I Am

Eight

The soles of her boots slammed against the floor, squeaking when she took the corners at speed, as she made her way through the palace and to the lab. If Shuri was going to be anywhere it would be there.

A smile of relief came to her face as she caught sight of the group approaching from the other direction "You're here!" she exclaimed, barely able to slow down as she crashed into Shuri.

The princess didn't skip a beat or bother with pleasantries "What are you wearing?!" she complained, holding Harper at an arm's length and taking in the suit "You are not supposed to be wearing that yet?!"

"You talk like I had a choice," Harper answered, the two of them hurrying down the ramp to keep up with Nakia and Ross "Killmonger had me as his right hand assassin."

A frown came to Shuri's face as she glanced across to her, she looked as though she wanted to say something but she knew she didn't have time. Motioning toward the sand table she reached over and grabbed the communication devices "Okay, we'll get control of the Royal Talon with this," she explained before turning back to Harper "You still have your Kimoyo beads right?"

"Of course," Harper answered with a shrug, raising her left hand where her beads were sitting beneath her gauntlets. She sent Shuri a smile as she passed over her own comms, slotting them into her right ear.

"So what do I do?" Ross asked as Shuri slid a spare Kimoyo bead bracelet over his hand.

The corners of her mouth turned upwards. "You will have to fly it."

"What?" both Harper and Ross said together.

Shuri glared across to Harper to shut her up before she continued, turning to Ross with a supportive look on her face "You were a great pilot. Don't worry, I'll guide you through it," she said "It's just like riding a hoverbike."

The severity of the situation clearly didn't register with him as his eyebrows furrowed "You guys have hoverbikes?" he asked, his eyes flickering over to Harper as though waiting for confirmation.

It seemed that, despite the time they had spent away together, he still didn't know how to read the younger Wakandan princess.

Without answering him Shuri continued to set up the sand table before she turned to grab her own gauntlets from her desk "Nakia,' she said, tugging Nakia's attention away from the weapons she was collection "Take that," she continued, nodding toward some Dora armor.

Nakia's eyebrows furrowed "I am not a Dora."

Shuri's eyes rolled "Just put it on! It's armor!" she exclaimed, as Nakia let out a sigh and begrudgingly grabbed hold of the Dora Milaje uniform, before turning to Harper "Okay, the reason I didn't want you to have the suit yet was because I needed you to get used to the simulator beforehand," she said before gesturing to the gauntlets matching her own on Harper's forearms "Bet you haven't had a clue how to use them."

"That is a bet you would win," Harper answered, lifting her arm up to her face to inspect the heavier aspect of her suit.

"Here," Shuri said, stepping closer to her and showing her a small switch at the top of the gauntlets "I knew you couldn't be trusted to have them on continually," she said teasingly, glancing to Harper out of the corner of her eye "Move your arm like this," she said, demonstrating with her own.

Harper frowned across to her for a second, remembering her showing T'Challa his new suits not too long ago, before she turned to one of the bare walls and jerked her arm in the same way as Shuri had. Her eyes widened and eyebrows darted up as a sonic blast left her gauntlet, both her and Shuri ducking down as it hit the wall.