The White Phoenix 13: A Black Panther: Wakanda Forever Fanfiction

Chapter 9: Strengths and Weaknesses

Several days later... 

'Why doesn't he look like them?' Riri asked as she and Shuri looked at a holographic photo of Namor. 

'His physiology is completely different,' Shuri replied. 'None of them fly or have pointed ears like him.' 

'The women that were guarding us, they had water over their mouths and on their necks. He didn't have that.' 

'Several organisms don't need gills to extract oxygen from the water, so... it's like a jellyfish. He just absorbs the oxygen from his skin. It's a process called -'

'Diffusion,' they said in unison. Shuri chuckled softly. 

'In the attack, when he took out your plane, he jumped back into the water,' Riri said. 'What if that's what makes him strong? He's breathing air and getting oxygen from the water on his skin.' 

'If we could find a way to dry his ass out, he won't be as strong,' I said, walking into the room. Shuri and Riri both looked at me. 'Namor is a mutant, like me. But he's got more weaknesses than I do, which works in our favour.' 

'Yo, that's it,' Shuri said with a smile. 'GRIOT, we need to convert the Royal Talon Fighter into a pervaporation chamber.' 

'Is that even possible?' Riri asked.  

'Yes. You're going to help us trap him,' Shuri replied. 'Please show Miss Williams where she's working,' Shuri added without turning around from her screen. 

'Right this way,' one of the female lab attendants said, walking with Riri to an upstairs part of the lab. 

Days later... 

Shuri fiddled with the holographic ball, then placed it inside the DNA strand. Slowly, the entire strand began to turn green. After so many tried and failed attempts, it was finally ready. 

'GRIOT, what's the confidence rate?' she asked. 

'98.7%, Princess,' the AI replied. 'Would you like me to print the Heart-Shaped Herb?' She turned and walked away in a moment of silence and shock, seeing Nakia sitting on the stairs. 

'Hey, Shuri,' she said in Xhosa. 

'I thought you'd be back in Haiti by now.' 

'I'm still Wakandan, you know,' she said, walking towards the DNA model. 'So... this is what you've been up to.' 

'Yes.' 

'What you have here, now, is a chance to restore Wakanda's protector.' The two of them looked at each other. 'It would be the greatest gift since Bashenga's discovery.' 

'We'll soon find out,' Shuri said, walking over to the printing machine. 'Come.' The two stared at the printing machine. 'GRIOT?' 

'Yes, Princess?' 

'Print it.' The printing machine got to work, and slowly but surely, it took the form of the Heart-Shaped Herb as the two women clasped hands tightly. 

'How will we know if it works?' Nakia asked. 

'If it glows.' When the printing machine finished, it gave off a soft blue glow. Nakia gasped. 

'You did it!' she gasped in Xhosa, Shuri placing her hands over her mouth in shock as Nakia wrapped her in a tight embrace.