Malen'kaya Zemlya [2] [P. Parker]

2.17 Like Summer On Steroids

I was boiling.

Africa was way too hot for my New York acclimated body, and I was sweating buckets.

I had been supplied with two water bottles and was, at the moment the teched-out plane landed, pressing them to my cheeks to block out the suffocating heat of the humid air.

As our small party of five walked briskly through the air-conditioned halls of the palace, we were informed of where we were going.

"Just through here is the cryo chamber where-"

I cut the king off, perhaps rather rudely, to say, "You've got Barnes here?"

He glanced at me in amusement. "Yes, young warrior. We made a promise to keep him safe."

"But at the end of the war thingy... Weren't you all, 'you will never escape. I will kill you?'" I asked. "And now you're, what? 'You will never escape... Because we are protecting you from all the governments who want your head served to them on a silver platter.'"

T'Challa smirked. "They can try to get to him. We will not let him be taken away."

I stared wide-eyed. "You are insane."

He laughed, waving back the guard that stepped forward with her spear. "It's fine, Okoye. She means no harm." Then he turned back to me. "However, most of my guards would greatly appreciate you holding back on your sarcasm."

I nodded. "Sure. It might come out a bit, but I'll sure try."

He nodded with a small smile. "Of course."

We stepped into a room with an empty cryo chamber.

"Uh, isn't he meant to-" Ryker started.

"Be here?" another voice asked as a Wakandan girl about our age walked in. "No. He's out now. Cured."

"Of what?" I asked.

"His mind." the girl replied.

"Miss Valentinez, Mr Oswald, this is my sister, Shuri," T'Challa said with a smirk.

I gasped. "Oh! Oh, my gosh. I didn't even know! I'm so sorry."

"Sorry for what?" the princess asked.

"Being rude?" I said, but it came out more like a question.

She laughed. "No worries. It's fine. You're Terra, right?"

"Gaia now. Sounds cooler," I replied with a smile.

She grinned back and turned to Ryker who looked like he was on the edge of a mental breakdown. "Volcano? Or did you change yours too?"

"Heatstroke." He replied in a slightly strained voice. "That's my new name."

Shuri nodded. "Cool. But," she turned to her brother. "These two will get heatstroke if we leave them in these clothes. Come with me, you must be boiling."

I glanced at T'Challa who nodded.

So Ryker and I followed after the princess.

"We'll take you to see Barnes after this. First, since you're not used to this heat, you need new clothes." Shuri said as she opened the door to a room full of clothes.

In mere seconds, she had shoved an armful of clothes into both our arms and had shoved us into a fitting room.

After about five minutes, Ryker and I were both fitted out in Wakandan clothes. I did have to say, Shuri had a great sense of style and gave us both clothes that we genuinely liked.

Once outside, it got even hotter.

After being in the air-conditioned Wakandan palace, the plains were scorching.

I saw the aftermath of a battle. By that point, I'd been in enough to tell when one had been. Trees were broken, blood stains clung to blowing grass and there was somberness in the air of the city and plains.

"What happened here?" I asked, glancing around.

The princess looked back at me as her guards flanked her. "A battle."

And that was all she said.

Ryker and I exchanged glances. We knew when to stop.

Eventually, we reached a hut near the forest.

A man, Bucky Barnes, sat outside, playing with the grass with his one arm.

"Mr Barnes!" Shuri called. "You have visitors!"

Barnes looked up in shock. "What?"

"Two superheroes, here to say hi." Shuri clarified as if us being there wasn't a good enough explanation.

The man struggled to his feet in shock. "Why are you guys here?"

Shuri turned to us. "We'll leave you three."

Then she and the guards left, leaving Ryker, Barnes and I alone.

"Why are you guys here?" Barnes repeated.

"We were kidnapped by the king and we're here to live in the forest." I declared while walking up to him. "How are you feeling?"

"What?" he asked.

"How are you feeling?" I repeated.

"Good, but the other bit-"

"Was a joke," I replied shortly. "Apparently Wakanda's 'supporting' us now. So, my guess is that we might be neighbours."

He ran his hand over his face with a groan and sat down. "Oh no."

"Oh no?" Ryker asked. "What do you mean, oh no?"

"I mean, oh no," Barnes replied with a sigh. "You're like... Fifteen?"

"Yes." We replied.

"Oh, lucky me, I'm playing babysitter."

(A/N)

I love this so much and I don't even know why.

It's just kind of... Nice to write, I guess.

!!!IMPORTANT!!!

I know sometimes, it might take me a while to update, but I've been busy with school stuff and spending time with family and friends so updates might be less frequent. Please don't ask me to update too often (even though it's just one person doing it (thank you, really for wanting to read it so much you tell me to update XD)), as, while it does make me think about updating, it stresses me out if I have not yet prewritten the usual ten chapters like I like to have.

So, please, all I ask is for you all to be patient and understanding of the fact that I will be updating slower for a while. Sorry, and thank you for understanding.

Thank you for reading this and for supporting me, I really appreciate it.

-lost_in_a_book__