to lean on as he stood. The fight from before still taking a toll on his knees. It relieved Namor to see them since these were the only two people he wanted to deal with.

Namor landed with ease in front of them, pulling out the same coin he had shown the small scientist and warrior. He wasted no time in pulling up the map and had interrupted Fury before he could even try to speak. "I have a scientist that has created a way to bring our allies back. The radius will roughly cover all of Wakanda, but no further. Bring the others to this location within the hour if you want them back."

"We already arranged for our people to return to base the second you called. We'll be ready." Fury responded, getting a single curt nod from Namor before he flew off. Stepping into the air with large smooth strides. Their meeting lasted no longer than a minute. He let out a tired sigh as he watched Namor get smaller.

"We don't have Shang Chi." Monica mentioned mildly as they walked back inside.

Fury gave her a withering side eye, "I wasn't about to tell him that. I hardly think he cares if we are all present or not. I'm surprised he even kept us in the loop."

"…I don't think hes a bad man."

"I don't really think so either, but he clearly has his priorities and we are somewhere near the bottom. So, I'll take what I can get." Fury paused briefly to open the door to the conference room for Monica. It amazed him that only a few weeks ago there was a large hole ripped through the ceiling.

Ironic that a wizard had placed that hole there and another wizard had helped fixed it.

The world was certainly a chaotic wonder.

There were already several people inside of the room, a soft murmur of conversation a back drop to Fury and Monica's current conversation. Fury may have withheld the fact that they didn't have Shang Chi yet, but he had told the truth that they had signaled for the others to come back to base. Antman and his family, Captain America and Marvel, the strange girl who had cosplayed as him, and Kamala…to name a few.

Fury sat down near the head of the table, his body relaxing fully with the pressure taken off of his legs. "And we still have to deal with Kang."

"I went over the intel we took when everything went sideways," Monica leaned against the table, choosing to stand. A thoughtful expression on her face as she blindly looked down at the ground. "But I'm hitting a wall…I need Shuri's input…honestly we just need all of them back."

"Do we have any leads to get our boy back?"

She slid from the table to plop into a nearby chair with a huff. "Not really. The only thing I do know is that he is still at Kang's compound. I've been keeping an eye on his energy readings from his rings and as far as I could tell he's never left. So at the very least we know where he's at."

"We have a wizard on standby that can transport him out of there." Fury offered, but Monica shook her head.

"Yes, but we would probably need to sedate him…which means we would need to lure him out."

"Something similar to what Wong had told us they'd done with Strange?"

"Unless you have a better plan that wouldn't have us going head on with either the Kangs' or Shang Chi?"

Fury snorted, "Bait it is then."

"How about we use Monica as bait?" A young voice piped up. They both turned their chairs to find Kamala looking at them in her usual enthusiastic fashion. Bright eyed with a small Eager smile on her young face.

"Me?"

"Yeah, because Shang Chi has a crush on you." Kamala answered as if it was common knowledge.

"What?"

When Monica looked to Fury for help, she was surprised to see him push his chair back to put him closer to Kamala so they could both stare at her. An eyebrow lifted in a silent 'Are you blind?'.

"You didn't know? It was so damn obvious that it bordered on irritating."

Monica felt her face go flush with embarrassment. She did not in fact know. Shang Chi was always nice to her, very nice to her, but she didn't suspect anything. She had been too busy with the Kang of it all.

However…looking at it through that lens, the way that the other version of Shang Chi had reacted to her, made a little more sense.

When his eyes fell on her he stared at her the longest, a flicker of recognition before they went entirely blank again.

…It was something to work with. Monica didn't think it would keep her safe, but maybe it could be enough of a distraction.

"Fine. Let's say I'm bait…" She grimaced at the title and shook her head, "Or whatever. And we have a way of taking him to Wakanda quickly…I would still need to sedate him long enough to get him there and make the switch."

"You need a team?"

At the word team, Kamala unsurprisingly perked up. Her willingness to help despite the danger was always something to be admired. "Can I go!?"

The look on Monica's face was a clear enough answer for Kamala to deflate.

"Sorry, Kamala, not for this." She looked up to glance around the room and her attention was immediately grabbed by two women in particular. A plan piecing together slowly. "I'm going to need a little more stealth for this mission." Monica couldn't help but smile, remembering that she had said something similar to Shang Chi not too long ago.

