The Ghost [Marvel | Steve Rogers]

Chapter 64

Wakanda

Spring 2016

Nadine inhaled deeply, surprisingly at ease despite the tension that had overtaken the Wakandan Princess' lab after Shuri had turned her attention to Nadine. That Shuri so easily uncovered what Nadine had been through without Nadine saying so much as a word had left the blonde assassin feeling unsettled. She wasn't used to her past being laid bare to people who didn't know her. Or deciphered so easily.

It left her feeling uncomfortably...vulnerable.

Yet despite that, almost as soon as they'd been led to their current quarters, her body had begun relaxing almost of its own accord, the tension that had stiffened her frame bleeding away with each breath, her muscles loosening as she surveyed the room they currently occupied and the activities of her Teammates—her family—within it.

And the knots of tension in her gut eased further as she realized that was the reason why.

She was with her family. There was a certain security in that that she was still getting used to.

More than that, her family was safe and had been set on the road to recovery.

Thanks, in no small degree, to T'Challa, Shuri and the Wakandan doctor that had seen to the Twins.

Still left visibly subdued and upset after what she'd uncovered about Nadine's past, Shuri had almost fiercely returned her attentions to Barnes, herding him out of the hollow to make quick work of tidying what little of his metal arm Nina and Nadine hadn't been able to clean up, even going so far as to drag Nina over partway through the process, apparently impressed by the work she'd done on the Quinjet.

Then, once Shuri had been satisfied and after a short consultation among the three Wakandans, Nadine, Nina, Steve and Barnes had been led away from the cavernous lab and a few levels up to what Nadine now understood to be one of several sets of quarters the research facility boasted to board its permanent and visiting scientists.

It was a pleasant and rather homey space, if she was being honest, yet still more than spacious to hold the entirety of their Team—sans Sam, who still hadn't returned from his errand—without feeling crowded. The large, vaguely circular common area was lit with the same bright, cheering light as the rest of the facility, emitting gently from foot-wide panels that ran at eye-level around the entirety of the room, broken only by the egresses leading to the four private rooms the space boasted and the small vestibule that separated the common area from the corridor outside. A modest kitchen area finished off the space that was clearly intended to serve as a place of respite and leisure, with comfortable seating and complementary furniture in the bold aesthetic Nadine was beginning to recognize as uniquely Wakandan that matched the vibrantly coloured yet still somehow soothing decorative panels that interspersed the warm, rich taupe of the walls as a whole.

It was a restful sort of room. Which was, admittedly, probably the point.

And it was certainly being used to advantage. Natasha and Wanda had both retreated to the small kitchen area, perusing the stocked fridge and cupboards as they debated lightly over what might be good to eat, while Nina and Pietro had claimed the settee nearest to the two of them, watching with amusement and piping up with the odd impish comment, in Pietro's case.

Upon being reunited with the Twins and Natasha in their temporary quarters and once they'd been left to settle in by the pair of silver-adorned Dora Milaje that had led the way, the redhead had efficiently broken down what the Wakandan doctor they'd been sent to had determined. It was much as Nadine had suspected, to be honest.

While Wanda was recovering well, simply needing to recharge, as it were, and to keep the use of her powers to a minimum in the interim, Pietro's Enhancement—or his temperament, Wanda had added dryly—hadn't reacted well to the suppression collars that had been used on them. They had severely taxed his system to the point where it had bordered on doing permanent damage, the doctor, Ebere, had relayed gravely upon finishing her assessment. Ebere had concluded that she believed he would make a full recovery in time, but she would prefer to keep him close for the time being, supplementing his natural healing process with treatments of her own division.