Black Panther: Rise of the Princess (COMPLETE)

Chapter 17: Shuri

I breathed easy as soon as the doors shut behind me. I realized that I wasn't necessarily nervous about speaking in front of the Council (I had done that plenty of times), but that they would blame me for the attack. They didn't know that Peter and I were trying to find the terrorists before it happened, though, so they didn't have a reason to blame us. Yet. Now they did. Now that they had seen my face and knew that I knew, I was now going to be responsible for any other attacks that may come.

I just started walking. I had no idea as to where I wanted to go, but I needed to walk. After a few minutes, I found myself down in the chambers where the Heart-Shaped Herb is kept. I just sat against the wall and tried to calm my mind.

Ever since Eric Killmonger had burned the rest of the Herbs, the floor and the walls have been singed with fire. Although Okoye secretly stole another plant, just like Nakia had, and we had been able to regrow our garden of the plant, the garden was a lot smaller, and T'Challa had taken secret care to remove one of the plants and store it away, in case it happened again. After the plant helped heal my brother, the smell of the flower had become one of the most peaceful senses in the world to me. As long as we had the Herb, he would be okay.

It was because of the Herb that T'Challa's reflexes had been fast enough to protect him from the parade explosion. If he hadn't reacted so quickly, Mother and Nakia might be worse than they already were. I fingered one of the leaves of the nearest plant. If only they had the power of the Black Panther too. Then they might be okay.

Speaking of the others, my bracelet went off. I answered it, somewhat reluctantly. Peter's face appeared above my wrist.

"Hey Shuri, I was walking, and I ran into the Queen. She says she wants to talk to you."

I nodded. "I will be there soon." Standing up, I found a small smile in myself, somewhere. Mother may be in a coma right now, but Nakia was awake, and she would be able to help us with the terrorists. If anyone could, it was her.

~

When I got up there, Peter was sitting inside the door, while Nakia was lying down, still on a medical bed. I walked over and sat next to her, resting a hand on hers.

Nakia saw me, and managed to smile, despite having suffered bruises on her face. "Maybe it was a good thing you were not with us yesterday," she joked, and I smiled for her sake.

"I only wish that you had been with me, instead," I said quietly, trying to keep my voice steady. "We could really use your skills right now."

The Queen sighed. "I may not be able to fight and help this time, Shuri, but Mr. Parker said you had something you could show me," she motioned to Peter with the hand that had not been fractured in the blast. "A scan, he said?"

I nodded and pulled the scan up on my bracelet again. "Peter took it right after the blast went off. It gave us a bit of a lead on the bombers."

Nakia looked at the readouts the readouts. "What is important here?"

"Look," I showed her, spinning the image around a few times. "There wasn't actually a bomb. The float was made of vibranium, and it became unstable during the parade. The float was the bomb."

She stared at my hologram, and I don't think she fully understood the mechanics of what I was saying, but she knew the basics. She had seen the stabilizers down in the mines.

Nakia reached up and looked for the credentials of the float. When she saw the place it had been designed in, her eyes widened. "Sweden. Our outpost."

I nodded. "If HYDRA had managed to infiltrate the outpost, they might have been able to send the vibranium to their base from that location instead of from here. That's why I wish we had you to help us. You're the best spy in Wakanda."

Nakia groaned and leaned her head back on her pillows. "I think that was why the float exploded in front of me, in front of us. If HYDRA is smart enough to get inside of Wakanda, then they are smart enough to plan an attack like this. With the Queen Mother and myself injured, it will unsettle the Council, and the King. I don't think they knew about his abilities, though, or perhaps they would have planned better."

"Hey Shuri," Peter piped up, and I turned to him. "The vibranium had to be unrefined, in order for it to go unstable, right?"

I nodded, then realized where he was going with this. I turned back to the design, and confirmed that the blueprints had specifically called for unrefined materials.

"The only part of the float that was stable was the motor that propelled it," I commented, and Peter came over to watch me work. "That is so dangerous. Normally, unrefined vibranium does not even leave the mines, much less made into a float."

The doors opened just then, and T'Challa and Okoye walked through. Peter and I moved out of the way so T'Challa could sit next to Nakia, and we let them have their moment before he turned to us. "The Council is ready to support any action we take against the bombers, but I want to speak with all of you before we find them. You said the attackers were based out of Sweden?" He asked me, making eye contact.

I nodded. "It might even be possible that there are no traitors actually in Wakanda. Only the design came from Sweden, and it was assembled here, out of raw materials."

T'Challa nodded. "Then we must go to the outpost in Sweden, soon. I would take you with me," he told his wife, who smiled weakly, "but I don't want to put you in any more danger until you have rested." He turned to face the rest of us. "Are you prepared to leave for Europe?"

"Wait," Peter said. "All of us? Or just those two?"

"All of you," T'Challa said firmly. "Especially you, Mr. Parker. You will be able to blend in better than we will."

"Are you sure you want me there, brother?" I asked, feeling my heart rate pick up a little bit. "I can help more here, in the lab, than out there."

Okoye and T'Challa exchanged glances, silently. Then T'Challa walked to the door. "Come with me, Shuri," he spoke quietly, and he exited the room.

I looked desperately to the Okoye, looking for some kind of sign about what this was, but her face revealed nothing. Peter wasn't any help either, so I just followed T'Challa out of the room, hoping that this wasn't going to end poorly.