 

---

 

It had been too many days since Shang Chi had brought the girl to Kang. Too many days in a small town with faces that mirrored the other in some fashion.

Each day he felt his patience begin to thin.

He twisted a bangle on his wrist, clinking one against the other.

Clink, click.

Normally, his patience was a bottomless pit. It had to be when one had a father who controlled every aspect of your life. Raised to be a weapon and nothing more. A world of steel and blood.

It was strangely easier when one lacked autonomy.

Clink, click.

Now he had a moment to breathe and think. He kept to himself as he waited for Kang to uphold his end of the bargain. Waiting on a rock just outside of Kang's compound to watch the sea. It was relaxing…and it bothered him.

Clink, click.

During these moments of contemplation he felt and heard everything. The faint never ending hum of machinery, the distant chatter of the many Kangs…the soft footsteps behind him.

Shang Chi snapped his head to look back.

Finding the only person he had recognized in this place.

Monica.

Her name had come to him when he had first seen her, but he knew nothing more than that.

The woman looked surprised when he had suddenly looked at her, and slowly took a few cautious steps backward. When he fluidly slipped from the rock to the soft sand without breaking eye contact, she turned and ran.

He wondered briefly if he should alert the others, seeing the trap for what it was, but he was curious and he had enough faith in his abilities to not be worried.

So he followed her. He didn't run or quicken his step, just leisurely strode forward with his hands shoved in his pockets.

Monica flitted between rocks and land masses reformed by molten lava and misty winds that carried salt from the ocean nearby. It gave an other worldly appearance as it formed a dark labyrinth of twists and turns.

Until it inevitably opened into a dead end.

The space was wider, almost circular, but the walls were too high and difficult for one to climb up with the only exit behind him.

Monica turned to him once she was up against the opposite wall, her hands balled into fists. He took his time as he walked up to her, flicking his eyes to her fists to her face as he stood in the center of the clearing.

That same persistent recognition nagging at the back of his mind. Vague images of her smiling face and snippets of conversation flitting across his memory, but he allowed none to be fully explored.

"Something tells me this wasn't a mistake." He said, tilting his head to the side.

She smiled, not the same bright one from the memories, but one that was sharp and ripe with mischief.

The woman in front of him suddenly vanished, replaced with multiple copies of her surrounding him. "Oops." Said all of the copies simultaneously and they all began to walk in slow circles around him.

"You didn't have to go through so much trouble to speak with me alone." His eyes tracked each movement in front of him, his ears on the sounds behind him. "You simply could have asked."

"Is that so? I'll remember that for next time."

Shang Chi snorted, thoroughly amused. He tested the Monica that got close him, reaching out an arm in slow arc across her body. His arm went clean through her and disappeared.

This isn't her power. Not exactly.

This body supplied the very useful information that Monica could in fact change her tangibility, amongst other things, but he was certain she couldn't make copies of herself.

That someone else entirely.

"So why did you follow me if you knew it was a trap."

"Because I know you." Shang Chi released an arm of blue bangles to whip out in a violent arc to his right, slashing through all of the copies. They disappeared momentarily but they came back. "Not truly, since I've never met you where I'm from, but I know you."

He slashed through the left set of 'Monica's' and they did the same as his right side. He clicked his tongue in annoyance.

"You were the only one I recognized in a sea of strangers."

Shang Chi loosened the rings from their whip like structure, then flexed his fingers outward. The blue hued rings reacted like a puppet on strings.

There was no pattern or structure to there movement as they flew through the different 'Monica's' and bounced off of the rocks to strike again. The speed and chaos of the moving rings finally too much for the true imposter.

All of the illusions disappeared at once as a sharp scream came from just behind his left side. He turned to find a young red headed woman unconscious on the ground.

Monica wasn't in sight, but again, he knew her well enough to lure out.

What was it that the dark wizard had said in those hallways of Kamar Taj?

Something about a hero complex being a downfall, he mused.

Shang Chi took slow steps toward the unconscious girl, his intent shown in the deliberate way he moved. Calling back the rings one by one and they settled on his wrists with a soft metallic click.

The last one fitting into place just as he reached toward the red head.

And as expected, Monica materialized right in front of him before he could do anything.

Shang Chi redirected his hand easily, lightning quick, to snatch Monica's throat instead. She was, after all, his true goal. His grip was tight, but loose enough to allow her to speak. "Stay just as you are, or I'll kill her."

