The Pink Ghost

Seventeen

Shuri stopped the team just outside of a ring, allowing her brother and Gwen to continue walking. Before Gwen turned to face him completely, he already lunged at her, trying to catch her off guard.

Smiling to herself for learning some of his fight patterns, she was ready. She crouched low, gripping his mid-section as he leaped, and flung him over her head. Rising to his feet, he charged again, connecting his fist with her face.

Gwen stumbled back at the shot of pain under her eye, but narrowed her eyes at him as he gestured her to come forward with his hands. Feeling her adrenaline picking up, she ran towards him. Just as he was bracing for impact, she jumped into the air, rising eight to ten feet off the ground.

Hearing the gasps from her teammates egged her on. She wanted so badly to show them just how much control she's learned.

The amusement in his eyes pushed her to want to remove it. Creating her ball of energy, she held one in each hand as she hovered in the air above him. Using the strength in his legs, he lunged in the air, swinging his arm towards her, claws extracted.

Pulling her hands together in one swift motion, one hand upright, the other, palm up at the bottom, she pushed her energy forward. As soon as it left her hands, she twisted her wrists upward, bending and spreading her fingers to control it. The energy blasted him backward, swirling strands around his waist, lifting him high above her.

Looking into his eyes, he nodded, knowing what was coming next. With him ready for her next move, she jerked her arms to the left, sending T'Challa flying in the direction she tossed her energy. Landing at least seventy yards away, T'Challa jumped to his feet and began running back towards her.

Lowering her wrists, palms up, she slowly began raising them higher, pink globes encasing her hands as pink swirls roped around her arms. The ground began vibrating, shaking under everyone's feet. With wide eyes, they all looked towards T'Challa, watching in awe as the ground broke apart and began rising in front of the Black Panther.

Shuri ushered everyone backward, telling them that this is a practiced routine, they knew what they were doing.

Dodging each rising plane, he jumped to and from each of them, using them as momentum to push him forward. Holding her hands up, palms out, she shoved them forward, beams of pink lights shooting outward connecting with T'Challa's chest. Smiling to herself, she felt pretty good with how the sparring was going.

Flying over to him, hovering above him as she used her energy to keep him pinned down. She forced her energy out of her, pushing him further and further into the ground, going deeper with each second of her holding it.

The team rushed over to her, all calling out for her to stop. Shuri waved them off, motioning for them to be quiet and stay back. Movement to her right broke her focus, looking to find Peter standing mere feet from her in awe, her chest was hit with such force she was flung backward across the field as T'Challa raced out of the pit and towards her.

He picked up a heavy chunk of ground and held it over his head, his knees nearly buckling at the weight. Gwen smiled as she readied herself to catch it. What neither of them expected was for the ground to quake under everyone, breaking apart and causing some to fall to their knees. Wanda immediately lifted a shield to hold everyone above ground as it fell away from their feet.

T'Challa was running, trying to outrun the falling ground behind him. Catching movement from the corner of her eye, she watched as Peter tumbled into one of the large, seemingly bottomless holes.

Gwen panicked.

Flying with lightning speed over to where he fell, she looked for any sign of him. Her heart was racing, fear filling her chest. Adrenaline and regret coursed through her veins. Her breathing was unsteady as she felt herself getting warm.