Post-Infinity War.
A little set-up, minor cliffhanger. Un-beta'ed, so I hope it's okay.
NoTx
Chapter One: Elele
Anathi smoothes her hand over the dark hair of the young woman sleeping in front of her. Being a nurse in Wakanda has always been difficult, even with their superior technology. Between headstrong young recruits eager to prove themselves to their King, the Wakandan Army and Dora Milaje, sprains, bruises and broken bones are a part of daily life.
This patient, however, is much different. In the Medical Center, they have come to know her as 'Elele' or 'The Sleeping One'. Two days after the great battle, as the dust settled on Wakanda, a Dora Milaje patrol discovered a young woman on the edge of the Alkama Fields. Fearing not only for her safety but also for who she may be, they brought her to the Royal Palace in Birnin Zana. With her lightly tanned skin, smart clothes and a perfect manicure, she is no fighter, that's for sure.
"Any change?" Anathi turns to find Captain Rogers standing in the doorway, arms crossed and looking as worn as she has seen him since they first met a week ago.
"I'm afraid not, Captain. Elele remains peaceful." Anathi hums as she checks her patients' vital signs with lightweight touches, exuding grace in every move.
"You know, we have a name for her now – Camille."
"I think," she smiles fondly, "until she regains her consciousness, we will know her as Elele."
Steve returns her smile as the older woman continues her work with compassion, feeling just a moment of calm wash over him as he slips out of the room and back into the hallway.
‡
Natasha drops a thin folder onto the table in front of the assembled group. It's an odd one - a jigsaw puzzle made up of those left after the fight against Thanos. A grieving God, a reluctant Queen, a racoon and a handful of soldiers, scientists and assassins, all not sure how or why they survived.
"Before I get started, Rhodey's been keeping me up to speed on what's happening back home. It looks like Fury and Hill are gone, along with half the government. He's had no word from Stark or anyone else either, so we have to assume they're gone too." She looks immaculate as always, but her eyes betray her troubles. Perhaps the one and only time Natasha will truly ever wear her heart on her sleeve.
"He just sent this over from Washington. It took a while to get facial recognition running again, but we've worked out who our Sleeping Beauty is," Natasha informs them, as she pulls an image up on the large screen behind her. Bright, though unfamiliar, green eyes stare back at the room, as they instantly recognize the woman currently unconscious in the medical center.
"Meet Camille Jackson. 28, lives alone in Brooklyn Heights. City born and raised, she's got parents in Williamsburg and a brother in Queens. Works for Amtrak at Penn Station, no criminal history, not on any watch lists, great credit score. According to her bloodwork, no probable abilities and no latent DNA. By all accounts, she's a perfectly normal woman."
"A normal woman who shows up to a battlefield in Wakanda, calls for the Captain then passes out for a week. Who is she really?" enquires Shuri, who, despite her reluctance to fill T'Challa's shoes, has stepped into the role of the Queen of Wakanda admirably. Even if she does refuse to also take up the mantle of Black Panther.
"Right now, we have no idea, Your Highness," Steve steps in, as Shuri baulks at his address. "Okoye, we know she spoke of Bucky, what exactly did she say when you found her?" He turns to the soldier standing protectively behind her Queen.
"She was incoherent, Captain, I could only make out a few words. She definitely asked if 'Bucky had found Steve'. She asked me that twice, then collapsed. She has been this way ever since."
"Nat, did Rhodey give us anything on how she might have gotten here? Passenger manifests, security footage, anything?"
"He's securing the tapes from cameras at Penn. We know she was at work right around the time of the snap, so we should be able to find out when she left and go from there. She's not on any manifests, air or sea, but we haven't ruled out the possibility of an alias yet."
"Dr Banner, do we know how long she might be out for?"
"Difficult to say, Captain. There's no physical reason why she's unconscious. It's like her brain has just shut down to protect itself. I'd say she's been through a lot and needs time to heal from it." A scoff resonates through the quiet room.
"We've all been through a lot, but you don't see any of us taking a nap, do ya?... What?"
There isn't one person present, who thinks they could ever get used to a talking racoon.
‡
As the sun sets over Wakanda's spectacular landscape, Steve Rogers finds himself transfixed on the lush green terrain below the royal balcony. It's easy to see why his best friend loved the country so much.
"Do you know, Captain," a soft yet commanding voice conveys from behind him, "that we have one of the highest life expectancy rates in the world?" Steve turns slightly to look over his right shoulder as Ramonda steps into the room. She is as poised and regal as ever, but Steve can see the exhaustion on her face as she stops at his side, her gaze following his previous line of sight.
"I didn't, no."
"Equal access to healthcare, too, paid for by taxation. We do not use fossil fuels, only clean energy from the sun and our water sources. Our scientists split the atom nearly a century before the rest of the world. Our education is free, for a student's entire time in school or university. We also have one of the highest literacy rates in the world."
Steve refocuses on the view ahead of him, wondering why he feels like he's about to be scolded. "That's very impressive, ma'am."
"Then it is a wonder to me, Captain, that you chose to bring your fight here, to nearly destroy the serenity we have worked for centuries to secure." The Queen Mother doesn't have to look at him, he can hear the disappointment in her voice. It's her next words that strike him like a sharp knife through his heart.
"He was finally at peace here. The White Wolf. He found his peace."
It's another stark reminder that he's lost his best friend for the second time and, once again, it's all his fault.
‡
"Captain!" He's on his way back to his accommodation when he's met by Bruce, frantically rushing down the hallway towards him. "You gotta see this."
Steve easily matches the Doctors' hurried pace, following him through the maze of the building, back to the open room they had all gathered in earlier. It's decidedly empty this time, with only Thor, Nat, Bruce and now Steve present. The LCD screen is lit up, a video paused mid-frame. Nat stands ready, an uneasy look across her face. As Steve folds himself into a chair, she taps the play button and security camera footage fills the screen, clearly taken from a busy train station.
"Rhodey came through with the tapes from Penn. The day that we fought Thanos, Jackson was at work, like we thought. She was on a ticket reservation desk from 0730 to 1030." The video isn't anything out of the ordinary, obviously taken from a camera which pans over the main concourse of the station. Four ticket desks are clearly visible in the frame, obscured only slightly by the glass partitions separating the Amtrak employees from their customers.
Nat zooms in slightly on the second desk from the left of frame. The ticket agent is smiling as she chats to an elderly couple, her hand signals suggesting she's giving them directions. It's quite clearly the same woman they've been watching over, one Camille Jackson. As her conversation with the couple ends, she draws the partition shut, leaning a 'Position Closed' sign against it.
"She took a twenty-minute break, came back to the desk and..." Nat trails off as she forwards the video twenty minutes, then plays it again. Only this time, it's anything but ordinary. As Camille reaches over to move the sign away from the window, her hand touches nothing. She sits stunned and watches as her hands, then her arms, then her body disintegrates before her eyes, leaving no trace except a small cloud of grey dust behind. Nat pauses the video, looking around the room for a reaction.
"It's right around the same time." She doesn't need to say any more, they know what she means.
Just like their friends and allies, Camille's life was erased in a single snap of Thanos' fingers. Only now, she lies on a cot in the medical wing, comatose...but very much alive.
TBC