Her hands flew up to hold on to his wrists and he looked down at her fingers, much smaller than his own. His thumb, ever so slowly, stroked the side of her neck. Monica raised her chin, exposing more of her throat in an act of defiance.

It nearly made him smile.

"You never really-" She paused briefly to gasp in a breath and dug her fingers into his wrist. Fingers splayed between the bangles. "-answered my question. Why follow?"

At this, Shang Chi finally let out a soft chuckle. He imagined his father being displeased that the conversation was lasting this long. That there was a conversation at all. "Curiosity."

Confusion danced along her features.

"You're…distracting. Like a bright light." He allowed himself one last, indulgent moment, and moved his thumb along her throat again. Then he let go of that curiosity and took a firmer hold of her neck. "However my father taught me that such distractions can be dangerous and should be eliminated."

Monica struggled against his hold, gasping for breath as he lifted her a fraction higher onto her tiptoes.

Shang Chi had been so focused on their conversation, so focused on her face, that he never noticed the faint buzzing sound coming ever so closer.

Until he felt the pinch at his neck.

With his free hand he batted the bug away, and would have thought nothing of it, but he suddenly felt…off.

There was a faint whoosh noise seconds before a solid thump sounded behind him. He set Monica down, his hand still wrapped around her throat, and looked back to see a woman in black and yellow suit. Her helmet retracting to show with short brown hair and a satisfied smirk. A pair of wings settling and disappearing at her back.

Shang Chi touched his neck again, but his limbs felt separate from his body now.

The woman confirmed his suspicions by tossing an emptied syringe on the ground and lifted her wrist to her mouth. "Got him."

Everything became warm and distant. Shang Chi released Monica's neck before his legs gave out, but he never hit the ground. She surprised him by catching him despite her still coughing and gasping for air.

He was unsure if its because of her or the situation, but he gave her a faint smile. "See…a dangerously bright distraction." Then he went limp and lost all consciousness.

Monica let out a long and loud exhale in relief. It had been a reckless toss up if this plan was going to work and she was grateful that they were able to pull it off. She held Shang Chi close to her and looked up at the two other women just as an orange sparking ball grew into an open portal between them.

Wong limped out a step from the portal, as casually as one would lean out of their front door, and took a quick glance at the four. Both Shang Chi and Sprite were unconscious. "We good?"

"Yeah. We're good."

 

---

 

Ayo had met the three of them at the Talokanil river entrance, embracing her wife briefly in a rare show of vulnerability. The tension within the palace clearly shown on her face.

"I know it's a risk, but there is no easier way to get to the labs. We have to take the trams. It will be too noticeable for you to just fly in."

The general took them through the back ways of the palace which was curiously devoid of any type of guards. She waited until they were safely onboard of a tram to explain, waiting several seconds after it began making its way to the lab.

"The Dora Milaje and palace guards had been dismissed for a few minutes, they should be back at their post by now."

"You trust them." Asked Aneka quietly, all too familiar with how they were trained to follow the rule of the throne, no matter who sat on it.

"Yes. At least the ones I had scheduled to stand guard." Ayo smirked cunningly. "As for the lab, Okoye had laid the groundwork in the upper levels. No one will bother you while you work."

Namor gave a curt nod, choosing to stand instead of sit like the rest of them. The tension too taut in him to relax in any way.

Riri on the other hand looked like a bundle of nerves. Her leg jittering up and down with her hands clasped between her legs. "I'm trying to be positive about all this, but I feel like I'm going to jinx it somehow."

"Regardless of the outcome, the day will end." Namor spoke for the first time since they had entered the palace. He glanced at the small scientist to see her face twisting unpleasantly.

"That's…not really comforting."

"My meaning is that no matter what happens here today, we did everything we could." He amended.

Riri nodded, absorbing his words. "Let's hope its enough then."

The tram ride was smooth as silk as they practically flew toward Mount Bashenga. It's shadow engulfing them the closer they got. Namor had a feeling that this would be the only smooth part of their mission, gripping his spear tightly in one hand.

From the Tram, they took the elevators all the way to the top, crossing a small bridge to get into the upper labs. As promised, this portion of the lab had been emptied.

Riri cracked her neck, setting her jittery nerves to the side and got to work at a table.

"Griot." General Ayo called.

