Avengers: Legacies

The Storm Within

Azura slept in fits. Nightmares of her ancestors plagued her. Panthers growled and bared their teeth at her as they rubbed up against her legs. They pushed her along towards angry whispering. She called out for help. She tried to turn back. But the panthers blocked the way to safety. She could not escape.

"Please, don't do this to me. I will find my father. I will return him to the throne of Wakanda. I will bring honor to my kingdom. I will right my wrongs, ancestors. Give me time," she pleaded, tripping to the ground. The panthers circled her. Their movements were slow and deliberate, menacing in nature. Azura looked past them at a figure emerging from behind a tree ahead. She appeared to be in Wakanda's countryside where it was flat and surrounded by mountains. Acacia trees grew sparsely across the landscape and stretched their many boughs to the sky. Blue, purple, and pink danced together in the heavens above, swirling together like river currents.

"Do not be afraid, my child. You are in the Ancestral Plane. There is nothing to fear here," an old man's voice rasped. Azura rose to her feet, mesmerized. The old man smiled and all of his wrinkles covered every inch of his face. He was bald with a white beard and dressed in a traditional Wakandan tunic of red, black, and white.

"Babu?" Azura whispered.

The old man chuckled, looking at her expectantly.

"T'Chaka?"

He nodded. "I am T'Chaka, late king of Wakanda, son of Azzuri, protector of the Six Tribes, the former Black Panther, and your grandfather."

Azura had never met her grandfather. He passed long before she was born. Her father used to tell her many stories of his father, both good and bad. However, she did not expect him to be so old and frail-looking now. In her mind, he stood well above any average tall man and was stronger than all of the vibranium Wakanda had.

She bowed her head and crossed her forearms into an 'X' across her chest. He may have been a little old man, but he had still been king. He deserved respect whether he was dead or not. His hand rested on her shoulder. He stooped to look her in the eye. She hesitantly peered back at him. An understanding passed between them. She relaxed, her arms returning to her sides.

"Our ancestors are angry with you. They think you a traitor for what you allowed to ensue. I have persuaded them to see you as a child first before seeing you as an heir to the throne. How were you to see the true folly of Jabari's actions? My dear granddaughter, you have all my faith and trust."

Azura shook her head. "Grandfather, our ancestors are right. I have brought nothing but shame to our family. I may as well be shunned for my crimes."

"They are not crimes if they were done with no ill intent or of not knowing the consequences. You made a mistake. We all make mistakes. You know that I have. As have many before us. I know you are frightened by what you are and who you are becoming. Know this, you will always be a princess of Wakanda and a pantheress of the throne. Nothing that you do can change that. Find your father and return home. Your path in life is only beginning."

Her grandfather stepped away and crossed his forearms. One moment, he stood there, smiling at her. The next moment, he slinked away in his panther form. Azura peered at the sky, at the mountains, at the panthers waiting for her at her feet.

Azura woke with the ceiling two inches from her face. She yelped in alarm and fell harshly onto her bed. She sat up, groaning. She rubbed the pain out of her back. Pushing her frizzy hair out of her face, she realized that the Helicarrier was shuddering with the reverberations of thunder. The princess now felt sick to her stomach. So much for keeping calm.

Someone pounding on the door caused her to jump. She snatched up her robe from the foot of the bed and slipped it on. She opened the door to find James.