Black Panther: Rise of the Princess (COMPLETE)

Chapter 3: Shuri

I walked into the lab and tiptoed to the corner of the lab, hoping to surprise my brother. What I didn't expect to see was that he was joined by Nakia and Okoye. I decided against scaring them and walked out from my hiding place.

Nakia saw me first and smiled. "There she is. I told you, she was almost here."

I glanced at my brother. "What, was he worried for me?"

"Not just for you," and I pouted, "but yes. Come, quickly, all of you." He did not greet me, but walked to the back of the lab, where there was a hidden room few new about. It was a safe, accessible only by the royal family of Wakanda. The four of us stole into it and T'Challa sealed the door.

"My King," Okoye began, "what calls for such secrecy? If it is something this important, I feel that the other tribe leaders ought to know as well."

"And if it were safe to do so, I would tell them, and ask for their counsel, but I cannot," he said, turning to the three of us. "Not yet."

I stared at my brother. He gave trust freely to the tribal leaders, unless they gave him reason to do otherwise. Whatever was disturbing him was truly dangerous, then.

Nakia sat down atop a low stool and rested a hand on T'Challa's arm. Goodness knows he needed her strength at that moment.

He breathed deeply, turned behind him, probably to make sure the door was closed, then turned back to us. "I believe we have a traitor in Wakanda, but I do not know who."

No one said anything. We had experienced treason before, together, and we knew how serious this was. No one was teasing anymore. 

"Some of our vibranium was discovered in a HYDRA base in Germany by Sergeant Barnes, about a week ago. He was with some of the other Avengers, on a mission. He passed the emergency number we gave him to Director Fury, of SHIELD, and he called me. I tried to find evidence of treason on my own, looking through our system, but found nothing."

"Someone has been stealing and exporting our vibranium?" I asked, approaching him. I knew better than anyone the dangerous capability of vibranium in the wrong hands. If some power-hungry white man had his paws on it...

"Someone, and I don't know who," he repeated. I made for the door, but he held me back. "Wait, Shuri, please listen."

I stopped, and stepped back to where I was standing, but I fumed internally all the same. I forced myself to pay attention to my brother.

"According to Fury, SHIELD cannot help us. The international law put in place by the United Nations prevents them from directly interfering, or investigating. They cannot send an agent."

"So why involve SHIELD in the first place?" Questioned Okoye. "The four of us can find the traitors. We don't need help from the Americans."

Nakia stood up, eyeing the general. "If we start searching for the traitors, with no cover and no plan, we risk exposing our movements to our enemy. With a white man involved, at least we can use him as a distraction while we figure out what is happening."

"This is not a spy mission, your Majesty, this is treason." I saw Okoye clench her spear tightly.

Nakia shook her head. "A crime without a criminal is a mission, not a battle. If they know we are searching for them, we will never find them, not unless they want us to. If we want to catch them on our terms, we can't let them know they are being hunted."

"So why involve an American?"

"That was my question, at first," interrupted T'Challa. I stayed silent, in my corner. "Bringing a white man here would give at least someone a reason to move about. The traitors will suspect it is part of his tour, not that we are trying to find him. At the very least, our enemies will be more worried about the American rather than the Wakandan helping him."

Okoye wasn't quite convinced. "Every time we bring a white man into our country, misfortune is not far behind him. Who are you planning on inviting?"

T'Challa activated his kimoyo beads, and an image projected from it. As it formed in the air, I thought I began to recognize it.

"Director Fury suggested that we ask someone calle-"

"Spider-Man?" I asked, identifying the vigilante he was referring to. I looked up at my brother. "From Queens, in New York?"

The three stared at me, but I held fast to my question. I had been paying attention to him through the Internet, and I had to say, his origins were pretty impressive, especially for someone who didn't have many resources to start with. Of course, Tony Stark boosted him after the mess in Germany, eight years ago, but still. I mean, he had made his web shooters from scraps when he first started. If he had lived here, who knows what he would have come up with.

"Yes," my brother finally answered, slowly. "His name is Peter Parker, as I'm told."

Nakia stared at me for a while longer, then turned to her husband. "T'Challa, if she is the one who stayed with him, Peter," the name sounded funny when she said it. American names can do that sometimes. "I doubt the traitors will suspect anything. They could probably sneak around without as many problems as us."

I could tell that Okoye was still unimpressed with the idea of Spider-Man in Wakanda, but all the same, she said, "It's true. The traitors will be more focused on the King and Queen of Wakanda rather than the Princess and her guest." She eyed me. "She spends more time in her lab than out in the open. They don't know what she can do, yet."

T'Challa nodded and deactivated his beads. "I will send the invitation to Mr. Parker. From now on, no discussion about this unless I tell you it is safe. We cannot risk the secrecy of our plans, not even to Mother," she told me. "I don't want to worry her."

I nodded. Mother had already been through enough. If we could avoid involving her in this, too, then it was for the better.