"Yes, General."

"Emergency Safety protocol, 297. Authorization DM 408."

"Of course, I will be needing a second authorization code in order to enact."

At this Aneka piped up, "Authorization DM 446."

"Emergency protocol enacted, all admin control is yours General Ayo."

"Thank you, Griot. Give temporary control to Ms. Riri Williams."

That seemed to pull Riri out of her worried state, her eyebrows lifting nearly off her forehead. She placed a hand on her chest, "I got control?"

"Temporary control." Ayo said sternly, although there was a small degree of affection warming her eyes. She turned to Aneka and took her hand in hers. "I have to go. Keep safe, my love."

"You as well." Aneka responded and pressed her forehead to her wife's before they pulled apart.

Namor looked away toward the window.

Both Riri and Aneka quickly began setting up. Aneka pulling up the programs they would need to use the lab as a beacon, and Riri taking out a Talokanil coin and placing it on the table.

"Griot, could you please scan this and upload the program called operation 'recall'-" Riri paused to throw a playful glare Aneka's way when she heard a faint snort. "Shut up, its fitting."

"Scan complete, Ms. Williams. It will take approximately 5 minutes to make the necessary adjustments to the lab for output."

"Ok then," Riri murmured, bringing up a digital panel to type with, her fingers flying comfortably across the board. A digital image appeared and hovered above the center of the workstation, its shape that familiar hexagon that had been such an important piece in that godsforsaken gun. Riri glanced at Namor to see that he was staring at the hologram. "I sort of made a program based off of this piece, and the lab will act as the gun."

"Let's hope it doesn't blow up the lab." Aneka joked lightly, unbothered.

The young scientist chuckled, throwing another glance Namors way. Much like Shuri, she was more relaxed when she worked. "Either way the day will be done, right?"

They worked until Griot reported that they were more then half way done with the preparations. The sun shifting to past midday. Griot may had said five minutes, but Namor could feel the seconds dragging.

'Aneka.'

Ayo's voice floated in near from the entrance and Aneka straightened up in surprise. She gave the others a quick glance, "I'll go see what she needs," and ran off.

The hum of machinery and Riri's quiet muttering filled the space, only making the time feel slower. Namor turned to look blindly out the window again, gripping his spear just a little tighter.

In the end this day will be done.

Namor heard a step to his left, thinking it was Aneka coming back, but then there was a soft familier whirring noise that rose all the hairs on the back of his neck. He only caught a quick glimpse of Shuri as he turned and was promptly blasted by the two vibranium cannons pointed at him.

They were at a much higher power than Namor had remembered. It knocked his spear clean from his hand as his body, a rag doll through the air, and slammed into the large window. His head hitting it so hard that he left a small crack in the thick glass.

Riri let out a surprised scream at the sudden violence.

"Imagine my surprise when I see you smuggling a young girl into my labs. You think I wouldn't have kept an eye on your comings and goings into my kingdom, my love?" Shuri lazily brought her gaze to Riri and then to the hologram. Her eyes lighting up in recognition. "I see."

Shuri dipped low to grab Namor's fallen spear, balancing it in her hand before moving to throw it directly at Riri.

The scientist only had enough time to hold up her hands in shock, never imagining for a single second that the Shuri she knew would try to kill her, but just as the spear was almost released Namor barreled into Shuri hard.

The spear barely redirected to lodge deep into a wall next to Riri and the force of Namor's body threw Shuri to the other side of the room, smashing through various lab equipment.

"Shuri!" Riri called out, unable to help herself.

Namor rounded the workstation to rip his spear back out of the wall. "Continue your work, scientist! The Black Panther can take it."

"R-right!"

Shuri shoved through the broken furniture, her face neutral but her eyes burned brightly. "You think I would allow you to send me back?" Her cowl closed over her face, completing her suit, and she launched her whole body at Namor.

He came to meet her half way, swinging his spear in a wide arc, balancing between not cutting her with its blade, but also not holding back his strength as she knew she wouldn't.

"I have suffered. I have made mistakes." She caught the arc of his spear mid swipe with both hands, hissing, "And Bast has given me a second chance." Shuri brought a foot down hard into his knee, as if to force it to bend the other way. He gasped, then twisted his body to slam her down on the ground, but she used the leverage of still holding onto his spear to launch her self away from him.

