King T'Challa was currently standing in a very last minute and remarkably boring "meeting" with one of his older advisors. He was supposed to have been at the landing pad to greet his friends and fellow Avengers almost 20 minutes ago. He had invited them all here for a celebration in their honor. Didn't his dimwitted minister realize how incredibly rude he was making his King appear to be?
King T'Challa was moments away from putting the fool of a man in his place and marching over to the landing pad to beg for his friends forgiveness when a commotion caught his attention.
"Kitty!" came a very loud and high pitched scream.
The noise was so high pitched that it made the old minister wince, but King T'Challa did not. He recognized this noise and the particular nickname that was being screamed.
Another yell of "Kitty" came from the hall leading to the throne room and was soon followed by an exuberant two year old with light blond hair tied up in pigtails and a pair of gray blue eyes. The sight immediately brought a bright smile to the young King's face.
As soon as the little girl spotted the King, she released another ecstatic cry.
"Kitty!" she screamed before making a beeline for King T'Challa.
The minister looked appalled at the display, but it only made the King's smile grow. T'Challa bent down and caught the little girl as she threw herself into his waiting arms with another happy cry of "Kitty". The King laughed and stood to his full hight, the little girl still clutched lovingly in his arms.
"Sarah!?" Came a worried cry from the hall.
He looked up in time to see the little blond girl's almost four year old brother run into the room with a concerned look on his face that made King T'Challa worry about his dutch nephew and how much stress he was already carrying on his tiny shoulders. The worry, however, melted off of the little brunette at the sight of his Uncle.
"Uncle Kitty!" Little Peter Rogers-Stark cried excitedly.
King T'Challa laughed again, making the little girl still clutched in his arms giggle at the vibration of her Uncle's chest. The young King bent down again and welcomed his nephew with a tight hug that made both Peter and his sister, Sarah, giggle with delight.
"Look at how big you're both getting!" King T'Challa said affectionately before straightening up and this time lifting both children with him.
At this point he turned back to the very disgruntled and enraged minister, his arms full of the Rogers-Stark children. He was officially back in King mode.
"What was it you were saying, Minister Ku?" King T'Challa asked in his best diplomatic voice.
Minister Ku opened his mouth as if to retort, the anger glistening in his eyes, but little Sarah Rogers-Stark's whimper cut him off. Concern immediately overcame the previously stoic face of the young King.
"What is it little one?" King T'Challa asked in a quiet "Uncle" voice that was laced with familial concern, his head bent down to look more closely at his niece.
Sarah curled herself more tightly against her "kitty's" chest, her face burrowing in the crook of his neck as if she were trying to hid from something.
"Kitty, I don't wike it." Sarah said meekly into her Uncle T'Challa's neck.
Peter's little face contorted into the kind of fury that T'Challa had never seen on a child, and honestly had no desire to ever see again.
"Its him." The little boy spat at Minister Ku.
"Peter." King T'Challa chastised firmly. "Minister Ku means you and your sister no harm. Isn't that right minister Ku?" King T'Challa declared, turning the full force of his authoritative and protective gaze on the old man.
The old Minister looked at his King, the anger still lingering in his gaze, before acquiescing.
"Of course not, sire." Minister Ku said to his King with a slight bow of his head. "If you'll excuse me?"
The Black Panther only nodded, eyeing his minister somewhat warily as he walked away from his King and the young children in his arms. Sarah was still whimpering when her fathers came rushing in looking slightly frantic and haggard.
"Oh thank heavens." Steve exclaimed, relief evident on his face at the sight of his two children in the arms of his friend.
Tony had an equally relieved look and visibly slumped at having found his wayward children, however, he was much quicker to notice his daughter's position and evident distress.
"What happened?" Tony questioned sharply, already moving towards the young King and the children held in his arms.
At his partner's statement, Steve's eyes did one more sweep of his children and took notice of their daughter's condition. Worry bloomed on his face with remarkable speed and he quickly traversed the room, arms stretching out to take his daughter from her Uncle.
Sarah, having somehow sensed her fathers' presence and Steve's proximity, untangled her little arms from her Uncle's neck and formal shirt to reach meekly out to Steve.
"Papa." She whimpered miserably.
Steve delicately took his daughter from King T'Challa before clutching her tightly to his strong chest, his face the very definition of paternal anxiety.
"Shh. Whats the matter baby girl?" Steve asked soothingly already gently rocking his daughter on an attempt to calm her and reassure himself that his daughter was not physically harmed.
"Papa, I don't wike him." Sarah whined dejectedly.
"You don't wike-" Steve immediately clamped his free hand over his mouth, his eyes going wide with shock and embarrassment. Fortunately for Steve, everyone was a little more concerned with Sarah's behavior than Steve's unintentional baby talk. "Like. Who do you not like?" Steve recovered quickly.
"The owld man." Sarah cried, burying her face in her father's chest just like she had done her Uncle's.
Steve looked from his daughter to his friend and then back again, asking with his eyes what she meant by that statement. Tony was looking the most helpless King T'Challa had ever seen him. So, in an attempt to help his friend, he handed Tony his young son before replying to Steve's unasked question.
"Not here." King T'Challa said in a whisper. "We should go meet up with the others." He suggested.
Steve and Tony shared a momentary look that clearly held an entire conversation between the two partners, but gave away nothing to T'Challa. When the couple broke eye contact, Steve turned to his comrade and nodded.
Once the entirety of the Avengers team was gathered in one of the more informal dining rooms within King T'Challa's palace, Steve and Tony explained how their daughter had been having strange reactions to people or events and how she would sometimes start screaming with terrible headaches.
"She couldn't…" Wanda started, looking at her twin brother hesitantly before continuing. "…she couldn't be developing a power could she?" Wanda asked worriedly.
"For her sake, I sincerely hope not." Bruce added in the same concerned tone.
"I agree." Steve stated softly looking over at his sleeping children. "We already have Peter to worry about. I honestly don't know what I would do if I had to worry about both of my children's growing abilities and the way people might try to use and manipulate those talents."
Everyone in the room looked down slightly, knowing full well that the "people" that Steve was talking about were in fact Hydra. Steve knew first hand how Hydra treated people who possessed abilities they wanted. After all, his best friend had been their longest and most consistent victim.
"Whatever the circumstances,…" King T'Challa bravely broke the heavy silence. "she got the measure of my Minister rather quickly. I have always thought that something was off with that man, and she just proved that I was right to be suspicious."
For a moment, King T'Challa looked miles away before abruptly returning to the conversation at hand.
"Rest assured, I will be thoroughly looking into him." He declared, eyeing Steve and Tony in particular at this statement.
The couple nodded and the conversation soon drifted to other, though not always lighter, topics. Steve and Tony, however, spent the majority of that night, and many to come, worrying over the fate of their children. Particularly the now prominent possibility that their baby girl could develop an ability, and a fairly powerful one by the looks of it.