Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
three
AS NATASHA MADE her rounds greeting Kings, Presidents, and Secretaries, Elena hovered behind her awkwardly, wringing her hands together. One man caught her attention; he was tall and dark, and he had bags under his eyes as if he hadn't slept for days. Elena did not recognize him at first, only until King T'Chaka spoke up behind her.
"Unless you need to move a piano," he chuckled. Elena didn't understand the reference, for she was not paying attention to the conversation between Natasha and the young man, whom she now realized was Prince T'Challa, son of T'Chaka, and future king of Wakanda. "Son. Miss Romanoff. And... I do not believe I have had the pleasure?"
It took a second for Elena to realize the king was speaking to her. "Oh, my name is Elena Strong, I'm accompanying Miss Romanoff on her expedition for an interning opportunity."
The lie came easily, but she didn't feel any less guilty. The truth was, she was not there to sign the Accords. She was mostly there to announce that Lux would be retiring instead of signing.
However, she also understood the king's confusion as to who Elena really was, and it was because no one did know.
In order to conceal the real reason as to why the MAEL shut down, Elena was never officially adopted or even fostered by Tony Stark. Instead, she was merely sent to live at the Stark Tower, with no affiliation to Mr. Stark other than a house-mate. Therefore, Lux's real identity was kept a secret, because legally, Elena Armstrong never existed. In public, she was referred to as Elena Strong and, although it was not a major alteration, there would be no reason as to finding her real name familiar. No one knew her secret, except of course S.H.I.E.L.D. and the U.S. government.
Leaving no chances for mistake, Natasha interrupted. "King T'Chaka. Please, allow me to apologize for what happened in Nigeria."
Elena looked down at her feet, feeling as though she needed to say something, though the reasonable side of her stopped before she could reveal her secret.
"Thank you," the king said. "Thank you for agreeing to all of this. I'm sad to hear that Captain Rogers will not be joining us today."
Natasha nodded. "Yes, so am I." Despite her words, Natasha didn't seem as apologetic as she did defensive, although she hid it well.
"If everyone could please be seated. This assembly is now in session." A man said over the speakers.
