Black Panther: Rise of the Princess (COMPLETE)

Chapter 47: Shuri

The ceremony, although filled with tears for the lost, ran quite smoothly. D'Arku was allowed to say goodbye to his father, and performed the burial rites with his family and the 78 others. Peter didn't think that he should come, so he stayed behind at the castle, out of respect. 

D'Arku was assigned a few months in prison, and then was allowed to reintegrate into Wakandan society, eventually. He was no longer allowed to work in the palace, though, and would most likely end up supervising an elementary lab in the city. He was not permitted to leave the country, until further notice, and the outreach centers would be organized by someone new.

Until another leader was selected, though, leadership returned to me. I made plans to go and visit all twelve of them, to make sure HYDRA had not done any more damage than steal our vibranium. T'Challa spoke with Director Fury, and agreed that if any more HYDRA agents were found, that they would be turned over to SHIELD. W'Kabi was sent out with a team to seek out any more HYDRA bases like the one in Stockholm, and should return in about two weeks.

As for Peter's offer, I kept it in mind, and when the ceremony was over, I invited T'Challa to the lab, where I was making a few adjustments to my suit. After using it in the battle, there were a few changes I wanted to make.

He walked in while I was working on the soles of the feet. For a moment, he only watched me, before commenting, "I see you have taken your new mantle to heart."

"I enjoyed it more than I imagined I would," I admitted. "If not for the occasion, it would have been very amusing."

"You and Peter made a good team," he praised, smiling, "just like I knew you would when I asked him to come here."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Of course you knew." I returned to my work, then told him, "He asked me to join the Avengers."

Since my back was turned, I could not see his face, but I imagine the news shocked him. "The Avengers have been dismantled ever since the Sokovia Accords were abolished," he replied. "How is this possible?"

"I cannot say I understand the whole situation yet," I shared, "but Director Fury is trying to recruit a new set of Avengers. Peter mentioned there were issues that had to be sorted out, the Accords must be one of them."

"And do you want to join?" He asked, standing beside me at the lab counter. Glancing up at the suit design, he added, "Being the Black Panther is one thing, but an Avenger is quite another. You will not have the same freedoms out there as you do here."

The United Nations were sure to restrict us, for good reasons, probably, but T'Challa was right. I had no clue as to what I was signing up for. I sighed. "I know, brother, but you know as well as I do that people like HYDRA will always exist, and not every country has a King so willing to protect them, or the resources to do so. I cannot forget what we have seen. I cannot stand aside while there are people like Erick, like D'Arku, like...like Thanos."

The Infinity War was a dangerous topic, but I knew I was safe to speak about it with T'Challa. He sighed, closing his eyes. "You know as well as I do that Thanos is dead."

"But can you promise me that he will be the only one?"

He looked at me, and I knew that he wanted to, he wanted to guarantee that no monster would every try to destroy half, or maybe all, of life on Earth again.

In the end, T'Challa smiled. "I can see why Peter wanted you to join. He was wise to choose you."

"I do come with a certain set of advantages," I gloated, smirking. "This might be one of them."

Opening a separate screen, I pulled the research on the data I had recovered about synthetic growth. I had to start over, of course, but it had not been hard to find again.

"Bringing people back from the dead is unethical," I repeated from a few days ago, "but D'Arku meant well when he wanted to bring back Steve Rogers. HYDRA already revived him, but now he is living as a cyborg, barely human."

T'Challa looked over the reports and essays I had found from Korea, then back at me. "The brain is the only organ you could not replicate."

I nodded. "The one organ Steve has in his new form."

"We would have to bring it before the council first," he reminded me. "And you might speak to D'Arku about this, see if he can offer any assistance."

"Peter believes we may also have to alert SHIELD," I proposed, pointing to the manufacturing hall. "I can start as soon as we receive clearance, and a DNA sample from Captain Rogers."

He nodded. "If we are going to heal what HYDRA has hurt, I cannot think of a better place to start."