Shuri stumbled on her feet, and slammed her hands to the ground to steady herself as she landed in front of the large window he crashed into only seconds before. Their positions reversed now.

"I will be damned before you force me out of what is rightfully mine."

A sudden rage spurred Namor forward, forcing Shuri back. She had to bend low to avoid his wide attacks. Her hands slapping on the ground as she pushed off of it to avoid him.

They were running out of time and Namor had to keep her busy long enough for the machine to work.

Because it had to work. There was no other option.

He had told Riri that no matter the results they did what they could, but truthfully he would not accept failure.

"Griot, shut down whatever it is they are doing." Shuri screamed, kicking out at Namor who barely managed to block.

"I apologize, my Queen. Emergency protocols have been enacted. You no longer have authorization."

A scream of frustration burst out of Shuri, her anger getting the better of her as she brought out her cannons again and aimed at Riri. Namor took advantage of the opening and slammed the stone end of his spear across both cannons. Shattering them.

She stumbled back and slowed her movements then, calmly looking toward Namor as her cowl receded. A glare so sharp that it could have been used as a weapon itself if given form. Shuri took a step, circling around him, and he followed in the opposite direction.

Namor lifted the spear toward her, "You will go back, and she will come home."

The promise in his tone was determined, ready to defy the gods themselves if he had to.

Shuri paused her step, and watched as he did the same. Lifting a delicate brow with a hum, "Counter point."

She snapped her fingers and a light white force field wall boxed Namor off from the rest of the lab. Trapped with his back against the glass window.

His eyes dropped to the floor to see that the spots Shuri had slapped, apparently pretending to balance herself as she had placed Kimoyo beads that flattened themselves down onto the floor.

There was one lone dark flattened bead that didn't connect the force field, but instead emitted a high pitch frequency that gained speed and traction as it grew louder and louder and reverberated off the walls of his new prison. The sound so loud that Namor was suddenly on his knees, holding his ears shut. He screamed to alleviate the pain.

The sound was also so loud that it lengthened the crack that was already in the glass from their fighting.

With Namor taken out of the equation, Shuri whipped her gaze back to the scientist. She strode toward the console with an intent that had Riri scrambling.

"GRIOT! Reroute the progress to another station!"

Seconds before Shuri's fist came crashing down and smashing through the work station. Since her mask was still off. Riri got to witness the weight of Shuri's violence first hand.

It planted a true fear in Riri's mind, and her survival instincts kicked in hard. She moved to run, narrowly missing Shuri as she flipped over the destroyed table to reach her.

But she wasn't able to dodge the next attack. Pain ripped up her spine as Shuri brought down her claws across Riri's back. She slipped and fell to the ground, scrambling the second she could but the Queen was already on her. Yanking Riri's arm so hard that it flipped her onto her stinging back.

Shuri took Riri's wrist in her hand, and she dug her claws into the skin, ripping a gasp out of the younger woman. Using her strength, Shuri slowly crushed the delicate bones.

Namor could not hear Riri's screams, but he could see her. He glanced around his strange prison, his ears beginning to bleed. Then he caught sight of the crack that continued to stretch across the large window behind him.

Focus on what can be done.

Taking a deep breath in, he let go of his ears to take his spear.

And swung it as hard as he could at the affected part of the glass with a roar.

"Give me back control of Griot, and I'll let you go." Shuri growled, crushing Riri's wrist further.

"Griot-" She wheezed weakly. The pain was dizzying, and Riri had to suck in air several times before she felt grounded enough to speak again. "What is the percentage at?"

"95% Ms. Williams."

Riri gave Shuri a shaky smirk. "Please continue."

Shuri's lips twisted into a snarl and she lifted up her free hand, claws out, but she was suddenly ripped away from Riri as Namor tackled her to the ground.

He had broken through the window and flew as fast as he could back through the entrance, dropping his spear along the way to gain more speed. They launched through the air before tumbling messily onto the ground, their bodies dislodged from the other.

Namor rolled onto his knees to look toward the scientist, "Are you well enough to continue?"

"This hand still works." Riri grumbled. Hurt, scared, and pissed off. She quickly scrambled off the ground and was led to another workstation by Griot, who brought a hologram of the hexagon again.

Just as Riri had stood, Shuri tackled Namor to the ground with a yell.

