To Last Forever

Ch. 6

The flight to where Tony had figured out the sorcerer was located was long and boring.  We played multiple card games and I had even asked Shuri to teach me Wakandan.  I couldn't say much, but I could confidently greet people and carry on a basic conversation in the language.  Writing was a whole different story.  Shuri laughed when I accidentally wrote 'I am doing seed' instead of 'I am doing good'.  Needless to say, we had given up on writing.  She promised to teach me more later, during the time we were left on the quinjet and the others went out to fight. 

"Alright,"  Tony said as we landed.  Everyone was grabbing and stocking up weapons, only giving Tony half their attention.  Shuri and I were playing Uno in the corner. 

"Uno!"  Shuri screamed.  King T'Challa gave her and stern look but she rolled her eyes.  I drew more cards, annoyed she had called it before I could and our game continued. 

"You all know the plan,"  Tony said.  Shuri and I paused our game to listen to the parting speech Tony was about to give.  "Shuri and Peter will alert us if anything goes wrong.  No one gets left behind and no one deviates from the plan.  Got it?"  Everyone muttered something like 'sure' and 'whatever' as they finished getting ready. 

Once everyone was dressed and stocked with weapons, they headed out of the quinjet.  Tony gave me one last speech about how I needed to stay in the jet and if he saw me outside, I was grounded for life, then left with the rest of the team.  As soon as they were gone, Shuri and I dropped our Uno cards and headed over to monitor the comms and various readings on the area.  I plopped down in the chair beside the computer and handed Shuri an in-ear comm.  I put one in as well and was immediately greeted with the sound of Steve instructing the group on where to go.  I muted my comm so I could hear but not be heard then turned to look at the computer.  It was monitoring the area for threats of any kind: natural or human-caused. 

"Want to continue our game?"  Shuri asked, holding up the pack of Uno cards.  I shrugged and she took it as a yes.  She passed out the cards then sat on the table by the computer. 

We were on our second round of Uno when I heard a high pitched squeal come from the comm.  I flinched and yanked it out of my ear.  Shuri did the same, glaring at the small device.  Our game forgotten, we both turned to look at the computer.  Nothing seemed out of place, but every comm had gone offline.  I carefully checked the computer readings again, looking for anything out of place.  Just as I glanced at the one that showed levels of magic, the bar shot from normal to red zone. 

"What's that mean?"  Shuri asked, pointing to a different screen.  I glanced at it as I got up from my seat. 

"It's the Iron Man armor,"  I answered.  I looked closer at the small window then raced for my backpack.  "It's offline.  FRIDAY is never offline."  I pulled my suit out of my backpack and tugged off my shirt.  Shuri yelled in surprise and turned her back as I pulled off my pants and slipped into my suit.  "Stay here,"  I told her, pulling my mask over my face and hitting the spider.  The suit powered on and tightened. 

"What the..."  Shuri trailed off, looking at me in shock.  "You're the spider kid!" 

"Yeah,"  I said.  "Thanks for updating Karen, by the way.  However, you need to stay here to get ready to fly as soon as I return." 

"Fine, give me the boring job,"  Shuri muttered.  I rolled my eyes and turned to run out of the jet.  "Just so you know, when you get in trouble, I'll make sure they know it was all your idea." 

"Yeah, yeah, just stay here,"  I told her.  I ran out of the quinjet and into the forest where the others had disappeared. 

I had never been a big fan of the forest.  Growing up in the city, I knew what to expect in big urban areas.  I always got nervous in the forest.  I couldn't see as far and there are different obstacles to avoid.  I understood why a person summoning dark magic would want to be in the forest.  A creepy place for a creepy person with creepy intentions. 

I came across a small building a few minutes later.  There were no signs it was inhabited, but Karen informed me there was definitely people inside.  I could see broken twigs all over the ground and Karen confirmed they were from Steve.  I frowned and looked back up at the small building.  I got the strange feeling someone was watching me, but when I looked around, no one was nearby.  I told Karen to scan the area and identify all heat signatures and any danger nearby. 

"Mr. Stark, Mr. Rogers, King T'Challa, Miss Maximoff, and Mr. Barton are inside the building with three unidentifiable bodies,"  Karen reported. 

"Wait, where are Widow and Vis--"  I was cut off by someone wrapping their arm around me from behind.  I squirmed, trying to hit them with my elbow or something so they would let me go.  They didn't release me, though, seeming to be immune to all my hits as I continued to squirm.  They pulled me back, away from the building, and Karen said nothing.