Black Panther: Rise of the Princess (COMPLETE)

Chapter 32: Peter

True to their nature, the Wakandans from the Stockholm outreach center were quick on the uptake. By the time Okoye and I found the front entrance, they were already here and starting to unload.

It was actually really cool to see them. Tradition was rich in Wakanda, but these people wove more of Western culture into their gear and outfits. Back in Africa, even in their tech, you could tell that the history was woven into the blueprints, but this chapter of their people chose to embrace...well, more of the European culture. Which was a little weird, but awesome to look at.

Not to mention, their English had less of an accent, so it was easier to understand. At least, the accent was more European and less African. MJ would have loved to see these people.

Okoye, since she was actually a general, and I was more of a tag-along, took charge. I just watched from the roof and waited until someone needed me. I managed to pick out Shuri's friend, D'Arku, the one in charge of the centers. It looked like he was leading the pack, and seemed to know Okoye too. It makes sense, I guess they have the same boss, huh?

One of the soldiers in the units saw me sitting there, basically stalking all of them, and nudged the guy next to him. He turned around, and so did five others around them. I waved at them, trying to communicate that I wasn't HYDRA, or someone else who wasn't supposed to be there. Some of them waved back, but one of them listed their wrist, one with a bracelet on, and I think he took a picture of me.

I probably did look pretty funny to them in my suit. They don't wear things like this in Wakanda, at least, from what I had seen.

Okoye and D'Arku started ordering people into positions, and Okoye waved to get my attention. I jumped down to meet her, wondering what they needed me for. It wasn't like I could help them, I was just an American.

"When you reconnect with Shuri," Okoye instructed, "let her know we are clearing the premises. Ships will be coming shortly for the resources."

"Okay, copy that." Premises, ships, resources. Got it. "Anything else I can do...or should I just stay out of the way?"

D'Arku laughed. "You have done your part, Spider-Man. Just try to keep SHIELD off our scent, and we should get along just fine."

"On it," I said, giving him a thumbs up before going back to my lookout spot. I didn't have anywhere else to go that wasn't in someone else's way, so I figured I might as well stay here. I watched for a few more minutes, but once everyone got inside, there was nothing to look at, so I pulled out my phone.

From what Director Fury said, it sounded like SHIELD was avoiding the mission, so I didn't think I would have to worry about them. No one had called me, and Raven hadn't piped up in a while, so I assumed everything was okay. Was that the smartest idea? Probably not, but it was all I could do right now.

MJ and Ned had both texted in the past few hours, but May had kept quiet, since she knew I was on mission. I couldn't really tell the other two not to text me, 'cause then they would know that something was up. Neither of them had anything life-changing to say, just updates about work and stuff. MJ had this colleague that annoyed her to no end, and she would text Ned and I in a group chat about it all the time. The worse the day, the more texts she sent. Ned thought he was Flash with a makeover. I thought he was stupid.

I chimed in a few times, just to stay involved, but Shuri called and I had to focus. "Peter, are you still alive?"

"I'm fine, what's up?"

"Just wanted to check in," she explained. "I finished guiding the units from the outreach center to the rest of the guards, and they are going to begin loading the vibranium soon. Are you doing anything?"

I shook my head, even though she couldn't see me. "Nope. Just chilling on the roof. I don't think there's anything else for me to do."

"Me neither. I think T'Challa and Okoye want me out of the way. I was going to head out to the ship and wait for the others to finish."

"I'm down," I replied. "Meet you there in ten. Maybe you can finish your suit while we're waiting."

She laughed over the communicator. "I can't do that here! I need to be in my lab, or maybe at the outreach center."

I jumped off and started running to where we left the ship at. "If you say so."

"Maybe while we are waiting, you can explain this cyborg story to me."

Groaning, I objected, "I told you, I'm not supposed to talk about it. You know, SHIELD, classified stuff, that sort of thing."

"What, do you not think that I can keep a secret?"

"It's not that!" I insisted. "I just don't want to take the fall for spilling the beans on the mission. I don't want Agent Romanoff hunting me down, and you wouldn't either, if you knew her."

I could almost hear her smirk when she spoke. "I think I can handle her. Americans always believe that they are better than everyone else."

Grinning, I boarded the ship and corrected her: "She's Russian."

"Shut up."