They grappled, rolling on the ground as each one tried to gain the upper hand. Shuri trying punch and Namor tilting his head to narrowly miss the attack. Namor trying to roll on top of her to pin her down and Shuri bending her body to slip from the hold.

In the end Namor finally managed to interlock their legs, forcing them to lie on their sides. He quickly wrapped his arms around her to trap her arms to her body.

"98% of the preparations are complete, Ms. Williams."

The real danger of everything struck Shuri then, and Namor had to use every bit of strength he had to combat her sudden panicked struggle. Her claws scratched at whatever bit of skin she could get to, her body strained, her legs kicked out once before he pinned them with his.

"Why are you stopping me!?" She roared in rage, "You love me, I know you love me. We can finally be together!"

"You are right."

Shuri went still in his arms, the strength of her limbs tense against his hold. She looked at him with searching eyes and he leaned forward, pressing his forehead gently to hers, contrasting the iron in his grip.

Namor closed his eyes and brought up a memory that felt so far away now. A memory of his Shuri, standing at the balcony lit by the moon and newly married to another. He stood next to her, his hand so close to hers that he could have easily taken it.

And he did.

The memory warped to suit his needs and to make it his own, imagining the way Shuri would look at him in confusion. Possibly moving to take her hand back, but he pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her back to mold her to his body. His lips pressed to her ear.

"In k'áatech."

I love you.

He then whispered everything he'd ever wanted to tell her. He didn't say that part out loud, but he wanted to at least allow himself that moment to indulge in the truth of how he felt for Shuri.

Namor came back to himself, the present Shuri relaxing further in his embrace. He tightened his hold a fraction more. "You were right." He felt his words stumble, the way her eyes lit up triumphantly causing him to falter. "I love her. Not you. She will come back."

Shuri's delight slid into a rage within a blink of an eye.

She hissed, her body becoming increasingly harder as she thrashed against him. "She's dead!" Shuri reeled her head back and slammed it back down hard against Namor's face. He barely pulled back for her to just hit his chin, splitting his lip. "She's dead!"

"100% Download complete. Shall I execute the protocol?"

"Please!" Riri yelled out, the pain in her voice making it sound like a curse.

"NO!" Shuri screamed. A burst of strength shot through her, and she managed to rip an arm away to then bury her claws into Namor's waist, and he let out a gasp but still held onto her. Her gaze was dark and burning. "Even if she isn't dead, she doesn't love you! I've had time with her memories! She never will love you, and I promise I will find my way back to you!"

An electric hum grew in pitch, vibrating the ground beneath them as a small bright blue light from the console began to grow brighter and brighter. Then all sound left for a deafening moment to be quickly followed by a pulsing white light, swiftly spreading outward from the lab.

The wave of light felt like a sea current passing over them. It tugged at their skin, probing gently before pulling away. Namor felt the moment when the other Shuri was gone, her body going limp in his arms after the fight left her.

Everything went still and quiet the second the light was gone. The sound felt muted and even the day felt darker despite the sun still being out.

Riri peeked her head over the console she had dove behind when the burst of light exploded. Her eyes immediately fell on Shuri, cradled in Namor's arms as he searched her face. Riri flinched when a piece of broken debre fell from the ceiling to the floor right next to her. "Did it work?"

Griot piped up to answer.

"Her brainwaves are significantly changed which would infer that your machine has indeed worked, however-"

"Her heart," Namor finished numbly.

Shuri's heart was beating, but it was low. So low that Namor had to hold his breath so he could better hear it. He reached for his black pearl, squeezing it to feel that her heart beat was also much, much too slow. It wasn't similar to someone sleeping , but more like someone close to-

"Shuri!"

"What's wrong!?" Riri asked in alarm, skidding to her knees and nearly falling down next to them from over correcting on her uninjured hand.

Namor couldn't hear the scientist over the taunting words echoing in his head.

'Oh she's quite dead.'

'She's dead! She's dead!'

He began shaking her, patting her cheek harshly, and begging her to open her eyes. His eyes burning and blurred as she continued to lay their limply. "Shuri." In a surge of emotion, Namor pressed a desperate kiss to her lips. "Wake up!"

 

 

 

Notes:

Aneka and Ayo are fine! I promise!

I can't wait to write the next chap 😭 just took me 100k to get to this one specific scene ughhhhh

Hope u guys enjoyed 🥰

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I love you - In k'áatech (Yucatan Maya)